The Secret to Writing Emails 8x Faster That 99% of People Haven‘t Tried

Do you ever feel like you‘re drowning in emails? You‘re not alone.

According to a 2019 Adobe Email Usage Study, American workers spend an average of 3 hours per day reading and writing emails. That‘s over one-third of the typical workday!

Even more alarming – that same study found that people are checking work email an average of 2.5 hours each weekday and 1 hour each weekend day. Talk about a productivity killer.

But what if there was a way to slash the time you spend writing emails by 80% or more – without sacrificing quality or professionalism?

Well there is. And shockingly, 99% of people haven‘t even tried it. So what‘s this email productivity silver bullet?

Dictation.

That‘s right. The secret to achieving lightning fast email speeds is to ditch the keyboard and start dictating your messages using speech-to-text software.

Why Dictation is a Game-Changer for Email Productivity

When it comes to cranking out emails, your typing fingers simply can‘t keep up with your mouth. The average person types between 38-40 words per minute (WPM). But we speak at around 150 WPM and read prose at 200-300 WPM.

In other words, you can compose emails about 4-8 times faster by dictating compared to typing. Let that sink in for a moment.

Imagine being able to power through your inbox in a quarter of the time. What used to take an hour could be done in 10-15 minutes. Over the course of a day, you could gain back 2-3 hours of precious time.

This isn‘t just theoretical – it‘s exactly what I experienced when I started dictating my own emails a few months ago. Fed up with the hours wasted typing, I decided to run an experiment:

For one workweek, I would write every single email by dictating it using the speech recognition built into my laptop. No typing allowed (except for a few keyboard shortcuts).

The results blew me away:

• My average email response time went from 3-5 minutes of typing to under 1 minute dictating
• I cleared my inbox in 20-30 minutes instead of 2 hours
• I gained back 1.5-2 hours per day to focus on deep work
• My hands and fingers no longer ached from endless typing

Once I started dictating, I couldn‘t believe how much faster and easier it was to write emails. I was communicating just as effectively, but in a fraction of the time. I felt liberated from my inbox for the first time in years.

How to Start Dictating Your Emails Today

The best part about email dictation is that you don‘t need any fancy equipment or expensive software. Both Windows PCs and Macs have built-in dictation features that work surprisingly well.

Here‘s a quick step-by-step guide to get you up and dictating in minutes:

For Mac Users:

1. Go to System Preferences and choose Keyboard
2. Choose the Dictation tab and turn on Dictation
3. Select your preferred keyboard shortcut to start dictation (I use pressing Fn twice)
4. Optionally enable "Enhanced Dictation" to use dictation offline without an internet connection

For Windows 10 Users:

1. Go to Settings and choose Ease of Access
2. Choose Speech and turn on "Windows Speech Recognition"
3. Click "Start Speech Recognition" and follow the setup guide
4. To start dictating, hold down the Windows key + H

Once you have dictation enabled, simply open your email app, put the cursor where you want to type, and give the dictation command.

As you start speaking, you‘ll see your words appear on the screen in real-time. It‘s magical! Even better, you can dictate punctuation by saying things like "comma", "period", or "question mark".

Here are a few tips for dictating emails like a pro:

• Speak clearly and conversationally, as if you‘re talking to a person
• Pause briefly when you want to indicate a comma or period
• For a new paragraph, say "new line"
• Dictate any formatting (e.g. "bold", "italics", "bulleted list")
• Proofread the dictated text and make any corrections before sending

It might feel awkward at first to talk to your computer. But with a little practice, dictating will start to feel natural and fluid.

Putting Email Dictation to the Test

Not convinced that dictating is really 4-8 times faster than typing? I didn‘t believe it at first either. But then I ran the numbers and proved it to myself:

First I took a free online typing test to see how fast I could type. After a few tries, my average speed was 63 WPM.

Next I used MyReadSpeed.com to test my prose reading speed, which is about how fast I can speak clearly. My result: 482 WPM.

To calculate my potential dictation speed boost, I divided my reading speed by my typing speed:

482 WPM reading / 63 WPM typing = 7.6x speed boost

Incredible! Even if dictating only yields a 4-5x speed increase for me, that‘s still hours saved every week on email. Well worth the effort in my opinion.

Don‘t just take my word for it though. Some of the most iconic thought leaders in tech are huge proponents of email dictation:

"People who are really serious about software should use a speech-to-text interface for generating prose."

• Robert C. Martin, legendary software engineer and author

"When writing anything of length – a page or more – I‘m 3-4X faster dictating versus typing."

• Tom Mighell, attorney and legal technology expert

So if you‘re still skeptical, I encourage you to run your own tests and experiments. See how much time you can save by dictating a few emails. I think you‘ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Going Beyond Basic Dictation – Next-Level Tips and Tools

Once you‘ve mastered the basics of email dictation, there are some more advanced tips and tools that can take your productivity to the next level:

• Use templates: If you find yourself sending similar emails over and over, create a template that you can quickly dictate into to save even more time. This is especially useful for canned responses and follow-up emails.

• Try dictation apps: While your computer‘s built-in dictation is great (and free), there are some excellent paid dictation apps that can improve accuracy and add features. Some top picks are Dragon Anywhere, Otter, and Braina Pro.

• Automate with text expansion: With a tool like TextExpander, you can create shortcuts that expand into full paragraphs or email templates with just a few keystrokes. Combine this with dictation for max speed.

• Train your dictation: The more you use your dictation software, the more accurate it will become as it learns your voice and speaking patterns. Correct mistakes to help train it. You can also add unusual words/phrases to its vocabulary.

• Use noise-cancelling gear: For busy offices or public spaces, using a noise-cancelling microphone or headset can dramatically improve dictation accuracy and privacy. Krisp is a great app that removes background noise from calls.

Like any new skill, dictating effectively takes a bit of practice. But it‘s well worth the initial learning curve. Before long, you‘ll be blazing through your inbox at breakneck speeds.

The Case for Email Dictation – Recapping the Benefits

I‘ve thrown a lot of information at you, so let‘s recap the key benefits of dictating your emails instead of typing them:

1. Huge time savings – Dictation is 4-8 times faster than typing for most people, saving hours each week.

2. Improved focus – By clearing your inbox quicker, you have more uninterrupted time for deep work and strategic tasks.

3. Better health – Dictating helps reduce repetitive strain injuries from typing and frees you to stand or walk while emailing.

4. Clearer communication – Many people are better at articulating their thoughts by speaking versus writing, so emails may improve.

5. More natural tone – Spoken emails often sound friendlier and more conversational compared to typed-out messages.

Dictation isn‘t just about efficiency – it‘s about reclaiming your time, energy and sanity from the email black hole. It‘s a way to prioritize higher-value activities and relationships.

Why Aren‘t More People Dictating Emails?

So with all these compelling benefits, why do so few people use dictation for emailing? I believe there are a few reasons:

• Lack of awareness – Many people simply don‘t realize that dictation is an option or how much faster it is.

• Feeling awkward – It can feel strange and self-conscious to talk to your computer, especially in front of others.

• Perceived inaccuracy – Some people have tried dictation in the past and gotten poor results, not realizing the technology has vastly improved.

• Old habits die hard – Typing is so ingrained for many of us that it feels like extra effort to switch to dictation.

But in my experience, these barriers are easily overcome once you experience the incredible productivity boost dictation provides. The time savings alone make it a no-brainer.

Take the Email Dictation Challenge

So here‘s my challenge to you: For the next 5 work days, commit to dictating all your emails instead of typing them.

See how much time you save, how your emails change, how liberated you feel. I predict you‘ll be amazed by the results and will make dictation a permanent part of your workflow.

One last bonus of dictation? It gets you more comfortable with the sound of your own voice. This can translate into more confidence in pitching ideas, public speaking, and putting yourself out there.

So give email dictation an honest try this week and report back. I‘m willing to bet that it revolutionizes your relationship with your inbox and becomes your new secret productivity weapon.

Stop drowning in email. Start dictating. You‘ll wonder why you didn‘t do it sooner.