Let’s be honest: getting sidetracked while working happens. You know, the scenario of desperately trying to write an article only to find yourself going down the rabbit hole and watching a Vice cartel documentary? Say hello to distraction-free writing apps.
In an interconnected world, getting off track is easier than ever before. One moment you are checking emails, searching for something online, or keeping the family posted with the newest restaurant food pics or gym selfies. Five hours later, you realize that you have been somehow wasting your time on videos of porch pirates getting caught and William Osman escaping death by a fucking hairline once again. (discontinued but still a good channel).
Here is where things get problematic. If you get paid to write (produce content), these distractions start costing you actual money. It becomes even more annoying when it takes a while to continue where you left off (coding is the absolute worst).
In case you were wondering, forget trying to explain this to a five-year-old; there is no app for that 🤯.
A solution is needed…
What is needed here is a distraction-free text editor that boosts your concentration and increases your productivity. Thankfully – amid the hundreds of text editors out there – there is a category specifically reserved for that! Beautiful, minimalistic editors. Full screen and free of unnecessary clutter. If you have yet to try one, you are missing out.
Anyhow, I did some research and here are the ones I found. They are all linked, but I won’t be going into depth on all of them. This is a post, not a damn novel, after all…
I know that’s a lot of apps, and they all – more or less – concentrate on the same issue at hand. Here are some of the ones I checked out.
PLEASE NOTE: applications are ordered ALPHABETICALLY and not by rank.
| 1) Abricotine | 12) Mark Text |
| 2) Apostrophe | 13) PyRoom |
| 3) Calmly Writer | 14) Quilter |
| 4) FocusWriter | 15) TextRoom |
| 5) Freedom | 16) Typora |
| 6) ghostwriter | 17) Ulysses |
| 7) iA Writer | 18) Write |
| 8) JDarkRoom | 19) Write or Die |
| 9) koalawriter | 20) Zen Writer |
| 10) Laverna | 21) ZenPen |
| 11) Left |
Warning: Please be advised that some of these are no longer maintained and that I am not liable for the contents available under these links.
Verdict
1) Favorite: Typora
Typora is a clean, minimalistic writer available not only for Linux but also for Windows and MacOS. Its minimalism stands out because it gives you the feel of writing on “actual paper”. Focus and typewriter modes are also available.
Focus mode blurs everything except the paragraph you are working on, while Typewriter mode keeps the current line center, which is handy. It also comes with several themes, including a dark mode that make writing easier on the eyes in dimmer conditions . Rounded off with markup capabilities and a pane that allows quickly switching in between texts, Typora is an all-around great application! Where’s the catch?
The main reason I feel compelled to follow up with another app is that Typora is not free. You can try it for 15 days after which you need to cough up $14.99 for a license. If you spend a significant amount of time writing however, that is more than affordable. Honestly, the shear simplicity is what I like most about this app.
2) Runner-up: FocusWriter
As aforementioned, I would be wrapping this article up by now, but I don’t want to leave out folks unwilling to spend money on yet another application. Don’t fret; let me introduce you to FocusWriter.
FocusWriter is yet another ultra-minimalistic, cross-platform writer. From what I can see, it has most features that Typora offers (unless you insist on typewriter mode). The focus mode i adjusted to your liking, and so can the theme.
What I find particularly interesting is that this distraction-free text editor also comes with a “daily goal” function, allowing users to set individual goals and increase productivity. Unlike Typora, it is completely free and open-source!
Closing thoughts
There are many different tools that can make writing more distraction-free. Truth is, while this is a good place to start, the best app is the one that suits your writing process best. For myself, I usually type a majority in a basic notepad style app before running everything through spell-check and then worry about formating etc later.
This article was fun; I found another nifty tool along the way that I will be discussing next week so stay posted!