Recently I’ve started investing more time in productivity in my workflow. While I’ve streamlined workflows that I have in my operating system, terminal, and now code editor… I never really looked at the layout of my keyboard.
To be honest it seemed like something that probably wouldn’t be worth it. I have a lot muscle memory built up and the gains just seem like they would be, small.
That has all changed for me as I have started to dig into vim (specifically neovim) as a ide. vim motions have a notoriously high learning curve. But once you get over that period it really does feel like you have a coding super power. It also makes you rethink the other aspects of your tools that might be worth another look. For me the next step was my keyboard.
Motivation
Productivity
As I’ve already mentioned, a big motivation of considering an ergo keyboard is improved productivity. Besides the layout another advantage of ergo keyboards is their ability to be customized. I’ll be digging into this more but part of the time investment in getting one of these keyboards is molding it to your preferences.
Health
I have sore fingers and wrists. I’m a software developer and I’m typing at least 50 hours a week. It can be a grind and I have periods where my fingers and wrists either ache or more actively hurts. I’ve never gone to the doctor about it because, why? I know the problem and there is only so much I can do about it. I have to code. Even with breaks and a healthy lifestyle, I’m asking a lot of my fingers.
Keyboard Hobby
Let’s be honest, I enjoy getting keyboards lol. There is something so fun about unboxing a new piece of tech and figuring it out. It is the closest you get as an adult to opening a present on Christmas morning.
A secondary effect for me is “act as if”. When you feel confident you act confident. I totally understand that some people don’t need that. But I definitely get a boost. I know it is kind of silly but I have figured that out about myself as I have gotten older.
REQUIREMENTS
“Requirements” might be a little strong but here is the list of the things that I would really like to have in a keyboard:
- wired
- tenting
- arrow keys
- hot-swappable
- function keys
- split keyboard
I don’t mind a little reaching for keys I don’t use a lot. Would prefer that over layering, at least at the start. That is why I list wanting arrow, function, and page up/down keys. I definitely get the appeal of ergo keyboards with very few keys but I have a feeling for me the frustration would be pretty high.
I would really preferred a wired keyboard. I don’t like messing with Bluetooth. I’m really bad with having to remember to charge devices. Also, I don’t mind the wires everywhere if I don’t have to think about those two things. Keep it simple.
Hot-swappable means that you are able to change the switches that the keyboard uses. Something like a brown switch is fine. But I personally really like Akko Sponge switches so I would like to use those if possible. They are great tactile switches with 2 distinct “bumps”. So nice.
There are other requirements I have like being a split keyboard and customization. But since all the keyboards I’m considering meet these requirements, there is no point covering those aspects.
Potential Fits
Dactyl Manuform Ergonomic Keyboard
Glove80 Ergonomic Keyboard Revision 2
Next Steps
There are a handful of good options. I think the next thing to do is narrow the field to 2 options to consider while looking at them at a high level. Then with the last 2 I can really dig in and see if they will work for me.
Stay tuned for part 2 of ???
Doug Grubba - software developer 
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