Colemak is a modern, ergonomic alternative to the QWERTY layout that I switched to cold-turkey in February.

After seven weeks I am up to 58% of my old QWERTY speed, but my new proficiency has ruined my QWERTY speed. Typing on Colemak, however, feels lighter, effortless.

Chart of Colemak Typing Speed Over Time

I am not up to my old QWERTY speeds, but with gradual week-over-week increase, I will eventually reach it.

Should You Switch?

Unless you have RSI or spend hours every day typing as an auxiliary function in your profession, don't switch. It will probably cost you months of lost productivity with little speed gain.

But for me, it is a welcome improvement over the unoptimised drudgery of the out-dated QWERTY layout.