Free Productivity Tools For Writers Part 2

If you haven't read part one, here it is. Now with no further ado, let's jump in.

Focus Booster

If you lose track of time, procrastinate, or often get distracted and wander over to facebook because you can, this can be a great tool to keep you on track. Focus booster in its free version is basically just a timer that will display over every other application and change color the closer you are to the time limit.  The app chunks your time into time blocks and schedules you breaks, and the timer remind you to stay focused and that your time is finite.The default setting is 20 minutes working with a 10 minute break. I find these 30 minute chunks helpful, but you can set the work and break times however you want, 50-10, 30-5, whatever. Could be used well in conjunction with Slim Timer, a time logging tool talked about in the first productivity tools post. You can download Focus Booster here.

Open Office

Don't have Microsoft Office? Can't afford it, don't want to illegally download it, or don't know how? Open office might be for you. It basically has everything Microsoft Office has but free, with the ability to save the files as ".doc" and other file designators so that your work can be opened by Microsoft office on other computers. The open office version of powerpoint is a little bare bones, but the word processor and spreadsheet programs are on point. You can download it here.

Write Monkey

Writing focus tool. As simple as it gets and sexy. Bare bones, with nothing on the screen but the text you type and a word count, it's perfect for avoiding distraction and typing in style. By right clicking on the side and going to preferences you can enable typewriting sounds, auto saves, change font, toggle between themes with the smiley button, and a more. Everything you need. Also, according to the installation readme "Writemonkey is a portable application so no installation is necessary. To start using it, just copy Writemonkey folder from the zip file to any folder on your disk." You can download it here.

OmmWriter

Another great writing tool to help you focus. From background sounds, to typing sounds, to colors and fonts, this baby has decent customization and a nice setup for zen writing. The main (or pretty much only) difference between this and write monkey are the calming background sounds. There are less options in customization than Write Monkey, but some people like that. Check out the video below for a feel.

You can download it here.