I'm all for simple structure, so long as following it doesn't slow things down.
When building websites, I like using placeholders on each page to denote where things will go. I used to literally write "heading here" or "image" as a stand-in until I could add refined wording and graphics. Eventually it led to using shorthand. And that's something I use in my writing, too.
One time I was showing a website mockup to a team member of mine. We didn't work all that closely together, so they were understandably confused by my notes.
"Who's Lorem?" they'd asked. "Are they going fill in the empty sections?"
I instantly realized the disconnect.
I'd written the word "Lorem" throughout our document outline of the mockup, but with different formatting—headings, body text, dot points, quoted text.
They'd interpreted the words as me writing a person's name, as if assigning them to complete the section. What I'd actually done was use short-hand for a string of placeholder wording, typically referred to as "lorem ipsum." It's a series of jumbled, nonsensical, classical Latin text. The publishing world uses it to visualize design while the actual wording is still being worked on.
When that miscommunication happened with my teammate, the simple structure I'd used to try and save time backfired. Because it meant I had to explain it and then adjust my work before we could move forward in a way they understood.
Sometimes shortcuts are only shorter when it's just you taking them.
Our Daily MAP Year Prompt
23/365
What shortcuts do you you take out of habit? Are they actually saving you time and energy?
onward.
-dmac