How to Dramatically Increase Your Writing Productivity.
Creating a system that works!
The calendar hung on the wall, glaring at Claire. She looked up and faced its accusing numbers.
In disgust, she slammed the lid on her laptop, cussed under her breath, and walked to the kitchen for something to drink.
The article was due three hours ago. She would be lucky if she could even get it turned in today. She struggled to become a productive freelance writer between her full-time job and life.
Today hasn’t helped much. Another client’s been disappointed and potentially lost. She knew something had to change.
Have you been in the same situation as Claire? Are you still scrambling to meet your deadlines? I was until I changed the way I did things. Granted, someone else is the first to do this variation; however, that original variation got me to change things up and do it my way.
System for productive writing.
My productivity with my writing has dramatically increased. Below, I will go into what I changed and what I can do now because of that change.
Let me start by sharing the variation and then go into what I changed that made all the difference in the world for me and why. I’m sure you’ve probably heard of, or read about people taking their tablets or laptops into the coffee shop to get some work done. And while that is great, it is not feasible for me to take my heavy 17-inch gaming laptop into a coffee shop. Those individuals did, however, plant the seed, and no, I did not purchase a new tablet or laptop to take it into the coffee shop.
I use what I already had, and if you’re reading this, I would be willing to wager that you already have it, too.
My System to increase writing productivity.
I was scrolling through the installed apps on my phone to delete some of the ones that I no longer use. That’s when it hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. Already installed on my phone, most likely by me, was the Microsoft Word app. I don’t use Microsoft products on my computer, but I know that LibreOffice will also open up a Word document. Seeing that app got me to search for other open-source word processors for my phone, but unfortunately, I could not find one that came even close to what the older Microsoft Word app would do.
I opened up the Microsoft Word app for a test run. What I found utterly changed the game, and drastically increased my writing productivity. Here is a short list of what the change of using my phone to write allowed me to do.
Writing productivity wins.
1 — While sitting in the doctor’s office waiting room, I pulled out my phone and started the outline for the current book I am working on. I was still waiting when they brought me back, so I grabbed my phone again. By the time the doctor had walked in, I had finished the outline for my current book. Writing productivity win number one.
2 — We travel the country for a living. We were in Wichita, Kansas, when my truck started having engine problems. I took it to the dealership, thankful that they were able to get me in on that day. The guy told me it would be a while if I wanted to call somebody to pick me up. I was too far from the house to get that kind of help. I told him that I had something that I could work on, so I would hang out in the waiting room. It was almost eight hours later when they finally came to get me. I turned a wasted day into a productive one because I was writing my book on my phone. Writing productivity win number two.
3 — If I wake up during the night with an idea, I grab my phone and type it into the associated file. Doing so has helped me get back to sleep instead of lying there thinking about the idea. As a bonus, it’s already where it needs to be when it comes time to write.
Do you go out to eat by yourself at a restaurant? What do you do while you’re waiting for your food to arrive? Do you scroll endlessly through Facebook, Instagram, the latest news articles, or TikTok? Why don’t you use your phone to write your book or your next article?
What about using your phone to write during lunch if you’re still working a 9 to 5? On the subway? Or in a taxi or an Uber? The options are endless. Anytime you have some downtime, you could be writing to move yourself toward the dream you envision.
I have gone all in when it comes to writing on my phone. Even if my computer sits before me, I still write on the phone. I can always pick up where I left off if I am out. In less than two months, I have completed the first rough draft of my manuscript. I also use my phone to create my second draft revision. Each time I stop, I highlight the first word where I need to start from if I’m in revision mode. When I start on the next session of revisions, I will remove the highlight from that word so there is only one highlighted word in the whole manuscript. Doing so makes it easy for me to pick up where I left off. I won’t transfer the manuscript off my phone Until I’m ready to format the layout. From there, it gets sent out to beta, and I can use my phone to start on the next book or article.
Tips on using your phone to write.
My wife is also entering the freelance writing workspace. So, I decided to install the Microsoft Word app on her phone. In about 10 seconds, it became apparent that the new Word app is used primarily as a billboard to get you to sign up for Office 365. I couldn’t even show her how I use the app without getting inundated with Pop-ups and things to get you to sign up. I ended up deleting the Microsoft Word app from her phone. If you are using an Android phone, you can sideload the older version’s .APK file on your phone. The version that is on my phone is 16.0.15726.20096. You can find and download that version from apkpure.com.
If you don’t want to go through the process of sideloading an older app, or you cannot sideload because you are on Apple, you could use something like Google Docs to write your books or articles.
One of the most significant game changers in this journey to use my phone was purchasing this Bluetooth keyboard (affiliate link) from Amazon.
The yellow keys allow you to store the connection to three different devices, and if you want or need it, it has a mouse touchpad, just like a laptop with clickable keys. When I fold the keyboard, it is almost the same width and length as my Motorola Edge, so I can easily slip it into a pocket when heading out. The keys have a good feel, and the keyboard is very responsive when typing on my phone. There is no lag, and the battery lasts much longer than my phone’s, and I can charge it using the same USB-C cable. Thanks to its reasonable price (currently less than $40), I will be purchasing one or two more of these to put back just in case something happens to my current one. It’s made such a difference in my workflow that I can’t see myself writing without it.
Since I use my phone for writing, I utilize the computer’s monitor to show reference material. This change has helped speed up my workflow as well. I no longer have to flip between the screen I’m writing on and the reference material. Once I switched to a 27-inch external monitor, things changed for me. I can simultaneously have anywhere from four to six usable windows up on the monitor holding my reference material.
One last tip I learned happened when I was writing my first book. I felt so sorry for my beta readers reading my first book. They were also writers in the same genre. At that time, I did not know any better; it must have been brutal on them.
Each one told me I should not be head-hopping between my characters, and they tried to educate me on what I needed to do better. Ultimately, I landed on a solution that ensures that head-hopping does not happen again.
Each character is assigned their own font color when I write my manuscript. This way, I know whose head I am supposed to be in as I’m writing. If the book has a whole list of characters where I will be writing from their point of view, I create a document with their name in the font color I will use. That document becomes one of the reference windows I have up in front of me if I sit in front of my computer.
I have also saved that document to my phone in case I need to open it while away from my computer. Since I have made this change, I no longer have to spend time going back and rewriting part of my manuscript because I was bouncing between different characters’ points of view in the same paragraph. Writing productivity win number three.
Managing my files
Originally, when I would get done writing for the day, I would attach my phone to the computer and transfer the file over so I would always have a backup. That is not feasible when I am away from the house. You already know how much work goes into writing a book or creating an article. The last thing we want to do is lose all that work. That caused me to come up with a better solution.
Whenever I complete a writing session, I upload the manuscript or article into the encrypted side of my IceDrive account. IceDrive is similar to Dropbox, Google Drive, and whatever Apple and Microsoft offers. Whenever it comes time to format the manuscript or article, I will pull it down from IceDrive into my computer for the final journey into being published material.
Thanks for reading the article. My current way of doing things will improve your writing productivity, or at the very least, it will spark ideas on how you can make changes in your writing workflow.
