Fancy a free copy of TextExpander? We have 6 annual subscriptions to give away…

For anyone who spends more time tinkering with emails, writing project updates, or firing off similar lines of code than actually solving real problems, here’s a little something that could make your life much easier. To mark the launch of Pixelhaze Academy and celebrate our new partnership with Smile Software, I’m thrilled (and I don’t use that word lightly) to be running our first ever giveaway: six lucky winners will each snag a 12-month subscription to TextExpander.

If you’re unfamiliar, TextExpander is the kind of tool that makes you wonder why you put up with typing the same stuff over and over for years. In the grand scheme of productivity apps, it’s the one I’d actually miss if it vanished overnight.

But why should you care? And more to the point, what makes this worth your time, especially given the avalanche of “life-changing” apps every business owner and creative gets pitched every other week? Let’s explore the real benefits, the typical mistakes most people make, and how you can claim your shot at a free TextExpander subscription and actually put it to work where it counts.

Why This Matters

Efficiency isn’t about squeezing the last drop out of your working day. It’s about reclaiming wasted minutes, sometimes hours, and directing them towards what makes your work genuinely valuable. The slow drain of productivity isn’t always dramatic; it tends to sneak in quietly, bit by bit. Typing a client’s address, the same set of instructions for the hundredth time, those standard replies to leads who haven’t read your FAQs. You might lose 30 seconds here, a minute there. Over a year, it adds up to days. Days that no amount of strong tea will get back for you.

For web designers, freelancers, copywriters, and agency folk (so, most of us reading the Academy blog), lost time means lost opportunity. Finishing projects late, missing the odd detail, or firing off a typo-riddled email when you’re up against it all chip away at reputation, quality, and not least, your sanity.

TextExpander solves more than just “typing too slow.” It forces you to pay attention to something most of us ignore: the mountain of repetitive, low-value micro-tasks that clog up our day. Tackle that, and you open the gate to better work, happier clients, and more headspace for actual thinking.

Common Pitfalls

Here’s what usually happens. Someone hears about a new productivity tool, such as TextExpander, and gets excited for about five minutes. Maybe they try a couple of snippets, but get overwhelmed by all the options and walk away, promising to “look at it properly” next week. Six months later, it’s still gathering dust in the Applications folder.

A bigger mistake is believing that small actions don’t matter. “It only takes me a few seconds,” people say, tapping out their standard closing line with tired fingers for the 347th time this year. But saving time isn’t the only point. Consistency matters, too. Every manual email, every code comment, every payment message, carries a risk. A spelling mistake, a missed link, or a line of code that’s out by one character. All avoidable with the right process.

Many people worry that entering giveaways or giving out their email will result in an inbox packed with spam from now until the end of time. Sadly, many giveaways are thinly disguised schemes to farm email addresses. At Pixelhaze Academy, that’s simply not our style. We hate spam, too. If you sign up for this competition, you’ll get, at most, a monthly newsletter (sometimes less if I’m being honest), packed with genuinely useful tips, updates from the Academy, and the occasional heads-up about a new resource or offer.

Step-by-Step Fix

If you want to claim a TextExpander subscription and make sure you don’t just install it and forget about it, here’s how to do it properly.

Step 1: Enter the Giveaway

What to do:
On the 1st of July (from 8am BST—set a reminder if you want a better shot), head to the competition blog post on our site. All we ask is your email address. Nothing else. After you submit, you’ll get a follow-up email to confirm your entry. Just click the link to verify, and you’re in.

Step 2: Download and Set Up TextExpander

What to do:
Winners will get a unique link to redeem their 12-month subscription direct from Smile Software. Just create your account, set a secure password, and download TextExpander onto your main device. If you run both Mac and Windows, or split work between your laptop and an iPad, you’re in luck. It works well across all platforms.

Practical example:
Whether you work in Squarespace, Figma, Photoshop, or bounce between half a dozen client tools, you can sync your snippets with the cloud and access them everywhere.

Step 3: Start with Your Top Five Repetitive Tasks

What to do:
Don’t get bogged down creating hundreds of abbreviations in week one, or you’ll put yourself off for life. Instead, list out the five bits of text or code you type constantly. That could be:

• Your standard email sign-off
• A polite payment request blurb
• Your main postal address
• Standard client onboarding instructions
• Generic meeting notes template

Create a snippet for each one. Choose abbreviations that feel natural, such as “;addr”, “;paynote”, etc. Type your abbreviation, watch TextExpander drop in the full text, and enjoy improving one small piece of your workflow.

Step 4: Gradually Add Snippets for Deep Work

What to do:
Over time, look for longer or more technical content that slows things down: chunks of boilerplate code (if you’re a developer), quick responses to FAQ-style client questions, onboarding instructions, or supply lists.

Group these into simple folders, like “Coding”, “Client Replies”, “Admin”, so they’re easy to browse later.

Step 5: Extend to the Whole Team (Optional, but Highly Recommended)

What to do:
If you run a small agency or work with a partner, TextExpander lets you create shared snippet groups. Set up a folder for canned client responses, house style code comments, or even recurring calendar invitations.

Invite your team, set permissions if you like, and save everyone from hacking together their own “good enough” templates, which usually results in chaos.

Step 6: Review and Optimise Your Snippets Every Month

What to do:
Set a recurring reminder on your calendar (first Friday of every month works well) to review your active snippets. Prune anything you no longer use, tweak phrases for accuracy or warmth, and add new templates as your business evolves.

This gentle housekeeping ensures you don’t end up with an unwieldy archive of half-finished, never-used snippets. It also helps you spot new areas where you can shave off a few seconds, which adds up impressively over time.

What Most People Miss

The largest improvement in productivity comes from a series of small, steady changes. Often, you notice the effect only after you’ve forgotten the friction you used to have.

Making consistent progress with TextExpander and similar tools means aiming for incremental improvement. Forget about leaping straight from chaos to full automation. Focus on reducing friction one spot at a time, and let the right tools handle the repetitive parts.

TextExpander reinforces consistency. When you automate replies, code blocks, or standard explanations, you raise the quality of your communications. It’s much harder to send a rushed, typo-ridden response when your reply is just a couple of keystrokes. Clients and colleagues start to notice. Your quick updates sound thoughtful. Your quotes and proposals arrive faster and look sharper.

TextExpander can also reinforce your reputation. Fewer mistakes and apologies mean you stay focused on what matters: building, designing, and improving your work—not fixing little slip-ups.

The Bigger Picture

Wasting time is easy. Saving it requires effort and habit. Over the course of a month, TextExpander could save you, conservatively, a handful of hours. Over a year, that’s days of work regained. For anyone who charges by the hour, this directly adds up to billable time. For those growing a business, it’s the chance to finish another project, take on one more client, or simply clock off early for once.

Habits built by refining your TextExpander setup tend to carry into other aspects of your work. You’ll probably start noticing opportunities to batch tasks, tidy up processes, and avoid reinventing the wheel with each new project.

As our Academy grows, much of our content and coaching comes back to the same practical principle: small changes, expertly applied, have an outsized effect. Using the right software is just one way to move from hectic improvisation to neat, deliberate action.

And when your team is involved, these gains multiply.

Competition: Key Details at a Glance

• What’s on offer: 6 x 12-month TextExpander subscriptions (worth it, trust us)
• Who can enter: Anyone, anywhere (as long as you can access the internet and your email works)
• When to enter: 1st July, 08:00 BST to 14th July, 23:59 BST
• How to enter: Visit the competition post, pop in your email, confirm via the link we email you – you’re done
• When the winners are announced: Week commencing 15th July
• How often will we email you?: No spam. At most, one or two genuinely useful emails per month
• Are we running future giveaways?: Yes, at least three per year. Stick around.

Wrap-Up

TextExpander is a practical tool for anyone ready to cut down repetitive, mind-numbing tasks. It’s saved our team at Pixelhaze many hours per month on routine work, from coding plug-ins to client emails and site launch checklists.

Whether you’re slinging code, running a freelance design business, or simply want to spend less time sorting your inbox, using a tool like this properly can make your working week noticeably better.

So, here’s the plan:

• Enter the giveaway (unless you enjoy typing the same emails forever)
• Set up your first few snippets
• Give yourself permission to work a bit smarter than you did yesterday

And if you want more helpful systems, friendly nudges, and practical training, you’re in the right place.
Want more helpful systems like this? Join Pixelhaze Academy for free at https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership.