This is related to both touch typing and the Dvorak keyboard. This is not an attempt at an answer, but a testimony of my experiences.

This is linked to Is touch typing skill important for being a good writer?, and How important is typing speed to a successful writing career?, and Is it worth learning to touch type, and also Is it worth switching to Dvorak?

I decided to both learn Touch Typing and switch to the Dvorak keyboard layout.

Before that I used to type watching the keyboard and almost never the screen. My Qwerty and Azerty (French) keyboards typing speed was about 40 WPM at 98% accuracy. I expect this switch to greatly increase my speed and accuracy up to a professional typist level.

Dvorak:

I started to get familiar with the Dvorak layout; it does seem much more efficient. One of the biggest adventage is the placement of ‘ , . and ; - . I also un-mounted and re-arranged the keys on two of my keyboards which I think was a mistake retrospectively.

Touch Typing - Week 1 - Week 2:

The start was easy. I only had to learn a few keys. Within hours I was typing 25 WPM, but as I learned more and more keys, it dropped to 20, then 18, then 15, then 12, then 10 WPM and under.

The good thing is that i can use any keyboard,just with selecting Dvorak layout. Right now i am typing this on an Azerty (French) keyboard without looking.

Touch Typing - Week 3 – Week 4 :

I had read that around week 3 was the worst, I can confirm. At this stage writing is torturously slow and painstaking.

I feel alienated. I keep wanting to look at the keyboard, yet if I do I get terribly confused. Yet, I don’t know what to do with my head, looking at the screen doesn’t seem natural; I keep wanting to look around to force myself not to look at the keyboard.

I am also slower than ever. There seem to be a battle between my finger’s muscle memory and my brain key’s location memory. I frequently need to pause and wait a while for my brain to remember and then tell my finger which key to push for that letter.

I will try to keep this updated as I go on.

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