Focus! Focus! Focus!
“Let’s be sarcastic here”
Don’t you just love that tool bar you have on the bottom of your PC, or the email icon you have on your toolbar which pops up your emails when it auto sends and receives when you are trying to focus? Don’t you just love it when you have websites open and they flash when there is activity! What about those popups you get from Windows alerting you to download the latest software patch or update? More importantly without the sarcasm, don’t you just hate it when you are writing, trying to focus and you get distracted by ‘ANY’ activity on your computer!
We all have limited time to create, so it is best to have a distraction free environment to allow you to create your own material in peace and harmony. Now I’m not talking about a total lock down, but I am talking about utilizing important software to help you write that all important post.
With less distraction you can:
1. Write faster
2. Think clearer and faster
3. Produce better content
Ultimately you can save time and this is important! Why? It’s all you have, so make the most of it 
There has been some talk of focus and focus writers in my Bloggers Roadmap Facebook Group, so today I am going to introduce 5 for you to take for a test drive. Rather than using some of the more popular or current text editors such MS Word, Open Office, Mac Pages etc, let’s take a look at some focus writers which are not so popular but truly amazing to use.
Take a look at some focus writers which you can use to write like a pro below:
Windows platform
Zen Writer (free)
Zen Writer allows you an open and peaceful place for organizing your thoughts. Zen Writer has customizable music and backgrounds which produce a calming effect. You can even add a typewriter sound effect to your keystrokes and it even saves your work automatically. I have taken a look at this and it seems very professional. It has also been recommended to me by some of the guys in my Facebook group. [recommend]
Focus Writer (free)
Focus Writer is a simple, distraction-free writing environment, which has a hide away interface which you can use by moving the mouse to the edge of the screen. The hidden menu allows for total focus. [recommended]
Write Monkey (free)
Write Monkey is a great writing application with a stripped down user interface. Write Monkey allows you to focus and get your writing done quickly and also has a wide array of tool to use. This program gets some very good testimonials.
Q10 (free)
Q10 is another great focus writer that gets a lot of attention on the web. It is another free application which also like Focus Writer and Write Monkey has a lot of features. It has a slightly different interface to Write Monkey, so it really does depend on what screen look you prefer. I quite like the Green on black look.
Mac platform
OMM Writer (free or a donation for extra features)
OMM Writer is a new platform which I have recently started using on the Mac. It as some cool features such as soothing music when you are writing, also a choice of back grounds to help you focus. It also has a hidden side bar menu similar to focus writer. This could quite possibly take over my from my new writer! [recommended]
iA Writer (currently $4.99)
This is the current writer that I use and I must say I love it. It has a great mode called focus mode where it greys out the whole screen and only shows you what you are writing in black! Check out the screen shot. It’s perfect for writing with a Mac. [recommended]
If I was to choose between all of the writers above, I would probably go with iA writer for the Mac and Focus Writer for Microsoft. Although all the writers reviewed ate good, these two were y favorite of the bunch.
Well there you have it, pure focus when writing. If you haven’t tried any focus writers then definitely give them a try and let me know what you think. All of the above are free or a very cheap investment. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
If you have tried focus writers or are currently using one let me know how you feel about it in the comments below. We could all use a little extra focus don’t you agree?
If you liked this article please don’t forget to share 
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow Dan, brilliant post there.
I never knew that these tools were out there so guess what man, I am going to try all that will work on my PC Netbook.
Thanks for the post upon my blog and now I can even write more posts without the distractions that you have outlined above.
Going to try some now – thanks again.
Gary Watson recently posted..10 Years Ago Tonight – What Did I Do?
Hi Gary,
Definitely try the focus writers, they same a ton of time and really do what they say they do.
Let me know which one you go with Gary.
Thanks.
Hi Daniel
I really liked the WriteMonkey after my most preferred writer that is Notepad.
Thanks for sharing these.
Sapna
Sapna recently posted..Naive Blogger Meets a Minister to help Blogging Community – An Infographic
Hey Sapna,
I find notepad is a little basic for me, as I need a spell checker! I type fast but not to accurate lol. It’s great to see people using these writers.
Thanks for commenting Sapna
Hello Dan, I hope you are fine.
Great topic of a post, writing is often a lacked area of marketers who don’t even put much effort, into their conent.
WRITING TIPS
1. Write for human eyes, not for the search engine bots.
2. Try a variety of programs when writing, as the ones you have listed.
3. How to and step by step articles work well.
4. If you feel you are capable but are not getting anywhere, try a change of surroundings.
5. Have regular breaks in your writing, even if you have to get some fresh air.
6. Adding a personal touch to your content certainly resinates with the reader.
7. Top 10 lists work well, 101 Lists work better
Writing without distraction is an important key in the quality of your article
They are a good variety of programs that you have provided for us
You requested a rhyme/poem.
Here you go.
RHYME TIME:
Dans latest blog post,
gave tips on how to WRITE.
I Hope you marketers know,
that he’s totally RIGHT.
Writing can often
be a tricky TASK,
I usually make me tea
and keep it in a FLASK
If you need more tips,
pLease read Dans BLOG
I recently heard that
there was Snow and FOG
Please apply
Tip 5 of mine,
which advices
to get fresh AIR,
At the end of his post,
He’s asked us to SHARE
Thats my Rhyme for you.
Matt Morgan
Ha ha ha Matt you crack me up buddy.
Thanks for adding further tips much appreciated. Also those rhymes are great Matt thanks for being a reader
I’ve added an ADDITION…..(i’m feeling creative),
He spend some time,
replying to COMMENTS
and noticed that,
many were from GENTS
When he read my poem,
he cracked up straight AWAY
If his readers apply my tips,
They’ll be rich by MAY
Matt Morgan
lol thanks for that Matt
Hi Dan,
I currently don’t have a focus writer, have been looking for an alternative
to notepad and open office…and even using WP-admin Post editor!
Since I need one and don’t have a Mac think I will take your recommendation and
try the Focus Writer for Microsoft.
Thanks for doing the work for me!
Cararta
Cararta recently posted..Barry Explains How to Add Affiliate Banners to Your WordPress Blog SideBars
Hi Cararta,
Thanks for stopping by, I love my focus writer, I find it really helps me. I have also added a new recommendation today called Zen writer which looks good. Just remember to paste your text to the WP admin editor in HTML format.
Yo Dan, you know what’s interesting? I’ve never used a focus writer before but I’m looking forward to this.
Focus Writer kind of brings a tear to my eye, it reminds me of my first years using a computer and those monochromatic screens was all there was out there at the time.
I normally either write in notepad or directly into the Wordpress editor and I have to say it does take me a while to complete an article since I do take several sneak peeks at Google for research and other stuff and that leads to occasionally opening gmail, facebook or twitter.
This has to make me way more productive so I’ll test this out and see what happens.
Thanks for all the resources, I’ll go with Focus Writer for now.
Sergio
PS. Thanks for the linking back to my site man, really appreciate it!
Sergio Felix recently posted..Productivity Hack: The Lockdown Method
Hey Sergio, like I said to Cararta, I have added Zen writer to my list as well, which looks cool.
Thanks for the comment and hope you enjoy focus writing
Try the link now, I know you mentioned the track back had a little trouble.
Hi Dan,
ZenWriter’s another good one and it’s free – it also has the option of some soothing background sounds if you like that kind of thing.
A lot of people also don’t realise that they can use the ‘full screen’ option that’s available in most regular word processing programs, including visual editor in WordPress, to minimize on screen distractions – and the F11 key gives you full screen in many applications.
I only heard about Q10 earlier today in a comment from Tim Bonner – so it looks like great minds are thinking alike!
Sue
Sue Neal recently posted..Writing Tips: 10 Ways to Avoid Editing as You Write
Hi Sue, thanks for the tip on Zen writer. While I was researching this one never came up but it does look better than focus writer!
I always write in full screen mode in iA, I find it really helps to concentrate.
Thanks Sue, also kudos for the mention of Zen writer
Hi Dan,
You provide a constant source of learning material for me
I’ll admit that I never knew these focus writers existed!!
I have Windows running and my favourite writer is the Focus Writer.
Anything that can help you keep focus and maintain concentration is a plus in my book.
Thanks for this.
Regards,
Dean.
p.s. Is there are a focus tool for watching football on TV, one that will eradicate wittering childrem?
If there is will you let me know
Dean Thompson recently posted..Plans and Goals for 2013
Hey Dean, thanks for the comment, much appreciated. I know we spoke yesterday about a focus tool for watching football and my advice still stands ‘Go to the pub’ lol
Thanks man.
I’ve never found out how to make little pop-ups appear so I don’t get any! I do have some tabs open while I write, as you say, references I’ve researched for the post and I always have dictionary.com open to be sure if I’m uncertain of a word. I’m about to get an iPad so am interested in the tools I can use for writing draft documents on there.
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Mandy Allen recently posted..Does Your Headline Have The WOW Factor?
iA writer for iPad has a built in dictionary when you highlight the word it pops up with a dictionary explanation. It has some very handy tools.
Thanks Mandy.
Hi Dan,
This is an interesting post, I’ll have to try out some of these focus writers, since I always either write directly into the post editor or in a Word document and paste it.
I usually try to get all of my research done beforehand and make notes on a pad of paper so I have a minimum of tabs to refer back to.
Now If I could just get my wife to stop interrupting me (just kidding) !
Steven Stuart recently posted..(At Least) Six Ways to Increase Comments on Your Blog!
I used to use the WP admin panel at first, but now I feel I can write faster and not be interrupted by open windows on the menu bar. I’m also going to look into OMM due to it having soothing music in the background. This might also help.
Thanks Steven.
Hi Dan,
I looked at OMM – I liked it – but they were working on the site, so it was not available at that point. Do you know how compatible it is when it comes to publishing directly to your blog?
I use Windows Live Writer (it’s free) and I am happy with it. I do all my writing and editing in the Writer and publish it straight to my blog without any further editing or adjustments.
The Windows Live Writer is recommend at WordPress.com. It is part of the Windows Essential Programs, but one can download just the Live Writer, which is what I have done.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/essentials-other-programs
It is good to know we have so many choices!
Regards,
Jude
Jude Banks recently posted..Back Up WordPress, Part 2
Hey Jude,
I don’t think you can publish right to WP with OMM. I actually stopped writing direct to WP with the likes of live writer simply because I have to edit items in the admin panel anyway such SEO, key words and hyperlinks. I’m unsure of any writers that do all of these features for you so you don’t need to login. So for now Jude, it’s a case of write, copy and paste the html section
Thanks fr your comments Jude, much appreciated.
Hey Dan
I use Q10 a lot when I’m writing. It really helps me with concentration and focus.
I stopped using it for a while and just went with the full screen option on WordPress but I still find it quite distracting because it’s not really full screen. You can still see icons etc in Windows on the start menu.
So, I went back to Q10 last night and I drafted a blog post in record time.
Tim Bonner recently posted..Positive Change Is Just A Moment Away
Hey Tim,
It’s great to see you using a focus writer too, I truly think you help you out.
Congrats on your record time post
I tried to write a post on my HP laptop last week and failed. I’m so used to the Mac keyboard, I struggle a little now with anything else lol.
Great stuff Tim
Great share Dan,
I’ve heard of different programs like this for writing but I’ve never used them. I stay focused when I’m writing, that’s never been an issue for me. But I can see where these types of programs can come in very handy for those who are easily distracted.
I will add, I do hate all those popups and crap that can take our eyes off what we need to be concentrating on at the moment. Urggggg…
Thanks for reviewing them all for us.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..7 Tips For A Better Blog
Hey Adrienne, how are things over there
I cant stand stuff that breaks my concentration, so I guess I’m in the easily distracted club 
It’s the pings and flashing tabs in my browser that get me. That’s why I use a full screen writer.
Have a great week Adrienne.
Thanks.
Hi Dan,
I never used one of these, but I think it really could help. In the past I always used the wp editor and you are distracted by too many things all the time.
I would like to give one of these a try, thanks for sharing!
Phil
Hey Phil, Yeah give one of them a go and see what you think. Let me know how you find them.
Hi Dan
Don’t have any pop ups, so I don’t get distracted. When I am on a roll, very little would distract me anyways. Once into it I have never had a problem staying focused. It is getting in the zone first that I run into problems. But my usual process is to create in my head before I ever get near the keyboard, then when I do sit down it just flows with very little editing to be done.
But I can see if people would have a bunch of pop-ups that it would be distracting. It would be just like someone interrupting your conversation and that would really annoy me.
Mary
Mary Stephenson recently posted..Why Are We So Complicated?
Hey Mary,
I know that feeling of being in the zone! I love it when I’m there, you get the feeling you just can’t stop writing. I wish it was so easy to get there all of the time. I usually mind map my posts out, so it makes the writing process a lot simpler for me.
Thanks for stopping by Mary, much appreciated
Hi Dan:
I am relatively new at the “Blogging” scene and I want to thank you for all the great advice you post here! I had no idea the “Focus” tools even existed but I will surely try them out I REALLY need to Focus! lol………Thanks again.
Mel Lange
Mel recently posted..Blogging for Wahms
Hi Mel,
Thanks for stopping by, I’m glad you enjoy the posts. Let me know if you try the focus writers.
Also, you should try opening an account at gravatar.com and linking an image to your profile and email address. You will then see an image next to your post.
Dan
Good ideas there. I didn’t know about OMM Writer so thanks for the alert.
Distractions. When I write I just don’t log on. It’s easy, and works. And when it’s time to call it quits for the day, that’s when logging on can be done to view and/or answer mail. Nothing is so urgent that it can not wait for a few hours.
But, everyone has their style – that’s just mine.
The best …
Des
Des recently posted..The NTHB Way
I’m fairly sure OMM is a new edition, it should be very cool for the windows users when it’s ready. I have downloaded the Mac version and tried it out. I think I will find it hard to choose between OMM and iA writer.
I like your style Des, thanks for your comments!
Hi Dan,
More of a resourceful post here
I haven’t been good in using writers and so far the best for me was Post Editor itself on Blogger mate
I don’t like the WordPress one much though. I’ve heard many feedback of Windows Live Writer and did try once. I’m not much impressed, but yet I can say many do love it.
Once I’ve pulled the Internet cable when I was distracted but no other memories. Music helps me turn on focus and so far good with it.
I haven’t heard of any listed here, so these are new for me Daniel
Even MS Word is capable of fullscreen mode covering notifications happening in the background, still it’s not a distraction free environment for me as it has underlines and all sort of markers.
I’ve gotta try ‘em and and see how they gonna embrace my views mate. Don’t know yet ’cause still downloading the ZenWriter
Thanks for sharing these helpful writers as I believe many out here would love ‘em
Cheers…
Mayura recently posted..Do You Call Yourself a "Blogger"?
Thanks for your input Mayura, much appreciated my friend. I also like to listen to music when I write, but so sometimes get distracted when an awesome song comes on, so I try to stick to something low in the back ground. Dancing rather than posting is a great way to lose focus lol.
Let me know how you enjoy Zen writer Mayura
Thanks for stopping by
Hi Dan
Nice post! I have used ZenWriter and I love it for writing larger pieces, ie. over 500-1000 words. But for blog posts or short articles, usually F11 (full screen option) is good for me.
Most of my distractions come from my dog, rather than online. Wonder if I could download a solution for that? lol!
Patti
Patti recently posted..Partnership to Success Weeks 6-8
Hi Patti, lol I don’t have a dog, but there are time when I work at my buddy’s office and he has a dog that won’t leave me alone! So, I know what you mean
Thanks Patti.
Hi Dan,
Great information shared here about Focus Writers. I am glad to know about them. To be honest I never used any focus writers before and never even heard about them, but I will try to give one of them a try and see the difference in eliminating the distractions.
Thanks for the share Dan!
Be Blessed,
Neamat
Neamat Tawadrous recently posted..5 Strategies On How To Effectively Advertise Your MLM Business?
Dan,
I appreciate your earlier reply. You are right, the one thing Windows Live Writer does not do is SEO. It can add tags, categories, define H1, H2, automatic linking options, etc, and it reminds me when I try to publish without having done those. It has a full spell checker. There are several plugins available to increase its functionality, but I have not yet looked at those.
When publishing to your blog, you have a choice between publishing a draft or a final copy. If choosing a final copy, it logs you in and opens the blog automatically in the WP editor. So it is seamless to continue whatever else needs to be done in the WP editor.
The only thing left to do would be SEO, that’s true and perhaps the requirements of other plugins on the blog.
I find it a time saver and handy to have backup posts, with autosaves to minimize the risk of losing my post altogether, which has happened in the WP editor.
The only thing I don’t love about it is that the writing screen, though it replicates Microsoft Word as a full page, the writing area is positioned to the left. I have not been able to position it to the center of the page. This means I have to move my chair to the left; otherwise I end up with a sore neck! Maybe there is a way to reposition it — if anyone knows, I would love to hear from them.
Thanks, Jude
Jude Banks recently posted..Are You Making Money, Creating Income, or Creating Wealth
Focus is a scarcity thanks to our shrinking (by the second) attention span.
Thanks for giving us some practical solutions to un-distract ourselves.
cheers, Daniel
Akos Fintor
Akos Fintor recently posted..GanoLife Review | Possible Network Marketing Giant Still in Pre-Launch
Hi Daniel,
Very nice article and thanks for sharing the information with us.I have heard about Zen writer and write monkey ,else i was still didnt knew before.
Thank you
Shorya Bist
From Youthofest
Hey Shorya, thanks for stopping by, Im glad you found something new. I enjoyed your post on Youthofest
Cheers
Phew, I need something like this and I’ll try Zenwriter for my ebook. Looks cool.
Thanks for sharing!
Aditya
Aditya recently posted..What Exactly is ‘Being a Man’?
Hi Dan,
Thanks for introducing me to these great writing online tools. I ususally use notepad but as you said it is a very basic tool.
The more I’m on the internet the more really cool tools I’m learning about.
Thanks for putting this together.
Tonya
Hey Tonya,
Thanks for the comment. I hope you find some good use for those tools. I find they increase my productive writing a lot. Give them a shot
Thanks for stopping by Tonya have a great week..
Hi Dan,
Another great post from you. There is nothing worse than distractions when all you want to do is get some really great content created so you can be done with it. You have given us the answer to the problem here! I never heard of focus writers prior to reading this, but I’m downloading OMM Writer for my Mac as I type this. It’s just what I need!
Thanks for the awesome information!
Jess
Hi Dan,
I came here from garywatsonblog.com where he mentioned your post on focus writers, this intrigued me because I have never heard the term before never mind a program that helped you to focus when writing.
I work on a Mac so I will be trying this out for myself and see how it goes. The soothing music playing while you’re writing, I don’t know how that will work out for me, but I can’t wait to give it a try.
Love learning new stuff.
Gordon
Gordon Smith recently posted..What Do You Bring To The Table!
Hi Dan This is my first visit I was reading Adrienne’s post and she mentioned you may have some additional information for us to keep focused and she was right I have never heard of these different programs like this for writing. It is so easy to get distracted when writing it is hard to concentrate sometimes with all the pop up going on I am going to take a good look at this post again Thanks for sharing Chery
Chery Schmidt recently posted..Setting Up Your Business The Right Way The First Time
hello dan, i find writing the most tough part of blogging because you have to get new ideas an convert them into thoughts and then you right them, this is not an easy process, the article you write needs prooreading…there are too many things related to writing so i hate it . but yes there are some great tools which helps us in writing good, you have shared a nice list
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