“Tana is insane — it generates incredible insights and content ideas from my calls and meetings without me having to do a thing.”Ali Abdaal
Best selling author of Feel-Good Productivity
Five Voice-Based Workflows to Try in 2025
Because no one needs more screen time
160 years after the first commercial typewriter we're still tethered to keyboards. Yes, we use phones to check statuses, but when producing output we're still typing away in front of our screens. With the advent of LLMs, is this still necessary? Voice-based workflows are emerging as a powerful alternative, offering the freedom to work while on the move, enhancing productivity, and reducing screen time.The output you get from audio has drastically improved the past few years. Moving from plain recordings to transcripts, to summaries and now to structured content and artifacts. This means you can do real work without typing.
Here are some of our favorite voice-based workflows to try in 2025.
Here are some of our favorite voice-based workflows to try in 2025.
1. Meeting prep
For the poor b*stards with back-to-back meetings. Now you can use the in-between moments, while commuting, running errands or waiting, to quickly capture agenda items, feedback, and any other topics to discuss.With custom feeds in Tana that information is sent to the right context, so you'll get it in the right meeting without having to frantically search (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
2. Brainstorming on the Go
“It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth.” —Shots fired from Nietzsche
Hopefully not true. But walking outside while brainstorming can unlock creativity that often remains dormant when staring at a screen. Whether a scenic route, the bustle of the city, or while on a coffee run—going outside is an excellent way to shift your perspective and add a bit of sunlight to your day. Using Tana you can speak ideas aloud, and get them automatically tagged, sorted, and listed in an idea table ready for action (or to be ruthlessly killed).
Hopefully not true. But walking outside while brainstorming can unlock creativity that often remains dormant when staring at a screen. Whether a scenic route, the bustle of the city, or while on a coffee run—going outside is an excellent way to shift your perspective and add a bit of sunlight to your day. Using Tana you can speak ideas aloud, and get them automatically tagged, sorted, and listed in an idea table ready for action (or to be ruthlessly killed).
3. Reflections, Reviews and Retros
At Tana we do a weekly wrap-up where we walk and reflect on our highlights, blockers, stress levels etcetera. Answers are automatically transcribed and neatly organized for future reference. It’s a simple way to promote continuous learning, adding a few more steps to our day, and letting our managers keep tabs on how we’re doing in a low effort, non-creepy way.
4. Daily Planning and Task Management
Plan your day before others do it for you. Once you get to the office countless fires and emergencies will magically pop up. So talk through key tasks and commitments while walking to work, so you'll have your priorities tagged and ready for action by the time you get there.
Pro tip: Include your frog (aka your most important task), so you have that staring at you front and centre. It's an excellent way to combat procrastination, or to ensure you feel guilty all day.
Pro tip: Include your frog (aka your most important task), so you have that staring at you front and centre. It's an excellent way to combat procrastination, or to ensure you feel guilty all day.
5. Decision log
We make decisions all the time. Yet most of us rarely review them, even though this could improve our decision making skills. Why? The friction of documenting decisions is pretty high. The pain of reviewing them even more so. With voice input at least the friction is lower. Simply talk through your decision, the criteria you used, and when you'd like to review it. Boom. You have a decision feedback loop. Did the new hire pan out? Was that new shiny tech the right choice? And was the investment in <random crypto currency> a "sure deal"? Be brave. Start reviewing your decisions honestly. Future you will cringe, but thank you.
Bonus. Articles, strategy docs, emails etc
If you’re not a wordsmith, or if you think better by talking than typing, you should try dictating long-form content. Some might dislike the style of AI generated text (not to mention the images), but done is better than perfect and there are a many ways to adjust template prompts and output to get decent results.I got this blogpost by talking aloud during a 10 min walk. Being a word snob I chose to rewrite large parts of it. But in hindsight those extra hours may not have been worth it... I'll let you be the judge of that.
Regardless of how we view AI-generated text and imagery, we can now capture and share complex ideas orders of magnitude faster than before. We are eliminating the busywork of knowledge work. And can get real work done just by talking.How will you use this new super power?
Used by builders and managers in some of the world’s leading tech teams.
“Tana gives me significant time back to outperform as an exec.”Dave Killeen
Product leader ex-Productboard
“Tana’s meeting agent is incredible. We’ve tried pretty much all the other options out there, and nothing comes close to the live transcription and processing it does after the meeting. But when you throw in the custom AI commands, it’s like a whole other ballgame — takes it to a completely different level.”Andre Foeken
CTO Nedap Healthcare
FAQ
- Is there a free trial or a demo?
- How much does it cost?
- Can I export my Tana data?