product reviews

Save Time & Keystrokes with Text Expanders

by Mandi on April 26, 2011

source: guz_007
source: guz_007

As I’m putting the finishing touches on my ebook, How to Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too — all about being a mother and pursuing your own passions — I’m reposting some of my favorite posts from the archives! If you want to be notified when the ebook is ready, just submit your email address here.

As a career transcriptionist, I’ve been using text expanders since before I knew what blogging really was. However, as a blogger, I’ve realized the incredible potential they offer for making blogging more efficient. They minimize the time I spend typing web addresses, writing HTML and inserting standard text so that I can maximize the time I spend actually writing quality content.

What is a Text Expander?

A text expander is a software program that allows you to type a short string of text that then expands into a longer word, phrase, sentence or paragraph. For example, I can type “asap” and my program expands into “as soon as possible”.

Although expanding words and phrases is the main way I use text expanders as a transcriptionist, the real potential I see for bloggers comes from the ability to quickly write HTML and type web addresses. Besides running Life Your Way, I’m also the project manager for Deal Seeking Mom and the ad director for Simple Living Media, and the minutia of managing so many different projects would drive me nuts if it wasn’t for text expanders!

Text Expanders for Blogging

For example:

To add the comment button at the end of each post:

<div align=”center”><a name=”comments”></a><a href=”URL/#comments”><img src=”http://yourway.net/design/SITE.jpg”></a>
<p style=”padding-left: 250px;”><font size=”1″><a href=”http://yourway.net/comment-policy” onclick=”window.open(‘http://yourway.net/comment-policy’,'popup’,'width=500,height=270,scrollbars=yes,resizable=no,toolbar=no,

directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0′); return false”>Read the Life Your Way comment policy.</a></font></p></div>

To write HTML quickly and easily:

  • photolink = <a href=”URL” target=”_blank” title=”TITLE”><img src= “PHOTO URL” alt=”POPUP TITLE” /></a>
  • textlink = <a href=”URL” target=”_blank”>TITLE</a>
  • photosource = <br/><font size=”1″><em>Photo by <a href=”URL”>NAME</a></em></font>

I also follow a standard protocol for each blog I maintain so that I’m saving time in corresponding, posting, etc. For example:

  • lyw = Life Your Way
  • lyw/ = Life Your Way: Personalized Solutions for Intentional Living
  • lyw// = http://life.yourway.net
  • lywwp = http://life.yourway.net/wp-admin
  • lywem = contact@yourway.net

These are just a few of the literally hundreds of text expanders I use on a daily basis.

Text Expander Software Programs

The program I use for my text expanders is ShortKeys by Insight Software, and it provides all of the functionality I need for the tasks I’ve described above. Although there are other programs available on the market, I’ve never had a need to try another program, so I can’t recommend for or against them.

What about you? Do you use text expanders? Have you ever considered text expanders as part of your kit of blogging tools? Why or why not?

{ 4 comments }

Choosing a Planner: GTDagenda Review + Giveaway

by Mandi on December 20, 2009

GTDagenda

Congratulations to AlaskaTeacher, the winner of the GTDagenda.com giveaway! I’ve sent you an email!

This month I’m been reviewing a variety of planners, calendars and to-do list systems to give you the information you need to choose the one that works for you. Be sure to enter to win a LobotoME weekly planner as well!

If you’ve spent much time reading or researching time management and productivity tips, chances are that you’ve heard of Getting Things Done by David Allen. Although not developed by David Allen himself, the GTDagenda system is an online productivity program that uses many of the GTD principles and can be incorporated with almost any time management system.

Let me start by saying that I can’t see myself using this program for regular home management tasks. It’s over-qualified for simple list-making and calendar tracking. However, as a blogger and consultant, I absolutely love it for managing projects, goals and tasks, and I think it’s a valuable tool for any business person, especially innovators and entrepreneurs. The program itself is robust, and they continue to roll out updates on a regular basis. The occasional time management and productivity tips they send out prove that they truly understand those principles.

Use the GTDagenda system to set up:

:: Goals
Goals are a tool to concentrate your effort and move you in a direction. Set goals in each of your life’s areas, along with the time lines you are commited to acomplish them by.

:: Projects
Action plans that map to one of your goals. Each completed project moves you closer to the completion of your goal.

:: Tasks & Next Actions
Break out each project into specific tasks (actionable items), and decide what the next action is going to be.

:: Contexts
Context is where or how a task is accomplished.

:: Checklists
Use checklists for your repeating/recurring tasks, things that you must handle weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc as well as action items that may be tied to a specific month (e.g. wax car every April and November). You can tie them to your goals. Consistent, daily action makes things happen.

:: Schedules
Schedules are tools for organizing your daily activities, with exact timings. Each activity can be linked to one of your existing projects and tasks.

:: Calendar
Use the included calendar to keep note of and remember your “set-in-stone” activities, that need to be done at certain dates. Set events, appointments, anniversaries, to-do’s and notes.

To be honest, I still don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of everything you can do with this program, but I’m looking forward to using it more in the New Year.  And I’m hoping they’ll develop a collaboration tool that allows me to share projects and tasks with others as well!

This week, one lucky Organizing Your Way reader will win a year-long subscription to GTDagenda!

+++++++++++++++

Every reader has four methods available to enter this contest (for a total of up to four entries):

1. Leave a comment. Which of the GTDagenda features most appeals to you?

2. Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email. You must confirm your email subscription for it to be a valid entry! Leave a separate comment letting me know you have done so. If you’re already a subscriber, simply leave a separate comment letting me know you’re already subscribed.

3. Tweet the following on Twitter. Be sure to come back and leave a separate comment once you’ve done so!

Increase your productivity and enter to win a one-year subscription to GTDagenda from @mandiehman: http://bit.ly/79kQYC

Prize:
(1) Premium Year-Long Account at GTDagenda.com

This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, 12/26. I’ll use Random.org to select the winning comment. Winner will be notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well!

Mandi Ehman at Organizing Your Way

Choosing a Planner: LobotoME Weekly Planner Review + Giveaway

December 17, 2009

This month I’m reviewing a variety of planners, calendars and to-do list systems to give you the information you need to choose the one that works for you. With each review, I’ll also be doing a giveaway, so there are plenty of chances for you to win! If you’re looking for an alternative to a [...]

[read more...]

Choosing a Planner: BusyBodyBook Review + Giveaway

December 13, 2009

This month I’m reviewing a variety of planners, calendars and to-do list systems to give you the information you need to choose the one that works for you. With each review, I’ll also be doing a giveaway, so there are plenty of chances for you to win! The BusyBodyBook, designed and created by Joan Goldner, [...]

[read more...]

Choosing a Planner: Quo Vadis Review + Giveaway

December 11, 2009

As we continue looking at available options for planners and agendas, I’m excited to share the Quo Vadis line with you today. I had the opportunity to review two weekly planners and a daily planner from the Quo Vadis collection, and while these are not made specifically for moms like the momAgenda, there are a [...]

[read more...]

Choosing a Planner: momAgenda Review + Giveaway

November 29, 2009

Over the next five weeks, I’m going to be reviewing a variety of planners, calendars and to-do list systems to  give you the information you need to choose the one that works for you. With each review, I’ll also be doing a giveaway, so there are plenty of chances for you to win! Today we’re [...]

[read more...]

Using Cozi’s Free Online Tools to Simplify and Organize

July 21, 2009

In the interest of full disclosure, I have been asked to be a featured contributor on Cozi’s Live Simply site, and that is how I learned about this amazing productivity suite. However, they never asked or even implied that they’d like me to blog about the program, so all of the enthusiasm in this post [...]

[read more...]