Do I save time using the h, j, k, l keys? [closed]

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I've tried using the h, j, k and l keys for a while in Vim, but did not get used to it and fell back to using the arrow keys. My question is: from your experience, is it worth switching to these keys? Did you achieve faster typing/navigating?

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When I first used Vim, it seemed very difficult to stick to hjkl after years of maintining a habit of navigating with arrow keys.

Then I learned actual touch typing.

After that, not only did hjkl feel more natural than the arrow keys. Everything computer-related became faster. It's really worth the investment timewise (I'm assuming you're not a touch typer, otherwise you wouldn't have asked this question).

By the way, Vim is incredibly useful when learning to touch type. Just keep a keyboard diagram closer to the screen than to the actual keyboard when learning, ideally a keybord diagram with vim usage on it.

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IMHO, no, it's not worth the trouble. I've tried it, and I couldn't get used to it either.

The whole point of those using those keys was that most keyboards, at the time of Vi's creation, did not have arrow keys. I've yet to run across a modern keyboard without those keys.

I could be wrong.

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I like it. Having discovered visual mode used with f/F and t/T could cut and replace so quickly, easy access to ; became necessary. And you can go straight to . with the 3rd finger too.