3 distraction-free Mac word processors that anyone should have
Every day, we all go through volumes of emails, deadlines, and various other tasks. Because of the sheer volume, it is easy for productivity to get hit and for distractions to take over. Especially when you are working on devices. While productivity is a mental thing, there are multiple pieces of software that can save you time and keep you focused. There are multiple categories of productivity assisting applications ranging from word processors to miscellaneous apps like password managers. These together can help save hours of your precious time. Through my personal experiences coupled with the opinions of many others, I have come across a list of distraction-free word processing applications that are almost sure to boost your productivity.
Note: I tested all these out on a Mac.
1. Flowstate
In education and most professions, a vast amount of your time is spent writing, be it reports, reflections, stories, emails or just writing for fun. Writing is a job that requires a lot of focus and your utmost attention and care. In order to achieve this, you can save a lot of time being away from distractions. As distractions can be just a click away, there are many ways to go about reducing distractions.
One way can be described as literally scaring you into staying focused or not allowing you to be distracted. An app that does just this is called Flowstate. Available for a cost of $9.99 in the app store. It is a great app to use when you just want to write without stopping. This is an especially good app for story writing as it allows you to write a first draft without focusing too much on perfection; something you should trust the revision process for.
Its primary feature is that it deletes all your progress after 5 seconds of keyboard inactivity. This can literally scare writers into the mythical flow state and can prevent them from getting distracted at all because they might as well risk losing their work.
It is a minimalistic editor with no formatting options inside the main page. Hence, it removes another distraction from procrastinating writers. There is no save option available in the app so unless you’re typing for the full length of the process, you will lose your work.
While I have only lost my work once, I found that it helps me keep focused and reduces my procrastinative instincts that occur whenever I use a word processor. (How can you not waste time playing with the menus?)
Overall, Flowstate is a very useful app for writers and can help prevent procrastination and plug distractions out completely.
2. IA Writer/Ulysses
For many people, however, they don’t just want a simple writing app like Flowstate and may want more formatting options. Additionally, some people would want to have more space and time to think and that is where IA Writer shines.
While Flowstate is more of a first draft application, IA Writer is much more than just that. Combining a minimalistic markdown editor with an excellent focus mode, syntax highlighting and so much more, it can be used as both a first draft app and an editing application.
This application can also be used for research applications as it is not an app that dwells specifically upon the forced concentration aspect. Instead of cutting out all other apps, it happily integrates with them and you can read through your notes on Evernote and write an essay on IA Writer side by side.
There is a side library as well on the side which makes it a great application when you are working with multiple files at the same time; perfect when you need to access research notes. What’s more, is that the library can disappear so, besides offering easy access to multiple files, it still offers the user a simple and text-only view.
I found the syntax highlighting to be an absolute blessing; especially with editing. There are a few different modes of focus specifically sentence, paragraph, and typewriter.
I found the bottom bar with access to the most commonly used commands and word count to be very useful. I especially liked the fact that it disappeared whenever you were typing and reappeared upon hover.
IA Writer is alongside Ulysses, the most popular Markdown editing app currently, and because it is a markdown app, you virtually write and format an entire essay, book, or anything without taking your hands off of the keyboard.
I especially love the direct export to Medium and WordPress functions and this is what I ended up using to edit and publish the final version of the article.
Hence, overall, IA Writer is an app that can be used for a variety of purposes and keeps the text in focus without distractions for when you need it and can double as editing software with the syntax highlighting and can be used as a first draft software as well.
While IA writer is an excellent option, Ulysses is fairly similar but a lot more feature-rich and powerful. While keeping most of IA writer’s features, it offers a robust organizational structure and various other features that aren’t present in IA writer.
While IA writer’s feature set may be a little small as compared to Ulysses’, it can be both a boon and a bane.
IA writer is available on Mac for $29.99, IOS for $8.99, and windows for $19.99. It is currently free for Android users.
Ulysses is available on Mac and IOS for a monthly subscription of $5 a month or $39.99 a year. It is unavailable on other platforms.
3. OMM Writer
For those users who find it difficult to focus and produce their best work consistently, there is OmmWriter. In fact, I am writing the initial draft on this very piece of software. Its prime selling point is an interface where there is nothing but text and the various typing click sounds, music, and backgrounds.
How OmmWriter works is by bringing you instantly into a distraction-free writing environment allowing you to select the backdrop, music, and typing sounds. Afterward, alongside a rather limited selection of formatting options, you can write.
I feel that OmmWriter has done just about everything right. Typing sounds offer a rewarding typing experience, while background music, coupled with the backgrounds, effectively shifts you into this sort of artificial reality.
Through this, I’ve found that I can insulate distractions much better and produce work of a better quality. I’ve found myself able to focus for a much longer time as well.
OmmWriter supports export to a variety of formats including PDF, DOCX, TXT, and as an email.
It is a minimalistic editor that can be used preferably for the first draft format and hence the lack of formatting options apart from the basics like italics and lists. While this may be an inconvenience for those who use advanced features, this won’t affect the average user too much.
Overall, the excellent environment created results in an insane increase in productivity and focus and is an especially useful tool for first drafts. Type sounds, music, and backgrounds combine to create a Zen-like calming effect on you.
OmmWriter is available as donationware on its website at a minimum cost of $6.11 or you can purchase it on the Mac App Store for a fixed price of $6.99. It is only available on Mac.
Which one of these should you choose? Take all three if you can. But overall, all of these have distinct use cases. Try OmmWriter for the first draft and IA writer for the final revisions. Flow state is excellent for writing certain parts of a story or when you are trying to overcome writer’s block. If I had to buy one, I would give my money to OmmWriter with its excellent interface, the inclusion of some formatting tools, and export functionality coupled with the cheapest price making it the best overall tool. If I had a little more money, I would probably splurge on IA Writer. Ulysses is best for people with a large budget.
