Focus - Leo Babauta [16]
Megazoomer – A cool little app that allows you to put almost any Mac program into full-screen mode (ala WriteRoom) using a system-wide keyboard command or menu item. Requires you to install SIMBL -- both programs are free. http://ianhenderson.org/megazoomer.html and http://culater.net/software/SIMBL/SIMBL.php
Think – Little utility that will fade out everything but the app you're working on at the moment. Allows you to focus on one document at a time, clearing the distractions. http://freeverse.com/mac/product/?id=7013
browser plugins / extensions
LeechBlock (Firefox) – Specify what sites you want to block in Firefox, and when to block them. http://bit.ly/3J3nsC
StayFocusd (Chrome) – Choose certain sites to block, and you get 10 minutes total (by default) per day to go on those time-wasting sites. You can change the time allotted for time-wasting sites, and you can also "nuke" (block) all sites for a time you specify. http://bit.ly/8D2iio
Readability (bookmarklet at http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/, Chrome extension at http://bit.ly/7Dxs1m) – clears the clutter on any web article or blog post you want to read. Removes everything -- ads, icons, widgets, and more -- and just leaves the content in a nice, uncluttered, readable design. Quietube does the same for videos. http://quietube.com
Windows
Dark Room – WriteRoom clone for Windows. http://they.misled.us/dark-room
CreaWriter – Distaction-free writing tool inspired by OmmWriter (above), with a peaceful background, full-screen writing, soothing ambient sound, and not much else. http://www.creawriter.com
Q10 – Full-screen text editor with a timer for focused writing, typewriter sounds as you type if you want them. Freeware. http://www.baara.com/q10/
WriteMonkey – new entry into the full-screen editor field. In the words of the makers: "Zenware for full screen distraction free creative writing. No whistles and bells, just empty screen, you and your words. WriteMonkey is light, fast, and perfectly handy for those who enjoy the simplicity of a typewriter but live in modern times." http://writemonkey.com
other
Emacs – One of the classic text editors (vim is a good alternative, and we won't get into which is better here), Emacs runs on all platforms (PC, Mac, Linux) and can hide the menu bar (M-x menu-bar-mode) and tool bar (M-x tool-bar-mode) in any operating system, and can hide also the window title bar in most Linux window managers. http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/
Typewriter – A minimalist text editor that runs in Java (which can run on most operating systems – Mac, Windows, Linux). All you can do is type in one direction. You can't delete, you can't copy, you can't paste. You can save and print. And you can switch between black text on white and green on black; full screen and window. Perfect for writing without stopping, and getting out that first draft. http://bit.ly/C1pQT
section iii:
simplify
1: creating an uncluttered environment
"If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, then this is the best season of your life."
– Wu-Men
Imagine you're trying to create your masterpiece -- a work that will change your life and perhaps make the world a better place in some small way.
You're at your computer, making it happen, at a desk piled with clutter, surrounded by clutter on the floor and walls, in the middle of a noisy workplace, phones ringing. A notification pops up -- you have a new email -- so you open your email program to read it and respond. You get back to work but then another notification pops up -- someone wants to chat with you, so you go on IM for a little bit. Then your Twitter client notifies you of some new replies, and you check those. Then you see some paperwork on your desk you need to file, so you start doing those.
But what happened to your masterpiece?