If I’m getting an Orthodox split for the first time would it be worthwhile to learn a different layout at the same time since I’ve heard the learning curve is already pretty rough? I’m thinking of colemak-DH specifically but if there is a better option I’m open to hearing it.
I already knew how to touch type with QWERTY/AZERTY and I switched to Colemak because it’s modern, it seemed good, and it is supported by every OS out of the box (except for iOS and the iPhone which was a problem for me). Colemak-DH should be no different except for the DH keys but I wouldn’t worry about it.
It took me one year to be able to type fast in Colemak without making mistakes. It’s so fucking worth it!! You can also use https://monkeytype.com/ to train on random texts or words, but I’m a lazy guy and I only did that for 3 months like 10 minutes a day.
Last but not least, put Colemak-DH on your phone (Android only I guess, definitely not iOS) if you can. I had an iPhone before with QWERTY, and I guess it somehow hindered my learning because I was still using QWERTY a lot on that phone and I don’t think it’s a good thing. When I switched to the Google Pixel, the problems went away because I had Colemak everywhere.
It’s annoying but not that difficult. You have to do that all the time, every day, and forget the pain that is QWERTY.