By far one of my favorite time-saving tools is the speech recognition program Dragon Naturally Speaking. I have been using Dragon for years and really love it. I pay for upgrades periodically, but through the updates Dragon retains my User Profile, so recognition has gotten better and better over time. And frankly, so has my dictating – I have been doing it long enough not to get brainlock when I turn the microphone on.

When I am simply editing a document, Dragon is not as fast as the keyboard and mouse, but when I need to develop a lengthy bit of text Dragon really shines. Recently I had to explain the situation in and the prospects of Superstorm Sandy-ravaged Seaside Heights New Jersey to a reviewer in Columbus Ohio. I put my headset on and let it rip for about an hour to get all my thoughts down, then went back and edited the text to make it flow properly. I was really pleased with the final result.

Next week: An accessory that makes Dragon work even better.