5 Writing Tools I’m Thankful for This Thanksgiving

Yes, we’re all thankful for our family, friends and animal companions this Thanksgiving, but what about the little things? Surely it’d be worth our while to pay tribute to the small bringers of joy, too.

That’s why I’ll be listing the five writing tools that I’m most thankful for. They may not save the world, but they do make it that much nicer.

1. Toggl

Besides keeping track of your time for payroll purposes, Toggl is great for analyzing the amount of time you spend on each project (it’s a favorite here at bizbuzzcontent).

Plus, thanks to the ability to tag your work as “writing,” “research,” “editing” or any other tag you can come up with, it’s easy to see what takes you hours and what takes you minutes.

With both free and paid versions, it’s up to you whether you want a pared-down timer or loads of extra features.

For a more in-depth view, check out this review from Freelance Effect.

2. Evernote

While computers have made conducting research and taking notes a lot quicker and easier, they’ve also made it more difficult to take clear notes without using a pencil and paper.

If you’re a “handwritten notes” sort of person, more power to you (more on that below). If not, you’ll love Evernote, which gives you the ability to save web pages to a cloud-based file system, write and organize your own notes and quickly search through saved articles.

3. Planners (Yes, Really)

When it comes to keeping track of deadlines and semi-regular objectives, I haven’t found anything to be more useful than an old-fashioned planner or notebook. Plus, what’s not to love? You can buy them anywhere (try Amazon, Walmart or Target), and you can play around with different techniques (like Bullet Journaling) to find the one that works for you. Planners might not be digital, but they sure are good at what they do.

Jessica here at bizbuzzcontent uses Panda Planner, which puts a positive spin on the traditional planner with gratitude lists, space to note what you’re excited about and weekly as well as daily goals.

4. The Pomodoro Technique

Simply put, the Pomodoro Technique is a time management strategy invented in the 1980s. And, you don’t need to take a course to use it–all you need to do is grab your kitchen timer, set it for 20-25 minutes, write for that time period and take a break when the timer is up. That’s it.

For me, it works because it helps me remember to stretch my legs, reorganize my thoughts and take a breather, which all keep me from getting burnt out.

5. Readable.io

Although I don’t use this tool on a regular basis, it can be a big help when I’m feeling overwhelmed. Feed Readable.io some of your writing, and it will show you where you used long sentences, cliches and adverbs.

While you might not want to eliminate adverbs or lengthy sentences from your writing altogether, this can be a handy way to jump-start the editing process and identify problem areas.

Do you use any of these tools? Are there any others I should know about?

Happy Thanksgiving!