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    Jesse's Colemak log

    • Started by Jesse
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    • Registered: 03-Mar-2016
    • Posts: 19

    Hi, my name is Jesse.  I want to use this space to document my transition to Colemak from Qwerty.

    I am an IT professional and frequently move around on various computers throughout the day.  It is not feasible for me to switch to Colemak on every computer I use, so I will be learning Colemak while still using Qwerty daily.

    I tried switching to Dvorak a couple years ago and got up to around 35wpm with it, but my Qwerty suffered miserably.  I think the layouts were too dissimilar - I would practice Dvorak for a few hours, then switch to Qwerty and just sit and stare at my keyboard.  I couldn't make the switch back to Qwerty without considerable effort.  I dropped Dvorak and haven't used in a while.  I recently learned about Colemak and think it might be a better fit for me.

    My goals are to increase my typing speed while preserving the health of my wrists.  I am a very proficient Qwerty touch typist, averaging around 110 wpm.  I want to break into the 200wpm threshold, and hope Colemak will help me make that transition.

    I will document my typing tests here, as taken on typeracer.  I will take 10 tests in both Colemak and Qwerty, and give the average here on a semi-regular schedule.

    To learn Colemak, I have been using Keybr.com.  I am not using a transitional layout - I'm diving right into Colemak.  One thing I noticed myself doing - which I find very odd - is pressing old Dvorak keys for some letters.  Despite not using Dvorak for a couple years, I have on more than a few occasions pressed Qwerty E / Colemak F for a period.  Also, for some strange reason S is giving me a hard time in Colemak.  These are my latest struggles.

    I have been using Colemak for four days now.

    Typing test results:
    QWERTY: 115wpm @ 96.9%
    Colemak:  31wpm @ 95.8%

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    It's been about a week now.  I have the period key straightened out, but s continues to be a problem.  I've also now started to press , for w.  It's strange how these dvorakisms are coming back even when not using it for years.

    QWERTY: 102wpm @ 95.88%
    Colemak:   40wpm @ 97.10%

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    • From: Japan
    • Registered: 06-Oct-2015
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    Your wpm totals are impressive for one week! Good for you.

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    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
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    Welcome, and best of luck with your transition! Hope it'll make you as happy as it did me. :-)

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

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    • Registered: 17-Nov-2014
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    I like that you are purposefully trying to maintain your QWERTY while adding Colemak. That might be a good strategy for those that will have to switch back and forth often. I type on Colemak about 98% of the time, so it's not a big deal for me. But, I can see for many it would be important, depending on your situation.

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    Thanks everyone for chiming in.  My QWERTY is dropping, and it makes me sad :(
    I will be traveling for work next week and will be on QWERTY only during the time I'm away.

    QWERTY: 75wpm @ 91.24%
    Colemak: 51wpm @ 96.24%

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    • Registered: 24-Sep-2014
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    I learned Colemak around a year ago like you and started as a proficient qwerty touch typist (~110 WPM). I did it by initially ditching qwerty though. Once I got comfortable with Colemak around in the mid 80 WPMs, I started picking up qwerty again pretty quickly at my workplace. I guess what I'm saying is if you're really proficient at qwerty I wouldn't worry much about losing it permanently especially when you'll be forced to use it again. And yeah, they are indeed pretty similar layouts.

    I didn't double my initial typing speed though, just reclaimed it, and type no faster in either layout. I was satisfied with this, so I left it at that though. I'll leave you to decide whether you think the comfort differences will be worthy once you reach a comfortable speed in both, if that's your goal :).

    > My goals are to increase my typing speed while preserving the health of my wrists..

    A noteworthy goal! Typing tests can be the highest burden possible, as I've found out..

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    Well, I've been away traveling the last week and was on qwerty-only during the time.  I've only started using Colemak again the past couple days.  I'm glad I didn't forget everything, haha.

    QWERTY: 97 @ 94.76%
    Colemak: 48 @ 95.18%

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    I have been using Colemak exclusively at work for the last couple weeks.  While it has greatly improved my proficiency at Colemak, it has also destroyed my ability to type QWERTY.

    Colemak: 65wpm @ 96.94%
    QWERTY: Gave up.  Can't type it anymore without looking at the keyboard.

    Last edited by Jesse (18-Apr-2016 19:43:23)
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    • Registered: 11-Sep-2015
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    Jesse said:

    QWERTY: Gave up.

    This is the correct action! Don't look back!

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    It's been almost two months now.  I find typing in Colemak to be mostly pleasant, although my speed seems to have hit a plateau.  I haven't been actively practicing over the past several weeks, something I plan to pick up again.  I won't consider my transition complete until I break 100wpm.

    Colemak: 62wpm @ 94.68%

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    • From: UK
    • Registered: 14-Apr-2014
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    Great progress!  You've set rather a high bar for yourself - I think 62wpm is already plenty for a pleasant typing experience.
    Average typing speed more widely is thought to be around 40wpm, so you are already faster than most people!

    Last edited by stevep99 (10-May-2016 09:44:39)

    Using Colemak-DH with Seniply.

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    stevep99 said:

    Great progress!  You've set rather a high bar for yourself - I think 62wpm is already plenty for a pleasant typing experience.
    Average typing speed more widely is thought to be around 40wpm, so you are already faster than most people!

    I know, but I'm coming from a 110wpm average in QWERTY.  Part of the reason for my switching to Colemak was to further improve my typing speed.  I don't think I could have gone any faster in QWERTY, my fingers were fighting with each other.

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    might be worth aiming for better accuracy, > 95% minimum and ideally > 98 %

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    Jesse said:

    I know, but I'm coming from a 110wpm average in QWERTY.  Part of the reason for my switching to Colemak was to further improve my typing speed.  I don't think I could have gone any faster in QWERTY, my fingers were fighting with each other.

    Any improvement in typing speed will be marginal at best. Most of the improvement comes not from the layout itself but by learning a new layout from scratch you can get rid of old bad habits start again from the ground up and hopefully eventually overtake your performance on the old layout but it will be a long journey.

    Last edited by Twoddle (30-May-2016 14:08:19)
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    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
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    Who knows how much of what stems from what, really. All we have is a lot of assumptions, isn't it?

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

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    About three months now.

    69wpm @ 96.91%

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    ImpatientGardener said:
    Jesse said:

    QWERTY: Gave up.

    This is the correct action! Don't look back!

    ^ lol, this! i dunno what shai's talking about, saying you can learn both. i mean, i guess you can, but, i gave up on qwerty, too. the thing is, i find i don't really need qwerty, so there isn't any motivation to keep it up

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