I hate that there are only 24 hours in a day… and that I need to sleep and eat in there somewhere. As a freelance writer, after I’ve set my fees, my daily revenue is limited to the speed at which I can type. Faster typing = more money. (Yes, I realize that’s a simplistic equation). 

One way to improve productivity is with Dragon NaturallySpeaking . Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a voice-to-text program that, well, takes the things you say and turns it into text in your favorite programs. Additional voice commands allow you to perform various functions (a surprising amount of functions!) like opening and closing files, selecting and copying text, and so on. And what I really like about Dragon NaturallySpeaking is that you can train it. It becomes more and more useful over time because it learns how you say the things you say and it stores that information so when it hears you say that phrase again, it gets it right. 

Why it might be right for you:

• This can be a way to gain much more productivity, simply because we tend to talk faster than we can type. (I can type 75 words a minute, nothing spectacular, but most people talk around 140 – 200 words per minute). If you type slower than you can talk, this is a good way to get more typing done.
• If you tend to write the way you talk (for example, your writing is very conversational) then this is a good reason to use the program.
• If you like to get up and walk around or if you are having wrist problems because of excessive typing, this program can help to alleviate that. (I hurt my back on summer and found sitting to be painful and Dragon NaturallySpeaking got me through the summer).
• If you work from an outline then you can simply speak the content for each point in your outline and it will go quickly. 

Why it might not be right for you:

• Not all writing is conversational. I found it really useful for conversational writing but formal writing I found to be harder to speak. That’s not something against the software; it was just a challenge for me that I couldn’t overcome. Over the past few years, I’ve used Dragon NaturallySpeaking less and less because my formal writing has increased.
• If you type really fast or you mumble when you talk, this might not be a good tool for you. It can pick up what you are saying and you can correct and train the program but it’s not perfect. (To be fair, though, it is very good).
• If you work in an industry with very specialized terms, you will spend a lot of time correcting and training the program in the beginning.
• If you compose on the fly (instead of an outline) then you might find yourself starting and stopping your speech to think about what you want to say next.  

Dragon NaturallySpeaking can be a really useful tool for you to create good content quickly. It’s not for everyone but it can be very useful. It’s best (at least in my opinion) when you write informal content that is more like a conversation than an article or report. Think about whether it’s an investment you want to make in your freelancing business.