Massive Productivity Hack for Everyone: Texting Typing and Writing With Voice

Chances Are You Do A Fair Amount Of Writing

Whether you’re a CEO, a physician, a freelance writer, an engineer, a stay at home mom or dad, a student, or currently unemployed, many, if not most of us do a lot of texting, typing and writing over the course of our day.

We text, we tweet, we post on social media, we email, and we often write posts or other content in the course of our profession, for our employer, or for our own business or side gig.

And yet, most of us still do so the literally old-fashioned way: by putting fingers to keyboard or thumbs to keypad.

The average typing speed on a full-sized keyboard is about 40 words per minute, accurately. On a smartphone, it’s a bit worse: barely 30 words per minute, accurately.

With voice? You can write with voice at roughly 120 to 130 words per minute, accurately.

What if you could produce approximately 4x the content in the same amount of time? Or, for some people, even more importantly: what if you could produce the same amount of content in approximately one quarter of the time? An hour’s worth of writing in 15 minutes? Sign me up!

And I did. Sign me up, I mean. I started working with voice for typing, texting and posting about a year ago, and now I do the majority of my writing this way, whether it’s a text or a full-length article.

Shift Happens

Initially, I didn’t think it was going to be possible. I wanted it to be possible, but the learning curve was a pain. Thankfully, technology caught up with my intentions. The tech has improved enough in recent times that basic accuracy, the main problem in the past, is no longer an issue. Almost always. And when it is, a few quick edits after writing take a few minutes, at most.

And I understand that many people say that they don’t feel comfortable creating their posts or articles with their voice. They say that their brains are just wired to write via keyboard. The bad news is that they say this because it’s true. The good news is that like anything else involving brain “wiring”, this can be changed.

It’s just a matter of sticking with the new, less comfortable way, until it becomes the default, more comfortable way.

I’ve been through this process myself, as I mentioned above, and I can tell you: it’s worth it. Many, many times over.

Learning anything new has an uncomfortable awkward phase, but then, bit by bit, it becomes more comfortable and easier. And then, one fine day, you’ll look back on writing primarily by keyboard as something you can no longer imagine doing. Yes, really.

Why? Because there are many benefits to writing by voice that make the learning curve worthwhile.

The Dark Ages Are Over

The Dark Ages of writing with voice, that is. I’ve wanted to write with voice for years, but kept circling back to keyboard, primarily because “training” voice software was a pain, and accuracy was always questionable at best.

Plus, I’ve literally been typing on keyboards since I was five years old. And I had convinced myself that I just “think better, writing with a keyboard”. And that is simply no longer the case.

I started talking (in)to my Google Pixel 3 about a year ago. And I noticed something, something so profound that I’ve sub-headlined it below.

Voice Recognition Has Improved A Lot In Recent Times

I installed Google’s free Gboard keyboard, and just started hitting the little microphone as my default, for texts, for emails, for Google Keep notes and lists, and even for Duolingo practice. Yes, Gboard even recognizes Spanish and German, most of the time, anyway.

I also write quite a few Quora answers, and in the last year or so, I’ve done more answers with voice than with keyboard. A bit of editing is usually needed, but it’s still far, far faster and easier with voice, especially on my phone.

And I use voice for writing more than I use keyboard, these days. Especially on my phone. And I still mix the two. For instance, I recorded the outline for this article in Google Keep on my phone, while getting ready for the day, this morning. I just added a comment or two for the outline as I thought of different things I wanted to include.

Then, I exported the outline to Google Docs, and was ready to go. I could then select Tools>Voice Typing within Google Docs, and just continue talking (writing).

I also have my Plantronics bluetooth earpiece connected to both my phone and my PC, so I don’t have to change anything in terms of microphone, etc.

I just sit down, open a new document, select Voice Typing in Google Docs, start talking, and the words appear on the screen.

Beyond Just Speed: Why Writing With Voice A Good Idea

Maybe you have struggled to find your authentic and unique “writing voice”. Guess what? You already have it: It’s the way you naturally speak.

If you start writing your posts, and articles, or even your book, with your voice, you’ll likely express yourself more naturally and authentically than if you just sit down and type. With a bit of practice, of course. And you’ll sound more natural and unique, and you can always edit as needed, of course.

It’s very probable, if you give yourself a chance to get used to doing your writing with voice, that you will produce more and better content, significantly faster — and ultimately, a lot more easily.

Beyond Just Speed 2: More Money, Faster

If your writing has any connection at all to your income, whether you write for money, or you use your writing to promote your company, your brand, or your profession — you’ll generate significantly more content writing with your voice, which can positively impact your income, whether directly or indirectly.

And if you do derive income directly from your writing, say as a freelance writer, or as an author, just imagine the direct financial benefits of quadrupling your content, and, potentially, your earnings.

Almost everywhere online, whether it’s promoting your personal brand or your business via social media, or publishing paid content as a freelance writer, or earning money for your writing via the Medium Partner Program, your total amount of published content has a 1:1 positive correlation with your income. The more content you publish, the higher your income. Presuming basic quality for your content of course.

What’s not to like?

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About Doug Sandlin

I’m the co-creator of the Living Unbound framework for optimized living, and I am a performance optimization consultant for individuals and organizations.

I can help you with mindfulness and meditation and other personal performance tool sets, and with startup planning and launching. I can also help you and/or your company or team with working remotely, with optimal productivity. I can also help you with evaluating blockchain solutions, token offerings, and digital asset investment strategies.

And if you think I might be able to help you with something that’s not on this list, please get in touch, via any of the channels listed below.

To see more about me, please visit DougSandlin.com

You can also follow me on Twitter, and you can check out my other writing on Quora, or you can reach me via LinkedIn, as well.