Look at your keyboard and learn like 2 or 3 quotes (even only 1 if u want) and learn where the keys are placed

(if u already know where the keys are placed u just need to type more or smth idk im bad this hahaxd())(

Im using a touchscreen for my quotes so I ran see where everything is, but I am trying to use a QWERTY keyboard that has a DVORAK input at other times haha. Kind of difficult but Im sure Ill get it :)

My average speed in a normal keyboard layout is 120 WPM. I started typing in Russian using the Cyrillic keyboard layout and it took me about a month to reach 40 WPM. You can probably reach your original typing speed in about a month too if you practice every day.

I was at around 90ish average on QWERTY, switched over to COLEMAK Mod-DH and it took me about a month to get back to 90. I now average around 100ish, but I'm not really trying to gain more speed, my switching over was for comfort.

Switched from QWERTY to Dvorak years ago.
It began with a trial period where I tried out the (for me) new layout. I did not switch to dvorak then because it slowed me down something incredible, it was like going back to first grade and learning to write again.

The second attempt was more motivated, because I felt pain in my wrists after long hours of programming, and got to realize I can't live with this condition anymore, I've got to do something.
That's when I switched for real, and would never go back because I've seen "the other side" of typing now.
Now, I process words more intelligently and more fluently, because the keyboard is ingrained into my muscle memory. It has definitely been helpful that the most frequently used keys are consciously been placed on the home row. Therefore I would probably be typing 50-80% of all key strokes with my fingers staying on the home row, which is a huge benefit because it relieves the finger and wrist stress of reaching for keys.

So if I were you I would try the layout out for a period, to get a feel for it. But you don't neccesarily have to switch there and then.

If you like the layout, you will probably revisit it when the urge arises once again, and eventually, if you are determined enough, you will be able to take yourself through the potentially burdensome and tedious process of relearning how to type.
Just one advice to help in that process: Really do what the guides instruct you to do, do not take any shortcuts at all. Definitely learn to touch type, meaning you avoid looking on the keys and instead learn to remember the key positions in your head and in the muscle memory. That will probably be hard if you're not used to it, but I have gotten to know my layout so well now that I don't even need to have any labels on the keys whatsoever. That happens after some time and a lot of training, but you just keep going and before you know it you'll be loving it, and feeling a lot freer.
For me, Dvorak has helped me to type words rather than just letters, and type correctly the first time instead of going back and correcting so very often.

Thank you for this response. By now I've learned the full home row and bits of the top with touch typing, but it is certainly something new for me. I wouldn't say I'm used to pecking at keys, but the way I'm used to typing makes very little logical sense. I haven't been using any guides though. I didn't really consider that guides might exist, but I do think using DVORAK on my phone, which I'm very comfortable typing with, has been helping with getting more accustomed to the layout. I didn't know that other people experienced pain from typing, but that may be because I'm a bit younger. Hopefully then this switch might prevent future pains. I know even as slow as I'm going with DVORAK, touch typing looks much more professional than what I was doing before.

yo, colemak is much better than dvorak, and easier to learn from qwerty http://mkweb.bcgsc.…

I've switched layouts a couple times. It takes me about 20h of practice to get to a comfortable speed on the new layout.

This is the site I used when I first started learning Dvorak. Helped immensely. https://learn.dvora…

I started with DVORAK more than 10 Years ago and never looked back.

I just switched the keyboard layout in the OS to DVORAK so the labels on the keys were useless. But that's actually the best for learning. NOT looking at the keyboard is key.

I always had a color coded layout displayed on the screen for reference. This way I didn't learn the actual key positions, but just where they are relatively to the home position. Even now I have a hard time to figure out what which key does by looking at the keyboard. ;)

I used dvorak almost exclusively, even though it slowed me down alot. I don't know exactly, but it took me several month to reach a usable speed. But I'm sure others can learn faster.

Bonus poins for using DVORAK: At the company i work for, I quickly earned the status of super nerd after the principal engineer tried typing on my keyboard...