How I Write 3x Faster with Voice Dictation
I used to spend 2-3 hours a day on writing that wasn't code. Slack messages, pull request descriptions, documentation, emails, meeting notes, project updates. All typed out, character by character, at maybe 80 WPM on a good day.
Then I started dictating all of it. Here's what happened.
The numbers
My typing speed: ~80 WPM. My speaking speed: ~160 WPM. That's a 2x improvement right there. But the real gain is bigger than that because dictation removes the "thinking about typing" overhead — when you speak, ideas flow more naturally than when you're hunting for keys.
In practice, I went from 2-3 hours of daily writing to about 45 minutes. That's not a small improvement. That's getting an entire extra hour back every day.
My workflow
I use Bolo on my Mac. The workflow is dead simple:
- Click into any text field — Slack, VS Code, Gmail, Notion, whatever
- Hold Option+Space
- Speak naturally
- Release — formatted text appears where my cursor was
No app switching. No copy-pasting. No editing raw transcripts. The AI formatting handles punctuation, removes filler words, and structures my ramblings into clean text.
What I dictate (and what I don't)
Great for dictation:
- Slack messages and threads
- PR descriptions and code review comments
- Documentation and READMEs
- Emails and meeting follow-ups
- Brainstorming and notes
Still type:
- Actual code
- Complex terminal commands
- Quick one-word replies
What surprised me
1. The quality is often better. When I speak, I explain things more clearly than when I type. My PR descriptions became more thorough. My documentation became more readable. Speaking forces you to think in complete thoughts.
2. It took 3 days to feel natural. The first day felt awkward — talking to my laptop in a quiet office. By day three, it was second nature. By the end of the first week, typing long messages felt slow and tedious.
3. Privacy matters. I tried cloud-based dictation tools first and couldn't get over the idea of my conversations being processed on someone else's server. Bolo runs Whisper locally — nothing leaves my Mac — which made me comfortable dictating everything.
4. It reduced my wrist pain. After years of typing 8+ hours a day, I had developed mild RSI symptoms. Cutting my typing in half noticeably reduced the discomfort.
Try it for a week
You don't need to commit to anything. Just try dictating your Slack messages for one week. If you're like me, you'll wonder why you ever typed them in the first place.