Why Do I Format Last?

Someone was watching me work the other day. I was preparing a Word document of instructions on completing a form. It wasn't a very challenging form, but there were many different features that needed to be discussed in depth with some hints and short-cuts that also needed to be addressed.

The format of the actual document was paragraphs, with some bulleted lists and a numbered list.

I could tell by the toe tapping that they had something they wanted to say every time I hit the enter key to add an item to my list of instructions. You see, I was ensuring that all of the content was in the document before I formatted it and it was driving the person crazy.

After I was all finished the text portion, which took me almost no time at all because I do type very quickly, I then was able to use predefined Styles I had created from another document and apply a consistent look and feel to the document. Did I mention that it was VERY quick to apply the styles? In total it took me 8 minutes to enter the text (7.5 minutes) and apply formatting (.5 of a minute).

When I finished the document and saved it, I sent the attachment to the people who needed it, including the person watching over my shoulder…. It took a couple of minutes before she asked me the big question.

Why don't you format as you type?

That, my friend, is very simple to answer.

When I get a question like that, in class or in the workplace, even at home, I always ask people what is the most important thing IN the document. (notice I don't say "about" the document)

Of course the most important things IN the document are my words.

Picture this: it is 2 pm on Friday afternoon. You are asked by your boss to create a document that pulls in 30 comparison figures for a client into a Word doc and you have to have it ready in ten minutes when the client shows up. If it takes you ten minutes to get the data and enter it into the doc, then you are all good – you have the important meat and potatoes that your boss needs for the meeting. He didn't specify he needed it all pretty.

If however you take your time entering in the data and formatting it at the same time, you may find that you get lost, take too much time trying to make something look good that when the ten minutes is up all you have are the first 5 of 30 numbers your boss needed. (Jac shrugs her shoulders) pretty is great, but the data is what is really important.

In reality all you've done is make yourself look silly and worse, made your boss look bad – and we NEVER want to make our boss look bad. EVER.

It isn't that I am unable to format as I type. I know all my keyboard shortcuts, and could format as I type without taking my hand off the keyboard. For me, it's a personal preference, the habit of ensuring the important pieces are down…then I can use AutoFormat features (Office 95-2003) or the great new preview features of 2007 to make the document look the way I think they should be – quickly – as long as I have the time.