Last updated: 2025-12-26
If your job is “mostly writing” (emails, docs, tickets, status updates), dictation can remove the slowest part: turning thoughts into first drafts. The trick is not replacing the keyboard — it’s using voice for the bulk and keeping the keyboard for precision.
What to dictate (highest leverage)
- Email drafts and replies
- Meeting notes and summaries
- Specs, proposals, and outlines
- Tickets, PR descriptions, and status updates
- Chat messages that would take 2–10 minutes to type
For code, voice typing is usually best for comments, documentation, and commit messages — not raw syntax.
A workflow that stays fast
- Dictate the first draft (don’t self-edit mid-sentence).
- Pause, then scan for the 2–3 words that matter.
- Fix names/terms once; add them to your vocabulary if they repeat.
- Use the keyboard for navigation and final polish.
Setup references: Speech to text on Mac • Voice typing for Mac.
What research suggests
Research on speech recognition in computer work generally points to a tradeoff: posture/workload can improve, but productivity may drop for many users until they pick the right tasks and build a habit.
- Speech recognition can reduce static muscle activity in forearm/neck compared to keyboard/mouse in lab tasks, and is recommended as a supplementary tool. (Juul‑Kristensen et al., 2004).
- Observed posture improvements with speech recognition came alongside productivity decreases for most participants after training, suggesting dictation is best for specific tasks (usually prose). (de Korte & van Lingen, 2006).
- Large modern speech models (Whisper-class) show strong robustness and generalization in research benchmarks, which is part of why on-device dictation is now viable. (Radford et al., 2022).
If productivity is your goal and you’re managing pain, see: Voice typing for RSI.