Don’t be afraid of macros. They can be your friend.

A macro is a shortcut you can make in, say, Word (or virtually any program) to automate or accelerate certain tasks. If you’ve never done it before, rather than explain it here, let me suggest that you search the web for “how to create a macro in Word” or on your specific computer. (For example, in a Mac, you can go to your computer settings, select “keyboard,” and add “text replacements.”) It should be easy to find step-by-step instructions or a video that will help. Once you’ve done it a time or two, it’ll be easy.

Well-chosen macros can help to sharpen your writing. They can replace bloated phrases in your writing. For example, you can program macros to automatically:

Change “utilize” to “use.”

Change “however” to “but.”

Change “in order to” to, em, well, “to.”

Change “in the event that” to “if.”

Change “has the ability to” to “can.”

Change “due to the fact that” to “because.”

Change “whether or not” to “whether.”

Change “reason why” to “reason.”

Change “close proximity” to “proximity.”

Change “end result” to “result.”

Change “at the present time,” “at this time,” and “at present” to “now.”

Change “previous to” to “before.”

Change “prior to” and “previous to” to “before.”

Change “subsequently” to “later.”

Change “subsequent to” to “after.”

Change “in order for” to “for,” “in order that” to “so,” and “in order to” to, well, “to.”

Change “in the event of” or “in the event that” to “if.”

Change “is applicable to” to “applies to.”

Change “until such time as” to “until.”

Change “with reference to” to “about.”

Change “with the exception of” to “except.”

See what I mean? You can also use macros or keyboard shortcuts to complete phrases or sentences you type frequently. For example, if your street address is 2709 Happy Trails Boulevard, you can create a shortcut that will fill in the whole address whenever you type “2709.” If your mother’s maiden name is Wolfeschlegelsteindorff and you’re tired of typing it every time you open an account somewhere, you can create a shortcut, so when you type “Wo*,” the shortcut will fill in the rest.

And don’t worry that you might want to use subsequently sometimes. After all, it’s a nice word. But shortcuts don’t need to be your master. You can always overrule the replacement.

So, try creating macros. Start small. Then lather, rinse, repeat. Pretty soon, your computer may not need you at all.