Vim Motions Took Over My Computer
I didn't expect learning a text editor to change my workflow.
I am obsessed with vim motions and I can’t help it. Ever since I discovered modal editing, it changed not just how I write text, but how I think about navigating my computer. It took me a couple days of practice to get over the learning curve, but once I got the hang of it, I was hooked.
How I got Started with Vim
When I first got started with learning about server administration and Linux, I came across vi as the default text editor on most servers. This led me to want to learn the basics in order to edit files on servers without needing to install extra tools. Instead of using raw vi, I started with using Neovim with the AstroNvim configuration. It comes fully featured with plugins, so I could focus on learning the motions without worrying about setting up my config.
One thing I didn’t expect was how much it would pull me into the terminal. I started opening it just to explore directories, using vim to read and edit things I would have reached a GUI for before. Now I prefer using CLI tools more often than not. That comfort with the terminal ended up being just as valuable as the motions themselves.
Building a Keyboard Driven Workflow
Once I stopped using my mouse while editing, I wanted to see what else I could do with just my keyboard. This sent me down the tiling window manager rabbit hole. I was deciding between Yabai and Aerospace for tiling window managers on macOS, and ended up going with Aerospace because I didn’t want to disable System Integrity Protection on my macbook to have all of Yabai’s features. With Aerospace setup, I could carve out dedicated workspaces for different tasks, terminal here, browser there, everything in its place. I would switch back and forth like it’s second nature without lifting my hands off the keyboard. This really helped reinforce the vim motions as well, since I could use them to navigate within windows and Aerospace’s shortcuts to navigate between them.
On my windows machine, I use GlazeWM. It was pretty close to my Aerospace setup, so it was an easy transition to get the same workflow on both machines.
A tip for my windows users, I recommend also using Microsoft’s PowerToys to get access to the Command Palette. It makes it easy to launch applications and navigate windows and I find it much better than the default Windows search. After being used with spotlight search on macOS, it was a must have for my windows setup.
Vim Motions in the Browser
The last piece was the browser. I found an extension called Vimium, and now I could follow links, scroll, and navigate tabs using vim motions. This combined with a tiling window manager meant that I could do almost everything on my desktop following a keyboard driven workflow.
Finding Balance
I had a blast learning vim motions and incorporating it into my workflow. It felt like I was hitting combos whenever I inputted the correct vim motion to navigate around my workspace. Now I’m less hardcore about it. I’m not going to vim motion my way through a settings menu, but the moment I’m editing text, there’s no going back.