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The original was posted on /r/neovim by /u/Heide9095 on 2025-06-09 14:47:51+00:00.
Hi, I've never before used anything similar to the vim-motions or relied to shortcut heavy usage, and I am still learning. But a recent anectode inspired me to share my experience and thoughts as a newcomer bout the process of switching to-, learning about- and dealing with the post-nvim-syndrome.
Why I picked up nvim
I picked up nvim for self-study C programming purposes, in which I am still a beginner. I liked the look of a simplistic interface and I saw some good comments about how with time the workflow ultimately becomes intuitive and efficient even though the learning curve can be difficult for some. Since I had no significant experiences that would be in the way, and I was not under any pressure - I thought: "why not".
Getting started and my first impressions
To be frank, I was completely lost. The interface was foreign, the terminology was alien, and there was a complete overflow of information that in retrospect was excessive and unrelated for a beginner wanting to learn how to setup and use nvim.
I often questioned if I really need all those plugins and customization to simply learn how to use the editor. It was a massive headache, really, and I did not get the positivity behind nvim as I could not even get started with something basic without being recommended an excessive list of plugins and processes that are beyond me.
I was not able to use the editor for coding as I was just confused in that regard for the first few days. But on the positive side I quickly found my way to :Tutor and :help, so I did start to get familiar with vim-motions early on.
Learning and using nvim
This section is a small advice for other newcomers aswell***.***
Finally after days of banging my head against a wall - I grew a skull thick enough to make a break-through. I asked simple questions and searched for simple short answers, and I researched every bit of terminology that I do not understand. And I finally felt some progress in learning about how to use vim.
Mainly two realizations helped alot:
- You can do almost anything in 'vanilla' nvim text-editing wise. If you got an idea for how you would like to edit your text en masse, or one specific part - there exists most likely a vim-motion combo for that. However if it does not exist nativly you can add that relativly easily yourself - and you should optimise as you go.
- You don't have to exit vim. Use the terminal to navigate your machine. Put your mouse aside - and use your keyboard. Setup and do everything you can through keybindings, hotkeys, shortcuts etc. to navigate in your machine. The workflow becomes so intuitive and seemless that time flies.
In genera,l my rule of thumb was and still is to learn to use vim's native features and gradually implement them one at a time in my workflow. If I have a necessity I check if wim supports it nativly, or if I can add it myself without hassle.
Post-nvim-syndrome
Two weeks of daily use is not a lot - but it is enaugh.
Recently I was doing some writing on a foreign laptop on another app - a list of materials and price calculations. A few minutes into the process I grew frustrated, I noticed it and laughed to myself. I was subconsciously trying to navigate the app using vim-motions, needless to say it id not work, and everytime the app did not respond and I had to use 'other less optimal methods' I was thinking: "yeah...I get it now. nvim is cool."
Conclusion
In short, a hassle to get started expecially if you have 0 idea about what you are doing. You don't just learn vim, you have to learn things around vim aswell, but once you get beyond the starting point - it grows on you.
