Tools to Increase Productivity

Technology helps me keep my writing and other creative projects on track. Even when I doubt that I’m being productive, my collection of software tools demonstrates otherwise. From calendars to spreadsheets, I need assistance keeping myself focused.

My wife uses a paper journal. For many people, journals meet all their needs. The “bullet” format is particularly popular among my friends and colleagues.

I have tried whiteboards, wall calendars, and physical journals. I end up forgetting to update the information. I forget to check the “real world” tools. They get outdated and then I need hours to update them. Frustrated, I push the aids aside.

The Palm Pilot revolutionized calendars and planning. I loved the Handspring Visor line of personal digital assistants. When I upgraded to an iPod Touch, that was another giant leap. Even my latest iPhone isn’t as large a leap as that first iPod Touch was for my time management.

We use BusyCal in place of the Apple Calendar. I appreciate the “journal” feature in BusyCal, along with its much better to-do list compared to Apple Reminders. In the journal, I’m now recording what writing I did on a particular day. I keep the journal calendar separate from other calendars, so I can show or hide my writing logs. I can also print my writing calendar without any extraneous information.

I encourage all writers to maintain journals or logs of their writing. I recently saw photographs of H. P. Lovecraft’s writing logs. He recorded titles, dates, word counts, places of publication, and any fees received. Those ledgers now let scholars compare his periods of literary productivity against his biography, revealing the cycles in Lovecraft’s writing shadow his mental health.

My logs in various forms date back to 1982. I date a lot of my writings, too, which means I could construct logs of my past productivity.

For our websites, I maintain spreadsheets dating back to 2004. These spreadsheets list individual web pages along with their current status. The color-coded sheets quickly tell me which pages are “stale” and need to be update. For website search engine optimization (SEO), the age of pages matters.

I also use spreadsheets to track my columns, blogs, and podcasts. Microsoft Excel meets my needs better than any other tool I’ve tried for tracking dates, word counts, and other data.

Writers need to write regularly, not “when the mood strikes.”

The great serial writers had to meet demanding schedules. Essayists and columnists for publications also have schedules imposed on them. The list of writing professions with rigid deadlines is lengthy.

Daily, or at least weekly, writing helps us refine our skills. No great musician would go months without practicing.

My logs serve remind me to practice this craft, even when I don’t have paying jobs forcing me to meet deadlines.

Each night, a calendar alarm reminds me to update my writing log. A paper journal or planner doesn’t beep at you or play an annoying tune. When I see the alert on my phone, tablet, or computer screens, I open up the calendar and update the log.

I used to be embarrassed that I needed technology to stay focused. However, now that I’m a parent and see our two daughters struggling with ADHD, I embrace technology as the accommodation and support it can be.

Writers, do whatever you can to keep yourself on a schedule, on paper on on a computing device.