I ditched typing

And saved an hour a day

Hey everyone,

If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for ways to claw back a bit more time in your day. I’ve always been a fast typer, but even I was surprised at how much time I started saving once I switched to using speech-to-text.

The screenshot above is from lunchtime today. By that time, I’d already saved myself 31 minutes, just by talking to my computer instead of typing out every message and ticket update. That’s pretty significant.

Let’s break down what this actually looks like in practice, and why I think it’s worth your attention if you’re running a team or just want to work smarter.

Why Speech-to-Text?

I’ve tried a bunch of different tools over the years. AudioPen, Voicenotes, Wispr Flow, Superwhisper… you name it, I’ve probably tested it. Some of them are great for quick notes, but when it comes to integrating with my actual workflow, ClickUp’s own speech-to-text solution wins for me.

It’s built right into their Brain app which runs in the background and integrates with my workspace, so I don’t have to jump between apps or worry about losing context. It even recognises team members’ names and lets me add custom words to the dictionary, which is a huge help if you work in a niche industry or have a lot of internal jargon.

Here’s how I’m using it day-to-day:

• Sending chat messages to clients. Instead of typing out every message, I just talk, check the transcription, and send. If it needs tidying up, ClickUp AI can help polish it.

• Updating tickets and tasks. It’s so much faster to speak updates than to type them, especially when I’ve got lots of projects on the go.

• Writing newsletters (like this one). I dictate my thoughts, then edit for clarity. It’s a great way to get ideas down quickly without losing momentum.

By the end of the day, I’m saving myself 45 minutes to an hour. Over a week, that’s about four hours back in my schedule. And that’s just me. If you’ve got a team of ten, you’re looking at 40 hours saved every week. That’s like adding another full-time person to your team, without the extra cost.

A Note on Privacy and Journaling

While ClickUp speech-to-text is perfect for work and client communication, I’ve also been exploring dictation for personal journaling. This week, with some pretty heavy news circulating, I wanted a way to process my thoughts quickly and privately. Writing by hand or typing takes too long, and sometimes I just won’t do it if it feels like a chore.

For private journaling, privacy is key. Most of the speech-to-text providers I mentioned above didn’t offer the level of privacy I wanted. Superwhisper lets you download a model to your phone, but the transcription quality wasn’t great. In the end, I landed on the Voice Memos app on iOS, which transcribes everything locally. I just copy the transcript into my private Obsidian vault. Simple, fast, and keeps my personal thoughts secure.

Let me know if you’ve tried speech-to-text in your workflow, or if you have any questions about getting started. Always happy to share what’s working (and what’s not) as I keep testing new tools.

Talk soon.