Let me ask you a question, and be honest with yourself.
Do you wish that you could get rid of typos?
The things that make or break your paper, your résumé, your blog, and/or your business plan?
Now let me ask you another question.
Do you want to know how to actually get rid of them?
A legitimate step by step guide for getting rid of those dreaded typos?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re in luck because you have come across the free blog post that will allow you to do so instantly starting today!
You might be asking “Well great, can we just use Grammarly to check for my errors?”
If you were typing on a computer, then yes!
But what if you don’t have access to proofreaders and computers? You need a backup plan in case you don’t have any of those resources and this post is that back up plan.
Let’s cut right to the chase and dive into the steps!
1. Writing what you need before you begin
This is a great first step for any test taker in school or university and anyone who just wants to remind themselves of not falling into the habit of writing something that is incorrect many times.
Let’s say that you are in a Physics test and you are going in for a test. specifically any test involving numbers, and after doing your homework so many times, you realize that you get the acceleration constant wrong so many times that you screw up your Projectile Motion problems and you want to know how to not screw that up.
Now for you Physics geeks, the 2 acceleration constants that you deal with are 9.81 m/s^2 when the length given is in meters and 32.2 ft/s^2 when the length given is in feet.
If you are like me sometimes, you fall into the habit of writing 9.81 m/s^2 on every physics or engineering problem even when the length is given in feet even though that you know for a fact that the correct constant in feet is, of course, 32.2 ft/s^2.
To deal with getting rid of this typo, here’s exactly what you do.
A) First, know your values in and out. This isn’t just for engineering geeks. Memorize them and, if possible, understand why those are the values; you’ll retain it much better that way.
B) Next, the moment that you begin to work, look at the units that you are given. It could be feet, meters, dollars, Euros, you name it, whatever unit it is. Write down what you know is true and what you need.
So say you were in a Physics or Engineering test and the unit given to you is meters. You will immediately write down the gravity acceleration constant 9.81 m/s^2 on the test paper before doing anything else so that you do not write down the wrong constant by accident. What you’ll do after finishing the problem, or your work for everyone else, will be discussed very shortly.
Now let’s say that you are writing something on a sheet of paper and you do not have Grammarly to save your skin. Here’s what you do there for non-numerical stuff, or otherwise known as avoiding spelling mistakes!
A) First, you are going to write a list of the words that you know that you have a tendency to misspell. Google the correct spelling at this moment before you work. Write down the correct spelling of each word on the sheets of paper that you are working on and refer to that list when need be to correct your spelling.
Implement those methods and your typos should drop drastically. I guarantee it or your money back, plus interest even though you haven’t paid anything to me, and a $100 Amazon Gift Card sent to your mailbox.
But that’s just to start. If you REALLY want to send your typos to the ocean floor for good, keep on reading because more juicy stuff is coming down the pipe!
2. Do ALL of your work AGAIN multiple times
Yep, you heard that right! And your money really IS on the line! You will do ALL of the work again for a minimum of one more time!
The reason: It’s the best way to check for mistakes.
Here’s exactly what you do.
First, do the problem just like you would normally do it based off of your existing knowledge.
Next, you will put everything away and do the problem just like you were seeing it for the first time.
You can do this second step multiple times if you wish and have time for.
Now after you do that, you will then compare every sheet together and you will look for something odd.
If it’s a math test, that could be a plus sign when you know that there should be a negative sign.
If it’s something that you are writing on paper, this could be a word that you just misspelled by accident.
Once you found the errors, you will correct it on the first sheet reflecting your exact knowledge. You will not be penalized for something that you already know! How cool is that?!
That sounds pretty awesome right?!
Of course, if you have ANY questions about this whatsoever, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at evan@jointheisland.com or leaving a comment down below!
Let your concerns become permanently extinguished!
Wrap Up (Do you want a real wrap for lunch? It’s on me!)
No seriously do you want one?!
Anyway, you now have the secret formula for getting rid of your typos for good!
If you don’t believe me, then I cordially invite you to participate yourself. After all, it is free!
You receive nothing but honesty here. Lifetime warranty.
Here’s the recommended activity to do this.
You’ll make up a scenario yourself whether it is at work or in a school setting mimicking a test or a scenario where you have to physically write something down on sheets of paper.
Basically, you would do everything that was listed in this blog post from listing the things that you must have in your work and the things that you typically mess up in with the correct spellings or values all the way to the do-overs, and ooooooooooohhh there will be plenty!
When you are doing this, you are making yourself a little mental reference sheet to know what to look out for and how to respond to the situation at hand. A very handy tool to have!
I bet that you wish you had that in school! You probably did, but you’d still love to have it would ya?!
That really is it. Do this as many times as you can and I fully promise you that your typos, especially for hand written work, will drop drastically. Please do report your results of this activity to me at evan@jointheisland.com.
Your feedback and suggestions are genuinely appreciated and please do leave a comment below and subscribe to Join the Island at the very bottom of the screen here for more juicy productivity content that’ll transform your day every day sent right to your inbox, for free.
I’ll give you a head start though, click here! You’re welcome! Thank you very much and GO CRUSH THOSE TYPOS!
Until next time,
This is Chief Islander Evan signing off.
Evan Cruz
Evan Cruz is the founder of Join the Island, the website committed to helping young adults become massively productive and reach their full potential.
He has been featured on Vox, OnlineU, and UpJourney. He has also a cited human relations expert and college expert.
He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering.
Read more about Evan and Join the Island here.