Freedom
Freedom is a hit man. Its client? Your efficiency. Its target? Your internet. Ah! But don’t worry because Freedom is also a doctor and will revive your internet connection when the time is right. If you just can’t stop refreshing Twitter and going on Facebook all day when you’re supposed to be writing, designing, or making christmas cards for your Mom then Freedom is the application for you. Give it an amount of time to disable your internet and it will force you into work, not letting you fall into the trap of the world wide web until that time is up.
Write Room
Write-Room is not a full-featured word processor. It will not help you add pretty letterheads, footers, and a table of contents. It will however allow you to write. It looks like the computers of 1985 but sometimes we need to kick it old school to really get things done. Full-screen, no toolbars, just you and your words. There’s a Windows equivalent too.
Think
Sometimes you need to focus on something other than a text editor, and that’s where Think comes in. It’s a simple program: all it does is make one application full screen. Get those other windows and distraction temptations away! Focus on what you need to focus on.
Those are my three favourite tools for distraction-free writing. If you know of any that aren’t here but are useful let me know. I’m always on the look-out for cool software.
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If you know of any Windows equivalents for Freedom or Think then please share them.
I like to go so far as to get out a legal pad and a pencil. If the computer isn’t there, I can’t get distracted by 40 zillion web pages:)
Being in my own house is always a danger too. If I go somewhere else, I can usually get a lot more done.
I highly recommend everyone to use a software to track their time in front of the computer. We have a tendency to waste time updating Twitter, mail and similar sites several times a day. Thanks to a time tracking software we are being able to see exactly where we waste our time.
Excellent suggestion, Stefan. Do you have a favourite?
I recommend you to have a look at RescueTime, which I wrote a post on yesterday. Without doubt the best time tracking software I have used.