tWhen you consider mobile applications that will help you in the course of your business, you might instantly be drawn to planning software like SmartTime 5, OutPost (for Basecamp), or other project managers that allow you to schedule and track projects and communicate with team members. You will probably also appreciate the functionality of apps like Dropbox (which allows you to share files among your many devices via cloud storage), GeeTasks, Todoist, Remember the Milk, or other to-do lists that help to keep you organized, or even Square, a software/hardware combo that lets vendors swipe credit cards and deposit proceeds from sales directly into an account at a flat rate. And if you (or members of your team) travel often, there’s no beating the rates for international calls offered by Skype (thanks to Wi-Fi calling). But these are all pretty obvious. If you haven’t yet considered what Dragon Dictation can do for your business, you could be missing out.

Consider for a moment just how much time you spend in a given day (or week…or month) drafting emails, leaving yourself notes, and typing up all way of communications, reports, and almost anything “written”. You may only spend an hour or so each day on such tasks, all told, but it could be much more (and it definitely adds up over the course of several days). If you happen to write for a living (penning blogs, booklets, technical specs, and whatnot, or alternately, managing social media campaigns on Twitter and Facebook, just for example), then you likely spend all day engaged in the key-clicking and mouse-sliding that leads to carpal tunnel syndrome. Dragon Dictation looks to help you manage your time a little more effectively on this front (and keep you from heading to the doctor with repetitive motion injuries, to boot).

While you might not think dictation software is necessary for your profession, the truth is that more than authors, psychologists, and medical examiners can benefit from this updated version of the mini tape recorder. When you download this freebie, you’ll gain access to talk-to-text software that allows you to draft emails, text messages, Twitter posts, and notes-to-self more or less hands-free. This is great for anyone on the go who cannot necessarily afford to type in traffic, but it can also save some time in the office environment. Let’s face it: talking is faster than typing!

Suppose you’re putting together a presentation for work and you have to include bullet points. You can tell them to Dragon Dictation, save them to the clipboard, and then easily paste them into other programs later on. You may also use SMS and email features to send messages, take advantage of social networking compatibility to post to Facebook and Twitter, and easily edit with auto-spell options that will help you pinpoint the words you’re looking for as a way to make sure accuracy. You do, however, have to speak clearly if you want the program to recognize the words that are coming out of your mouth. But whether you’re dictating email messages, coming up with ideas for business signs, or creating the next post for your on-site blog, this tool can help you get your thoughts out lickety-split so that you can move on to the next task.

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this guest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.

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