Hey @wleo,
Single key hotkeys are nearly always going to be problematic, because there is no way to alter the way they work in a specific context – and this gets in the way of typing normal text.
The way I normally work around this issue is to toggle the activation of my single-key palettes ON only when I'm using them.
I have a visible palette, so I've got a visual cue that single-key-mode is active. When I don't do that I nearly always get bitten.
I usually toggle the single-key-mode palette on/off with the ⌘F1 keystroke, because it's a really easy reach for me.
-Chris