There’s a new self-help book out that says you can make a big change in your life by making one small change per week. That got me thinking what a list of small changes like that might be for a writer. Rather than hitting you with all of them at once, I’ll stick to the spirit of the thing and suggest one per week.
1: What's on your computer screen right now? There's a good chance that in addition to the window with this blog in it there are folders, files, icons of your various programs or apps...it's crowded on there and all of those images have a little string to your attention....which they pull while you're writing. Worst of all, of course, are icons that flash when you have a new email, or windows streaming Twitter or Facebook notifications.
The solution is a simple program that block out all of these and shows you only the words you are writing, on a white, black, or green background.
For Windows, try DarkRoom (free from they.misled.us/dark-room).
For Mac, try WhiteRoom ($9.99, hogsbaysoftware.com).
Some, like Writer (free; writer.bighugelabs.com) and DarkCopy (free; www.darkcopy.com) are web-based so they work with either system.
Check these out to see which you like best, or extend the search by Googling "full screen writing" because there are lots more. I suggest you choose one that has only the few functions you use all the time, otherwise you'll defeat the purpose.
Why not join me in a grand experiment and implement each tip each week? All of the tips are for making simple, quick changes but their cumulative effect can be huge.
(If you want more tips, get my book, "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done," published by Pearson and available now from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)
