Hindered

Today is day five of my switch to the Colemak keyboard layout. It's an interesting experience.

As I mentioned before, I know the key positions, but the muscle memory isn't there. It makes my typing erratic and halting, and this has manifested some unexpected consequences.

The first few days were simply agonizing. It took forever to type anything at all. I noticed that when I went home at night that I was grouchy, and that little things were getting under my skin. I believe that was a result of days spent struggling through formerly simple tasks.

It's getting better as my speed slowly improves, but I've noticed another odd side effect, which is that I just feel generally less confident. The inability for me to express myself quickly and efficiently has really messed with my sense of self.

At work I'm less willing to offer my opinion and more reluctant to take on tasks. I think it has helped to analyze the cause of those feelings, as it has allowed me to make a conscious effort to overcome them, but I didn't expect this experiment to be so disruptive in so many ways.