A week ago, I switched to browsing the Web using a portrait- rather than landscape-oriented monitor. Although my new monitor can pivot back and forth between the two orientations, I haven’t moved it back to landscape mode since trying out the Web in vertical format. This is definitely the right orientation for all the reasons I listed in my last post.
This discovery has made me question other dumb things I’ve been doing for no other reason than I’ve always done them that way. Here are four others:
1. Typing
My colleague Gary Woodill turned me onto voice recognition software last year. My brother-in-law, a surgeon, had given me a demo of the same software package a decade ago, and the results were so terrible, I suggested he’d have his medical license revoked if anyone ever saw his dictated medical reports.
Software has come such a long way in a decade, I should have realized the time for voice recognition might now be here.
After going through the requisite “training” period, the software I selected, Dragon Naturally Speaking, works beautifully. I can honestly say that it’s now a much faster and more precise way to input words than typing.
I start up the program when preparing to write a lot of text but sometimes forget to use it for small tasks such as composing e-mail. I need to break the bad habit of typing all the time and need to remember to keep the voice recognition software open all day.
2. Lugging around a laptop
When traveling, or when I just need a change of scenery by heading to Café Marmalade down the street, I’ll take my laptop. Sometimes I can’t get a spot next to an electrical outlet, so I end up swearing when my laptop shuts down after a couple of hours.
If it’s not the anemic battery, it’s the weight that has me cursing. I’ll find myself walking somewhere carrying my laptop and all of its related accessories until my shoulder aches for relief.
Ninety-five percent of the time, all I’m doing is writing or working within a spreadsheet. Is a laptop really the best tool for this? No.
I need to stop reaching for my laptop and take a PDA and a folding keyboard on my next trip. (I don’t think the other coffee shop patrons will want me using my voice recognition software, so here’s a case where typing makes sense.)
The battery for my PDA never seems to die, and the setup weighs almost nothing. Plus, both keyboard and PDA fit into my coat pockets, so my shoulders will thank me.
3. Emailing documents
Old habits die hard. I still often find myself working on a document and sending it by e-mail to someone for revisions or input. I need to be better at remembering to put the information in a wiki or in Google Docs and sending a link instead.
4. Spending time showing someone how to do something without looking to see if the procedure already exists on the Web
The other day, I created a short tutorial to show some team members how to edit their Outlook signature files. Had I been smart, I would have Googled or Youtubed “edit outlook signature” and sent them one of many links.
I think this is a generational thing. I learned to do things on computers by exploring. My 14-year old daughter doesn’t waste her time. She’ll just turn to Google and type “how do I connect to a home network using Vista?”
In an era where answers are ubiquitous, being action-oriented can be a waste of time.
