Welcome Professionals…

…Another week has passed and I still cannot use my right hand. I have to wear a cast for six weeks in total. As announced last week, I will give you a report on my efforts to stay productive.

Having a broken bone is a bummer, but I promised myself I will stay positive and focus on good things to learn. Over the course of the week, I already made some significant productivity gains. I actually made some improvements that I might keep even when the cast is gone.

Here is a list of my productivity adjustments:

• Left-hand writing comes out with some readable lines after practicing a bit, but it is still much too slow
• Left-hand typing works for a few words, but is also much too slow for longer text
• Using the Apple Siri function for a few tasks like making a call, setting a reminder, putting appointments to the calendar and so on is very useful and quick, once I understood which syntax to use
• The online dictating function of Siri works much better than the off-line enhanced dictation function and improves over time the more I use it
• Setting up shortcuts in the text replacement function of iPhone and MacBook is something that I should have done before
• I managed to use my MacBook as the input source for the Microsoft-based computer system in my office, allowing me to dictate text right into word files and also into our CRM system, which is actually much quicker than my 10 finger writing before

There are even some positive side effects, which are quite remarkable:

• The inability to take notes during conversations has me focusing much more on my counterpart in both personal meetings as well as in phone calls. It seems I have a much stronger presence in these conversations now.

• Dictating a summary after a conversation enables me to focus on the real key lines that are worth memorizing. Though I have to admit that I would prefer to be able to take at least some notes during the conversation, especially on 90 minutes interviews.

• Using the dictation function requires me to articulate myself very clearly and precisely and get rid of all these “ers” and “uhs” during verbal expression

I am actually quite surprised what good can come out out of a stupid situation like this. I will keep you posted about for the learnings.

Wishing you a productive week,

Malte

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