Dictation as a Tool to Increase Productivity
How dictation became part of my everyday workflow, reducing friction and helping me focus on what I want to say.
September 6, 2026 · Dictation · About 3 min read
I didn't realize how much I would enjoy using dictation until I started working with Claude Code and, eventually, AI tools in general on my Mac.
I think the chat interface is what changed things for me. When I'm talking to an AI, it's much easier to hit a button and start talking than to worry about typing everything neatly, getting the punctuation right, or constantly checking what I've written on the screen.
Eventually, I realized that dictation wasn't just an accessibility feature or a replacement for typing. It was actually making me more productive.
Finding the Right Tool
I've tried several approaches.
The Mac has built-in dictation, and it's okay. For a while, I also used Wispr Flow. I liked having a more capable dictation tool, but ultimately I couldn't justify paying that much for a dictation service. I also didn't particularly like how it worked on the iPhone. Some of that may be because of Apple's security restrictions, but the experience felt awkward to me.
Then I discovered something almost by accident.
The ChatGPT Mac app includes a speech-to-text feature that can be used while working in other Mac apps.
That's what I'm using to create this Note.
I'm sitting in Apple Notes and simply talking. Instead of concentrating on typing, spelling, punctuation, and constantly checking the screen, I can concentrate on what I'm trying to say.
For me, that's the important part.
Removing Friction
Dictation lets me produce a large amount of information very quickly without some of the visual and physical friction that comes with typing and reviewing everything on screen.
It also works especially well with AI.
I don't have to formulate the perfect prompt before I start. I can talk through an idea, explain what I'm thinking, correct myself, add details as they occur to me, and let the AI help organize the result afterward.
That's increasingly becoming part of my workflow: talk first, clean it up later.
What About the iPhone?
I haven't found an iPhone solution that I like nearly as much.
For now, I mostly use the microphone button built into the standard iPhone keyboard. It isn't as polished as some of the AI-enhanced dictation tools I've used on the Mac, but it's good enough for the shorter messages and sentences I'm usually writing on my phone.
And sometimes good enough is exactly what I need.
The Bigger Lesson
I originally thought of dictation as something you use when typing is difficult.
Now I think about it differently.
Sometimes speaking is simply a better input method.
For someone dealing with low vision, it can reduce the amount of time spent checking text on a screen. But even beyond accessibility, being able to talk through an idea naturally can remove a surprising amount of friction.
This entire SightForward Note started as a brain dump.
I talked. The computer captured it. Then AI helped turn those thoughts into something worth sharing.
That's a workflow I expect I'll be using a lot more.