Just Use This App!
Time Saving! Game Changing!
I’ve had this app on my phone forever. It has got progressively better with each iteration so that now, it can pretty much replace my typing.
I’ve never used it in this way before, but it just dawned on me that it was possible and it relieves so much resistance to sitting down and typing!
When the need arises, the tool appears*.
I’ve recently started a YouTube channel and I need to write scripts and ideas for the channel. Not being much of a touch typist, this was a real barrier. So much so, that I am learning to touch type, and will continue to learn, even with this app.
I was going to type this article about a tool that saves you from typing. 🙄
The app is Apple Notes! Its dictation skills have improved out of sight that it can now record me for as long as I am talking, which for me, is a lot!
The Blank Page
When I stare at a blank page, I can get myself to just start typing but it is often a bunch of words that can’t seem to get coherently from my mind to the page. So it starts as a draft and ends as a (very short) draft.
So many drafts! 😞
This then, is the game changer for me. I can see my words on the page, and I can talk for as long as I like. I can go off on tangents as ideas hit me from all sides. I can explore analogies and arguments that I find worth considering. It can all come pouring out and I find I self-edit far less, if at all.
The blank page dilamma becomes a thing of the past.
That doesn’t mean everything I transcribe is worth publishing. But keeping the information and occasionally going back to review my ramblings can trigger an idea worth pursuing.
Happy(ier) Days
As my wife came home last night, I was finishing off some dictation. She asked me, “Who was that?”, thinking I was on a call. I find that as I dictate, I relax and it becomes conversational. I can let the thoughts roam free. Again, little to no self-editing. I capture everything and can then edit from a vast resource later.
The other benefit, especially for me, is that dictating assumes elocution. The text on the page/app clearly shows how well I am pronouncing my words lets me know if my elocution is poor. It helps me think more about the words and how to enunciate them which will help, I hope, in my presentations on YouTube.
Starting from Square Two
This lowers my barrier to entry. It gives me a head start.
Where typing was the barrier as I know I would have to type and correct, type and correct, this makes the process quicker, allowing me to be more creative and expansive in my thoughts.
If typing is your kryptonite and you haven’t tried dictation, I’d seriously consider giving it a go. Apple Notes has come along in leaps and bounds and comes with every iPhone (who knew? 🤷♂️). 😂
If you are after something different, there is also Just Press Record. I have this as well but with the new Apple Notes functions, I’m not sure I will use it as much. I’ll have to run a comparison.
What about you?
Do you use Apple Notes or Just Press Record to dictate your articles?
- What problems does it solve for you?
- Is there another, better app, I need to know about?
Let me know!
Thank you for reading!
*A poor effort at adapting the better saying:
When the student is ready, the master appears!
