Having trouble writing while juggling the American pandemic experience? Give yourself up to the higher authority and power of apps. Make it easy to accomplish by setting good habits, and make it hard to fail by automating things that block things for you.
Focus Keeper iOS
(free, pro version $1.99) | Focus Keeper is a time management app. It sets a timer for 25 minutes. You focus on the task for 25 minutes. Then, when the timer dings, you take a break for 5 minutes. Once you’ve completed 4 focus sessions, you take a longer break of 25 minutes. The app is based on the Pomodoro Method, a time-management technique that claims to avoid burn-out and mental fatigue. The app has rave reviews, and seems to be especially popular with those who have ADD / ADHD.
Freedom
(monthly $6.99, yearly $29.04, forever $129.00 (on sale for $64.50 December 2020!)) | Freedom is an app that blocks digital distractions. I’ve used it for three years, and it helped me avoid the digital quicksands and doom scrolls of the perilous and untamable internet. You install it on your computer, and the app works on phone and computer to block websites and apps for a set amount of time. You list websites and apps to block (and the app will suggest a few to get you started) and schedule time for when you need to focus.
A subscription also includes perks, like discounts for Scrivener and Bookflow, and extensions for time tracking and limiting the time you spend on certain websites.
Handwriting to Text Recognizer
(monthly subscription $1.49, remove ads $2.99, and yearly subscription $11.99) | This app does exactly what it says it does. You snap a picture of your handwriting, and the app turns it into editable text. If you have clear print handwriting, the app is extremely accurate. As someone who has written longhand every day for the last decade, I wish I had it ten years ago.
How much time did it save me? I did the math. It takes me one hour to type 725 words, or four pages. Using the app, it takes one hour to photograph 61 pages, and 2.5 hours to clean up the text (3.5 hours total). I estimated that it would take me 15-16 hours to type up the same amount of text.
However, Handwriting to Text Recognizer requires some finagling to work with your process. The app doesn’t recognize paragraph indentations, and there’s always space between words and punctuation. Cleaning the text is the most time-consuming part of using the app. I wrote a Word macro to catch common errors.
Headspace
(First two weeks free, $12.99/mo or $69.99/yr) | Headspace is the single most impactful app I’ve ever used. It’s a meditation app which includes daily meditations, courses, animations, videos, and articles. Once racing thoughts now drive the speed limit. I can think clearly without being distracted by daydreams. If I’m distracted, I can bring myself back into focus.