Top 4 Productivity Apps for Writers
Hello, Writers!
Are you struggling to keep on top of your to-do list or even just, to get things done? Perhaps it’s just old age talking, but every year we attempt to fit more things into our lives. We try to have it all, and as a result, we turn to the latest trends in productivity to help us achieve our goals. Sound familiar? If you’re trying to get more done in the same amount of time, then you’ve probably tried many different products with not much success. So, before you buy or download another product, I want to share with you, my top four productivity apps for writers.
Just for the sake of clarity, I’m not sponsored by any of these apps. I use these apps almost every day for the last year to manage my writing projects. I’m sharing this to help you decide whether using these apps is right for you.
So, let’s get started.
#1. Strides
I use this to develop daily habits and to access whether I am falling off the band waggon. It’s worked well for creating a daily writing habit, a reading habit, and working out. Using Strides to develop habits works extremely well if you don’t turn off the reminders. I’ve turned off the reminders for my writing habit in Strides, and I have struggled with inconsistency. My only complaint is that it’s still not available for Android users, strides did mention they were ‘working’ on an Android version, but it’s been almost three years since this was mentioned in the comments section of a blog. But, there is a web version available, here.
#2. Todoist (Premium)
Todoist is an app available for mobile and the web. I use both on a daily basis. However, I would like to point out that I use the web version more than the mobile unless I am working offsite at a cafe or at Google with Roland. As the name suggests, this app is a daily to-do list management system. I purchased the premium version because it gives you access to a few extra features. These extra features include importing a list of tasks into a project.
This productivity app contains the ability to manage your to-do list according to project type. As you can see in the pictures below, I’ve separated my to-do list according to projects like business tasks, writing, novels, youtube channel, podcast, and many others. The premium version of Todoist can turn a project to-do list into a template. This template feature means you can upload the template as a list instead of writing out the same list of items every week or month. Todoist is great for projects that I frequently do, like video editing, and writing fiction, where I essentially perform the same tasks every time.
#3. Evernote (Premium)
I’m a huge fan of Evernote, and just like Todoist, I’ve purchased the premium edition which gives the extra benefit of space. In Evernote, I organise ideas and other aspects of my business. I write out notes for my youtube videos, blog posts, live streams, webinars, my thriller novel podcast, and story ideas. The iPhone app has a feature which allows you to make notebooks available offline, which means I can work on the tube and sync the notes when I have access to wifi.
The only bad thing is, it can sometimes have syncing issues where you have multiple versions of the same note or my personal favourite is I’ve lost work on the online version when the app lost connection with Evernote’s server. The latter issue doesn’t happen often enough to be a huge problem.
#4. Scrivener
No list of productivity apps for writers is complete without a mention of Scrivener. The latest update of Scrivener allows users to sync their desktop files with the mobile app using Dropbox. This new feature is absolutely genius. I’ve used this to write my novels while travelling and when you regain a connection, it syncs with Dropbox, and when you return to your computer, you have the most recent version of your story. I’m yet to experience any issues with conflicts, and I haven’t lost any work. I do make it a habit of connecting my phone to wifi and sync all the files before I open the desktop version.
Concluding Thoughts
Have you used any of these apps? What did you think? Or, do you have a favourite productivity app for writers that I didn’t mention? I want to hear from you. Let me know by sharing your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.
Your coach,
Amelia xx
I’m Amelia. When I’m not hosting the Authorpreneur Podcast™️ and the Book Nerd Podcasts, I write Mystery Novels under the pen name A. D. Hay. And, I’m the author of Suspicion, the Lawn, and the Candidate.
On this blog, I help new writers to finish their first draft, prepare their manuscripts for professional editing, and when they get stuck in the first draft phase or are confused about the revision process.
Right now, I’m editing and preparing my soon to be published mystery novels, Suspicion, Duplicity, 24 Hours, and Immunity for publication.
