Right, so keyboards. For years, I just used whatever came with the computer, you know? Standard layout, nothing fancy. Didn’t think much about it. Then I started getting this annoying ache in my wrists, especially after long days typing away on reports or code. Tried those squishy wrist rests, changed my chair, the whole nine yards. Helped a bit, but not completely.
That got me looking around. Started seeing pictures of these weird-looking keyboards online. Some were split in half, some had keys in straight grid lines instead of staggered, some looked like they belonged on a spaceship. Honestly, my first thought was, “Who actually uses these things?” They looked complicated, maybe even a bit pretentious.
Diving Down the Rabbit Hole
But the wrist thing kept bugging me. So, I started reading more. Found forums and blogs where people were raving about ergonomic keyboards, split keyboards, ortholinear layouts. They talked about how it forced better posture, reduced strain, and even made typing faster once you got the hang of it. I was skeptical, especially about the speed thing. How could rearranging everything make you faster?
I spent a few weeks just browsing. Looked at things like the ErgoDox, the Moonlander, Kinesis Advantage, Planck. Some were super expensive, too. And most weren’t things you could just walk into a store and try. It felt like a bit of a gamble.
Making a Choice (Sort Of)
I decided I didn’t want to jump straight to the super weird stuff. A split keyboard seemed like a reasonable first step. The idea of positioning each half independently to match my shoulder width made sense for comfort. Found one that wasn’t insanely priced, though still more than I’d ever paid for a keyboard before. It was one of those group buys, actually, so I had to wait a couple of months for it to even be made and shipped. Felt a bit silly waiting that long for a keyboard.
The Arrival and the Struggle
When it finally arrived, it felt… different. Solidly built, which was nice. But plugging it in and trying to type? Oh boy. It was like learning all over again. My fingers kept hitting the wrong keys, or just air where keys used to be on my old staggered layout. Simple sentences took ages. I seriously considered packing it back up and selling it after the first day. It was frustrating!
- Typing speed dropped dramatically.
- Muscle memory was completely useless.
- Had to constantly look down at the keys.
- Even punctuation felt like an adventure.
But I’d paid for it, and I’d waited for it, so I felt obligated to give it a real shot. Forced myself to use it for all my typing. Did some online typing tutors, practiced every day. It was slow going. Probably took me a solid month before I started feeling remotely competent again. There were times I switched back to my old keyboard just to get something done quickly, felt guilty about it, then switched back to the split one.
Did it Work Out?
Yeah, actually. It did. After that painful adjustment period, something clicked. My typing speed eventually got back to where it was, maybe even a little faster on good days. But the main thing? The wrist ache is pretty much gone. Being able to angle the two halves just right made a huge difference. My hands and wrists feel much more natural while typing.
It’s funny, now when I use a ‘normal’ keyboard, it feels cramped and awkward. My hands want to sit wider apart. So, yeah, I’m a convert. It’s not for everyone, and that initial learning curve is rough, no doubt about it. You gotta be willing to feel like an idiot for a few weeks. But for me? Totally worth it. Now I sometimes catch myself looking at those even stranger ortholinear layouts and thinking… maybe?