Copywriter, technical writer, translator (FR>EN, ES>EN, IT>EN), journalist

Posts Tagged productivity

Nostalgia for outdated technology

A recent road test in a BMW reacquainted me with the task of drawing letters on a touchpad. BMW’s version of the in-car screen system consists of a controller that you twist like a knob, shove in several directions like a joystick and press like a button. This

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Thoughts on machine transcription

As a journalist and business/technology writer, I regularly record interviews. I also listen to recordings of other people’s interviews. Following each recording, I embark on the slog of transcribing what interview subjects say. I regularly deal with different accents, so I can (gleefully) make out every word said in

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Creating forms: a brief introduction

Sometimes you need a checklist of things to ask on a regular basis. For instance, each time I speak with a prospective client for my writing or training services, I use a form to make sure I cover the right questions, and record what we say and agree

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The first conversation with a client

This business-focused blog post serves to set up a technology-focused one I’ll publish in a couple of weeks. I’m always grateful when I make contact with prospective clients. (I’m especially grateful when they contact me!). The feeling of gratitude quickly gives way to a desire to learn

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Productivity Tips for Busy Professionals

Last week, I joined a panel with two other professionals to talk about productivity with a number of freelance writers. The Professional Writers Association of Canada (pwac.ca) Toronto chapter (pwactoronto.org) hosted me, Dustin Meneses from cloud accounting provider Freshbooks and professional organizer Susannah Coneybeare. Have any questions about

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Cut down the amount of time spent on searches

Robert Drake figures he spends about 15 hours each week searching for information. “Fifty years ago, I think the entire bar would only have knowledge of six cases in an area of law,” says Drake, an associate at Goldman Sloan Nash & Haber LLP. “Now there are

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Clearing up print misconceptions

I try to run a paperless office. My to-do lists are all paperless since I work with those lists on software I can call up on my computer, tablet or iPod. (I’d hate to go back to a paper organizer.) I do a lot of document review (and annotation)

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Looking for efficiencies in a complicated system

Remember that children’s board game, Mousetrap? It’s a Rube Goldberg machine that uses an unnecessarily large number of moving parts to catch a mouse. Part of the entertainment came from wondering whether the machine would effectively transfer the kinetic energy required to catch the mouse. Now replace

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I read 425 words per minute

This might be the most eye-catching blog post title I’ve ever come up with. It may also be the easiest. It’s certainly accurate. I know I’m reading at this speed because Spritz Reader tells me so.

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A rant about calendars

Whenever I send people an email, chances are it either arrives in their inboxes or, in a small minority of cases, their spam filters reroute it to their spam boxes. One or the other. Emails just don’t get lost in transit. I’d expect the same thing to happen with

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