Feb | 08 | 2008

Increase Productivity â€“ Consider Your Tools

Posted by Jimmy as Blog Tutorial, Tips, Writing

This is the last installment for our series on increasing your writing productivity. In the previous posts, weâ€™ve been focusing on ourselves as writers. We took a look at how we think and how we do things â€“ in all cases, the point of view was directed towards ourselves. This time, why donâ€™t we take a look in the outward direction?

What kinds of tools do you employ when you write? I know that â€œtoolsâ€ is a very general term, so letâ€™s take this slowly. Perhaps the major group of tools that we use when writing would be the computer and the Internet. For those who prefer to write on paper first, then perhaps pen and paper would be their major tools. Have you ever thought about how these tools can increase or decrease your productivity?

Take for example my desktop and my laptop. My default tool is my desktop. It is in our computer-study room where I can write comfortably without too many distractions coming my way. I prefer using it over my laptop as I usually write in front of the TV while sitting on the couch with the laptop. Lately, though, the desktop has been acting up and even if I spent hours upon hours on it, I could only produce a few articles. Definitely, it has been hampering my productivity. Maybe itâ€™s time for a new desktop?

Additional tools such as books and software which could help you write better and faster should be considered, too. I like my free dictionary (WordWeb) which allows me to click on a word on my screen and it gives me the meaning and synonyms. It definitely helps me write faster as I search for other words to use.

How about you? What other tools do you use to increase your productivity?

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