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Switching from QWERTY to COLEMAK DH: A Journey to Ergonomic Typing

Switching from QWERTY to COLEMAK DH: A Journey to Ergonomic Typing

Let’s get started with the why.

Most of my hobbies involve my hands. I play guitar and have done so for close to 20 years now. For my job, I am a Software Developer, so most of my days are spent typing. I am either writing lots of documentation or actually programming. On top of that, most of my leisure time is spent gaming.

That leaves a lot of room for RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) to sneak into my life and basically ruin it.

The Warning Signs

My hands have always been cold, or at least hard to warm up. If I had a long gaming session or a heavy coding sprint without breaks, my hands would freeze up and take a while to move.

Imagine a sloth moving. That is what happened to my hands. I would have to stop for around 15 minutes and massage them just to get them moving at normal speed again.

The Keyboard Journey

I should start by admitting that I have been addicted to buying fancy keyboards for quite a while now. Here is the list of what I have tried, in order:

  1. Keychron K3
  2. Keychron Q1
  3. Ultimate Hacking Keyboard (UHK)
  4. Glove80 (Current)
  5. Corne (Coming soon)

The first step was switching from a traditional staggered keyboard (which is bad for posture and wrists). That was when I bought the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard. It was a pretty sweet change, but it had two large downsides for me:

  1. Interference: Any electronic device near it caused the keyboard to go mental, turning off and on. It was not a great experience.
  2. Staggered Layout: It was still staggered, so it did not fix my hands freezing up.

That made me want to move to something that had two specific features: an Ortholinear layout (keys in a grid) and tenting (focus on ergonomics).

So, I got a Glove80. Don’t get me wrong. This keyboard solved my issues. My hands don’t freeze up anymore, and I am very comfortable using it. However, I am looking to switch again for two reasons:

  1. Too many keys: I barely use half of them because I rely heavily on layers.
  2. Portability: Travelling with this keyboard is near impossible; the travel case is larger than my backpack.

I am now looking to move to a Corne. It is basically the same concept but without the keywell and with far fewer keys, which should hopefully make my fingers less confused when gaming.

Why I chose Colemak DH

When I decided to switch layouts, I looked for a few specific things:

  • Minimal finger movement.
  • Good support in the Glove80 keymappings.
  • Compatibility with common programs like Vim.

There was one last factor: it was the first one I found that I really meshed with ideologically.

The Switch: FAQ

Switching was brutal. If you are just reading this for the common questions, here is the breakdown so you can breeze through:

  • How long did it take to catch QWERTY? It took about two months of practicing, anywhere from one to three hours a day. Total time was about 70 hours of typing to get back to my QWERTY speed of 80 WPM.
  • Did you improve? Yes. With Colemak DH, I can type around 120 WPM if I am trying, and typically 105 WPM at a normal, relaxed pace.
  • Did it stop the pain? Yes, 100%. I no longer move my hands as much, and I find it much more comfortable to type.
  • What tools did you use? I used Keybr to learn the muscle memory, and then Monkeytype (English 1k, 5k, 10k, and 25k) to ramp up the difficulty and learn chords.
  • Can you still type in QWERTY? Yes. I am not slower, nor have I forgotten anything. If I need to jump on a laptop or use my phone, I am absolutely fine.

The Learning Process

I spent most of my time at the start on Keybr.com. It is vital for learning where the keys have moved to.

Pro tip: It is much easier to do this with blank keycaps. Looking at your keyboard is a very bad habit. I suggest displaying the keymap on another monitor instead.

I spent about a month on Keybr running the learning test. Eventually, I focused on tricky letters. For me, P and B were extremely annoying to wrap my head around. After practicing those specific words, I am now very proficient.

After Keybr, I moved to Monkeytype. I hammered the “English” category for a good thousand tests, gradually moving up the difficulty settings until I hit 120 WPM.

The Problems

It isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

1. Gaming sucks. This might be partially due to my specific keymap and layers, but I currently use a dedicated gaming layer on the Glove80 and find it a nightmare. I make do, but I still find myself blundering and pressing the wrong keys quite often.

2. Flow typing is… boring. In QWERTY, you get used to a “flow state” where you feel like your hands are flying across the keyboard. With Colemak DH, that is a thing of the past. Your hands are static most of the time. Even when you are in flow, it feels efficient but static. It is hard to get into a rhythm when your hands barely move.

3. I stopped using Vim. I used to exclusively use Neovim for coding. However, after switching to Colemak, I haven’t managed to pick it back up. The navigation keys (H, J, K, L) are in different spots, and the muscle memory is incredibly confusing. I am not interested in remapping everything in Vim, so I am stuck. I am hoping that with a smaller keyboard (the Corne), I will have a better layer setup and can attempt moving back to Vim.

Would I do it again?

Yes.

Despite the trade-offs with gaming and Vim, it is well worth it to save my hands. As long as you are willing to put in the time. It is not a quick process, and it can be frustrating at times, but the end result is worth it. I am now able to type comfortably for hours without any pain or discomfort, which is a huge win for me.