Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Archived Post

Be more assertive with this tech trick

When I saw the headline, “Be More Assertive With This Tech Trick” in the Zapier newsletter, I had to click. I was surprised to discover the tech trick was using snippets.

Her solution was to set up the Mac productivity app Alfred to automatically delete or rewrite non-assertive words and phrases when she types them to make her word choices more assertive. It not only made everything she wrote more direct, but also helped her spot where she could write with more authority and confidence. She calls the final product “assertiveness snippets.”

I’m a huge fan of snippets and a happy user of Alfred (as well as TextExpander), so I was happy to learn of a unique way to use snippets. By the way—I have no problem whatsoever with being assertive. In fact, I’m often told I’m too assertive. So I’m making snippets to help curb my enthusiasm. Examples:

Stick it up your (insert body part) turns into: I sincerely hope you have an awesome day.

Ask me if I care turns into: That really matters to me because…

You suck turns into: You may not be my favorite person right now but…

This nugget of info is from my “Working Smarter for Mac Users” newsletter.  You can sign up for free and get free timesaving tips, and more, every week.


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Steve Sande
the authorSteve Sande
Steve is the founder and former publisher of Apple World Today and has authored a number of books about Apple products. He's an avid photographer, an FAA-licensed drone pilot, and a really bad guitarist. Steve and his wife Barb love to travel everywhere!