Is It Really Shorthand?

I find abbreviations pretty amusing sometimes. They are designed to save time and energy, but can often not be any help at all

Some months have long names. Others, not so much. "June" and "July" are only 4 characters. "Jun." and "Jul." are still 4 characters. The abbreviation saved no effort.

Sometimes abbreviations are meant to save time. Using a single character to represent a word is convenient. But the problem is that it is only convenient if you are used to it. I dabbled in internet/chat speak, but am not the hugest fan of it. Typing "u" instead of "you" requires more effort because it is not one of the common words that I have a muscle memory developed for. All of a sudden, the abbreviation only saves in keystrokes, but not in time or energy.

The other issue with shorthands like abbreviations is explaining them to others. If I talk about the Department of Justice all the time, DOJ is handy.  If I mention it once or twice in a conversation, it takes more energy to call it the DOJ because I will also have to say what it stands for when the listener gets confused and asks what it means.

So, consider how beneficial your shorthands are. Are they saving you time and energy? If so, are those savings just in the short run or are they still beneficial in the long run? If not, why the heck are you doing them anyway?