I have become a huge fan of this software: Writeroom. What does it do? Basically, it allows you to write without any distraction. When you open the software, it’s only about writing.

All other distractions disappear: background, icons, notifications, other windows, bouncing icons, etc…

It’s the author and the text! One on one typing action!

In a way, it’s like returning to WordPerfect for MS-Dos. And it’s fantastic. In an era where thousand stimuli encourage attention deficits of all sorts, this program is a godsend for good focused writing.

So if you are struggling to get the words right with that report, project or application, just go to your room!

Oh! And there is a  Windows clone too, called DarkRoom.

PS: Metaphysical bonus: It always amazes me when the top technology goes back to imitate the old. In this case, my powerful laptop with 1Gb of memory and all the bells and whistles gets software to replicate a text editor that would run in a 1985 PC.

It reminds me the first time I saw a “real sound” mobile telephone, circa 2001. You know, instead of sounding like a synthesized tune, they can reproduce WAV and MP3 sounds, like voice or noises, as ringtone. I found it fascinating, not because of the technology by itself, but because its proud owner had selected a ringtone that copied the bells in the very first telephones of a century early! What a fascinating technological oxymoron!