Do you follow DRY and avoid repeated elements in content?
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Clear communication is essential for success, and especially helpful in professional or technical contexts. You should make your content more visually interesting and easier to scan quickly.
Figure: Excessive copy-pasting? Rethink your strategy and follow DRY instead
DRY, which stands for "don’t repeat yourself", is a principle of software development that aims at reducing the repetition of patterns and code duplication in favor of abstractions and avoiding redundancy.
DRY is especially important in lists
Lists are great to make text easier to digest. By using them you can enhance the communication experience. But when elements are repeated excessively, they can become a hindrance rather than a help.
Words
You should keep only the part that is unique in each list item.
Note: This is especially valid for words in lists, but also applies to different types of content.
Following this rule:
- Is important to help you increase productivity
- Is important to help you save time
- Is important to help you reduce stress
❌ Figure: Bad example - Repeating words... Not following DRY :(
Following this rule is important to help you to:
- Increase productivity
- Save time
- Reduce stress
✅ Figure: Good example - No repeated words by using the DRY principle
Emojis
When a list repeats the same emoji too many times, it becomes harder to scan and creates visual clutter.
If the same emoji appears 3 or more times, move it to the intro sentence instead of repeating it in every list item. This keeps the content cleaner, easier to read, and follows DRY.
✅ Pros
- ✅ Increases productivity
- ✅ Saves time
- ✅ Reduces stress
❌ Cons
- ❌ May be challenging to implement
- ❌ May take time to adjust
- ❌ Can be challenging to maintain
❌ Figure: Bad example - Using an excessive amount of emojis... Not following DRY :(
✅ Pros
- Increases productivity
- Saves time
- Reduces stress
❌ Cons
- Requires effort to implement
- May take time to adjust
- Can be challenging to maintain
✅ Figure: Good example - Following the DRY principle