Dvorak followup

I have now had a week or so of practicing with the Dvorak keyboard, and I am still liking it. There are a lot of varying reports as to how long it takes to make the transition, anywhere from two weeks to two months. The problem is that “they” never say if they are using the Dvorak keyboard exclusively or not. I cannot use it exclusively because the programs that I use at work rely heavily on shortcuts, which are mostly under my left hand. Also, when I get really busy I cannot afford to take four times as long to type an e-mail.

I am hoping that by forcing myself to constantly switch back and forth, I will retain the ability to type with both layouts. However, as soon as my typing speed on the Dvorak keyboard gets anywhere normal, I’ll probably only type in Dvorak and use the standard keyboard for my applications. My typing speed is now up to 19 wpm. I actually did not test it before with the new layout, so I only know that I feel like I am typing more quickly. I am trying to decide what a “normal” speed would be for me, but I will probably just switch when I can type fluidly without pausing to think about where the keys are located. I think that once I get to that point, my speed will really pick up.

Right now, I find that when am typing on the qwerty keyboard too slowly, and I have to think at all about what letters I am typing, I will usually type the wrong letter. Luckily, I do not normally type very slowly or think about where the letters are at too much.

Did anyone else decide to try learning the new keyboard layout? It is so much fun, seriously. Now if only it where as easy to learn a new language.