I found it a little easier once I got used to it. With "standard" gearing, you sometimes have to put some thought on whether you're going to go to the trouble to shift from your biggest chainring to the middle chainring. Especially in the old days, with downtube or bar end shifters, making a change in chainrings was more of a "big deal"

With half-step gearing, you have a choice of two relatively simple ways to shift -- either make a "full" gear change by shifting in the rear, or a "half" gear change by making a (very smooth) shift in the front. Or say you make a "full" shift in the rear, but then the grade changes slightly -- you're then only a "half step" away from finding the right gear.