We’ve talked a lot about how TextExpander benefits a huge array of workers here on the blog. We’ve covered everyone from salespeople, to medics, to therapists, to writers, and plenty more. Today, we’re setting aside industry specifics to ask: how can TextExpander support workers with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD?
We partnered with Take Control ADHD for their Introduction to TextExpander webinar. We love hosting webinars, both here on our site and in partnership with teams like Take Control ADHD. In our introduction session, TextExpander’s own Vic Martinez led a guide to TextExpander basics, while host Pete Wright shared how TextExpander specifically supports workers with ADHD. It was a great chat and one we definitely recommend giving it a watch when you can!
Today, we’re expanding on some of Pete’s points about why TextExpander can be valuable to workers with ADHD. Be prepared to take notes as these focus-enhancing tips translate to just about anyone. Enjoy!
How Can TextExpander Support Workers With ADHD?
You can write something well once, and then reuse it
Is writing copy not your forte? Maybe you find sending the same message over and again can lead to you losing focus? If this is the case for you, TextExpander’s Snippet functionality could make a world of difference. Instead of writing the same customer support response or colleague reply every time, make a Snippet for it. So often our minds can wander when we find a task, especially a repetitive one, boring or taxing to do. Keep on track by having a library of Snippets on hand that eliminate opportunities for your mind to wander.
Avoid getting distracted by your inbox
So many of us, with and without ADHD, find our inboxes distracting. Often, you go to your emails to find a piece of information, perhaps an address or phone number. Fifteen, 30, or maybe even 60 minutes later, you realize you’re way off track and that opening your inbox sent you off into a tailspin of tangents.
Rather than going back and forth to old emails to access contact details or other important information, create a Snippet. In TextExpander you can organize your Snippets into different groups to categorize and label them. You could try creating groups for:
- Snippets that relate to each client you have contact with
- Any personal typos you make consistently
- Contact details for yourself and anyone else you encounter regularly
- Key dates that are coming up for you, like your next big work deadline, event date, annual leave, or office trip out
In short, any time you find yourself going to your inbox to look something up, instead store that information in TextExpander and avoid that slog to your emails in the future.
Stay focused by creating templates for documents you use regularly
Here’s another scenario for you: for every meeting, you use the same agenda. You open Google Docs to copy and paste the last agenda’s format afresh, but get distracted by the shared Doc your co-worker has left feedback for you on. Maybe in the process of copying and pasting, you spot an agenda point from last week about checking the stats for a client’s latest marketing campaign. You don’t need to check the campaign, but you do it quickly anyway. Suddenly, you’ve lost track and aren’t even close to starting your meeting agenda because you quickly scheduled a Tweet for the client instead.
The alternative? Create an agenda template Snippet in TextExpander. Rather than opening an old document and getting distracted, hit your speedy abbreviation and let TextExpander do the rest.
Why not set up templates for:
- Meeting agendas
- Performance reviews
- Client contracts
- Pitch emails
- Social media posts
- Podcast notes
- Client consultation questionnaires
- Customer feedback requests
- Invoice terms, and anything else you use on a regular basis
Eliminate errors and keep your workflows consistent every time
Humans are notoriously terrible at repetitive work. The beauty of TextExpander is that you have to do something well once, and then the Snippets you create will take care of the rest.
- How many times have you fumbled copying and pasting a URL because you missed a character?
- How often have you got a date wrong for an upcoming event because you were asked so many times?
- Have you ever typoed a co-worker’s, client’s, or brand’s name?
You can create Snippets that address all of these scenarios in your TextExpander library. As a customer support operative, you can give the same, accurate answers with a few keystrokes. As an academic, you can explain students’ repeat queries in seconds.
When thinking about your workflows, you can link and layer multiple Snippets together in one, so that the big feedback Snippet you use to send emails as a manager syncs with all the other Snippets that feed into it. We have fill-in field options that include Pop-Up Menus and Optional Sections that are perfect for streamlining a full workflow.
“Circumvent distraction” with speedy Snippets
This quote is pulled directly from Pete in the webinar, and we love how he describes distraction and “the ADHD brain.” According to Pete, the speed that he can access information with TextExpander is fast enough to avoid getting distracted. He calls it a game of telephone with his brain, where his original goal and his current workflow can diverge and get distorted, but using a speedy Snippet keeps him on track. This he says is especially valuable for boring, repetitive tasks.
If you’ve not seen it yet, do head over to watch our Introduction to TextExpander webinar with Take Control ADHD. You’ll find tips that will help anyone wanting to focus and get more done with their day.
Takeaways
- Reuse copy that works well by creating a Snippet anytime you write something work repeating.
- Avoid getting distracted by your inbox, by building Snippets for any information you go to your emails for multiple times.
- Create Groups for the Snippets related to each client, the personal typos you make consistently, contact details, and key dates that are coming up for you.
- Create templates for any documents you use repeatedly, like meeting agendas, feedback emails, customer feedback requests, invoice terms, and more.
- Humans are poor at repetitive work, so create Snippets to avoid messing up a URL or name of a person or brand.
- Circumvent distraction by not giving your brain enough time to get distracted. Snippets can be triggered before you even realize there’s a chance to go off track.
- Don’t miss the Introduction to TextExpander webinar with Take Control ADHD if you’ve not watched it already.
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