My terrible spelling at work

[bluebeach]

I’m finding this so embarrassing. I have a creative job which isn’t public facing, (thank goodness). It’s pretty frantic with tight deadlines and lots of internal emails are sent throughout the day. When I flick back through my emails and messages I am making so many silly spelling errors. Misspelling easy words, missing the last letter of words or whole words entirely. I look like a complete idiot.
I know the answer is to slow down and check emails but even when I do this, the errors slip through. Sometimes I think this is early on-set dementia, or dyslexia in some form, but mainly I think I’m just stressed and tired. Can anyone empathise?

How old are you? I think peri menopause and brain fog type symptoms has made my spelling and typing worse. I’m forever reading things back and cringing.

Is spell check turned on, so every misspelt word has a red line under it? If not, that's your first port of call.

I agree with pp re peri though. My spelling is definitely worse now (it's always been really good).

Stress can be a massive factor in how the brain processes information, too much 'stuff' being processed easily leads to overload. It's like a jug under a running tap, the water can't be contained in the jug so it pours over the side and is essentially lost.
An overloaded brain has a similar impact on what and how we write so letters in words can end up missing or the wrong way round.
it could also be dyslexia, more information on adult dyslexia here:
https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/adults/am-i-dyslexic/diagnosis
Sending hugs OP x

If it is stressing you, then I would take a deep breath or two or three and reread very slowly before sending. You could regard it as a mindfulness moment, a chance to slow down and do a bit of self-care.
It would only take seconds so wouldn't impact on productivity.
I have the opposite problem, as a result of the same sort of stress. I agonise before clicking send, in case I have done something wrong or embarrassing.
I make a lot of errors. I don't think it is just a deterioration in my spelling ability; it is also something to do with how the spelling part of my brain communicates with my typing fingers. That has got worse in recent years and I am pretty sure it is the result of anxiety and stress, which make us hurry along at double speed - and actually slow down our performance because the haste leaves chaos in its wake.
It is even more embarrassing for me as I am an editor. The number of times my rushing fingers have mistyped "proofread"!!

internal emails don’t have to be perfect. As long as I can I’d rest and what a colleague is saying I wouldn’t give it a second thought.

Don’t be embarrassed. I have a first in English lit and draft contracts often but I still sometimes spot spag errors in my emails.

Do you have time to run spell check before the longer emails?

There’s that company beginning with a G that has constant ads on Youtube, not sure if they are any actual help or just a glorified spell checker.

I installed this on my work PC and it will flag those errors for you. https://www.grammarly.com/

It's called Grammarly. I use the free version. It also notices when works are spelt correctly but used incorrectly, ie writing 'send' instead of 'sent'. I find it really helpful.

Came to suggest Grammarly.

Write your email.

open up chat gpt. Type

“please check for spelling and grammar in uk/us english”: <paste emails here>

orher useful command words “rewrite more formal/informal”.

try it

Do you use Outlook?

If so click file > Options > Mail and tick "always check spelling before sending"

It saves me daily, I don't know why it's not on as default!

Yeah this. Takes seconds. You can even ask chatgpt to make it concise or punchier etc

Surely there's a piece of software available to fix this issue. You want more than a spell checker, you probably want a spell checker with auto correct turned on.

Perhaps something like Grammarly and then you build a second step into any written communication where you check Grammarly's suggestions before classing it as complete?

Or a piece of software similar to that where you can block submission of whatever the text is and/or it prompts you to consciously accept or change the mistakes 🤔

There really must be a software solution to this problem.

Auto correct would be a nightmare. It changes daft but understandable errors (that colleagues can probably interpret fine and don't much care about )into freewheeling nonsense.

Y get the software

Surely all email software has a spell check? Mine highlights it red as a type, and I get a blue line for grammar.