My Online Writing Productivity Stack: 15 Tools & Apps I Use Every Day | RP 112

My Online Writing Productivity Stack: 22 Tools & Apps I Use Every Day

I used to review dozens of productivity apps when I worked with Thomas Frank. This exposed me to a lot of productivity systems and perspectives. It gave me a feel for what works and what doesn’t.

These days I’m not a tech reviewer anymore. But I still maintain a near snobbishly high bar for productivity apps.

• I don’t recommend anything, unless it’s the one tool I use for a specific function.

• A tool or app “sticks” when I use it consistently for 6+ months.

And today we’re talking about the productivity tools I’ve been using for years.

Let’s dive in.

1. brain.fm

Focus & relaxation music that doesn't bore you to tears.

brain.fm has tailored recommendations for:

• Deep work

• Creative work

• Unwinding

I also like the offline mode for getting work done on flights.

Use my referral code for to get a 7-day free trial plus your first month for $1. (I don’t get anything from these referrals. I already have a lifetime subscription.)

For a free option (and a change of pace every now and then), I recommend the Lofi Girl YouTube channel.

2. Noise-cancelling headphones

I’ve been using these two active noise-cancelling headphones for 3 years now and they haven’t let me down yet:

• AirPods Pro for every day use (here’s a review)

• Sony XM4s for heavy duty use like airplanes (here’s a review, plus a review of the newer XM5s)

The only upgrade I would make? Apple’s Transparency Mode is way ahead of the pack. So I’d swap out my XM4s for the AirPods Max.

Paired with brain.fm these let me transform the loudest coffeeshop into a deep work zone.

3. Tabata Timer

I use this Tabata Timer to track the intervals for my ultimate frisbee workouts.

But lately, I’ve been using them to I use them to run personalized pomodoro sessions, like…

• 2 x 90 min for deep work

• 2 x 45 min for writing

• 3 x 50 min for reading

There’s a ton of interval timers available on the App Store. But this is the exact one I have installed on my Apple Watch and iPhone.

A simple free option: E.ggTimer

• Going to https://e.ggtimer.com/pomodoro automatically starts a timer for 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest

• Changing the “pomodoro” to “15 minutes” automatically starts a countdown for that length of time.

4. Freedom

I first heard about this app from bestselling author Neil Strauss. He called it “the one computer program that’s saved my life”.

I’ve had Freedom for 6 years now and I use it to keep my sane:

• Block distracting websites and apps on all or some of my devices during writing sessions

• Block work apps — mostly email and Twitter — on weekends

• Block chat apps until 10:00 AM so I have my mornings to myself

Great for writers who get distracted by their phones easily, folks who want screen-free time after work, and people who don’t trust their willpower.

5. Timeular

I’ve been using Timeular’s tracker for 4 years now.

When I'm at my desk, I flip Timeular's physical 8-sided tracker to start.

When I'm on the go, I use the mobile app.

I like knowing how much time I spent at work and on high leverage activities like writing and reading. I try not to go over 25 hours of work a week, while hitting 3 hours of writing per day and 1 hour of reading.

I've tried dozens of methods to track my work time, but this is the only one that works for me.

Great for folks who want to track their time but struggle to do so.

6. Analog by Ugmonk

This is possibly the most expensive piece of wood I own.

Analog is a simple but sophisticated productivity system, featuring a set of index cards and a piece of wood to prop them up.

There are three kinds of cards included in the set:

• Today – I use this to list the top tasks for the day in order. I use the back side for notes. Sahil Bloom uses the back of the card to write down and cross off minor to-dos too.

• Next – I use this to list my pull tasks for the week or the month. (More on Pull Tasks later.)

• Someday – I use this to list books to read and step-by-step checklists for new workflows I’m testing.

Before I bought Analog, I used 3x5 index cards on a dollar store stand for a year. This works just as well as the pricey system!

If my productivity system was an iceberg, Analog would be the visible tip of it.

Great for people who have various productivity systems… But at the end of the day, just need a way to stay focused on the top tasks for the day

7. Libby

I used to spend a lot of money on books and ebooks that ended up being duds.

Until I found Libby.

Libby is a free digital app that lets you borrow and read ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines from your local library. Just enter your library card number and you’re off to the races.

It’s great for discovering new books and doing a “taste test” of books that have been recommended to you, like novels and new authors.

The best part? Libby works with Readwise. So the notes I take in the app get saved to my second brain, too.

8. Reader by Readwise

I was struggling to read and take notes on PDFs on Instapaper and Pocket until the Readwise team came out with Reader.

Reader is a singe place to read and take notes on digital content.

And it goes beyond saving articles for later.

Reader also lets you save and take notes on Twitter threads, PDFs, ePubs, and even YouTube videos.

I’ve been a happy Readwise customer since 2018 and with the addition of Reader in the bundle, it’s honestly one of the best deals in notetaking software right now.

You can use my affiliate link to get 60-days free — double their usual trial length. (And yes, I do get a commission from this one.)

9. Evernote

I tried Notion. I really liked the databases, all-in-one capabilities, and clean writing environment.

But at the end of the day, I went back to Evernote for my second brain.

Why? Well, if you have digital hoarding tendencies like I do, then Evernote’s powerful search function is your best friend.

It doesn’t just search through text. It also surfaces query results from 500-page PDFs you saved or random screenshots you took from Instagram.

Of course, the app’s overall functionality is good enough. And the writing experience is meh at best.

But first love never dies, I guess.

10. Typefully

I used to be terrified of writing threads directly on the Twitter. One wrong move from my clumsy fingers and all my work would get deleted.

So I use Typefully for writing my tweets and threads. Here are a few more ways I’ve been using it:

• Saving tweet ideas on the fly in its drafts for me to flesh out later

• Deciding what to write about next, based on the engagement metrics in its analytics dashboard

• Auto-plugging my newsletter when a tweet gets more likes than usual

The only feature that Typefully doesn’t have? The ability to write and schedule tweets beyond 280 characters. For that I need to go back to the dreaded X/Twitter interface.

Finally, many writers swear by Typefully’s rival Hypefury. Personally, I like Typefully’s UI/UX more. But I’ll be taking Hypefury for another test drive next year and I’ll keep y’all updated.

11. Typeshare

I use Typeshare to publish medium length writing.

And it has two features that Typefully doesn’t have:

1. Proven template library of tweets, atomic essays, and threads from viral creators

2. Atomic essays (Those are the tweets with screenshots of posts, like this one.)

Typeshare also integrates with Medium and LinkedIn, so I’m excited to test that out when I add a second platform to my content strategy next year.

12. Ulysses

Ulysses has been my go-to longform writing tool for 3 years now.

When I’m writing 2,000 - 5,000 word essays with multiple sections, dozens of notes, and a longer timeline, this app offers:

• A minimalist Markdown editor to help me stay focused

• Goal setting to keep me on track

• Top class iOS and iPadOS apps for writing wherever I can

I haven’t been writing longform as much, since I’ve been working on my shortform and copywriting game lately.

But I’ve begun working on a book about online writing systems for experienced writers. And that will all come together on Ulysses.

13. Readwise

I use Readwise as a central clearinghouse for all my digital notes. But lately I’ve also been enjoying their Themed Reviews — but in an unconventional way.

Themed Reviews lets you choose which notes to surface based on the book, author, tag, or category. You can also choose how often and how many notes appear.

Lately I’ve been using Themed Reviews for copywriting practice:

• Whenever I see a hook or a tweet that I’d like to dissect, I save it to Readwise and tag it “copywork”.

• On Readwise, I have a themed review set up to surface 3 notes that are tagged “copywork” every weekday at 8am.

• When I sit down to write, I copy these examples by hand to warm up before getting into whatever writing I need to do that day.

If Evernote houses my second brain, then Readwise is its neural network and backbone.

14. Todoist

I used to like Things’ simplicity… Until simplicity became a straitjacket that didn’t let me do what I needed to do.

Things 3 was a great set of constraints as I built my productivity systems. But now that I know what I need, I find that Todoist fits my workflow better.

For example I found that I work best when I see my tasks in my calendar, instead of having to open two different apps each morning. Things 3 doesn’t let me do this.

With Todoist, I see all my tasks and work purely off my calendar if I just need to get an overview of my day.

15. Fantastical

Why would you pay for a calendar app when Google Calendar is free?

Easy. Fantastical is a calendar app that recently rolled out a couple of valuable features:

• Openings to let recipients book meetings with me, like Calendly

• Proposals to run meeting polls, like Doodle

Plus, Fantastical’s subscription is less than half the price of a Premium Calendly subscription alone.

Now instead of juggling separate calendar integrations for Calendly, Doodle, and my tasks, I do it all on Fantastical.

😉 You're welcome

A selection of interesting links & fun recommendations. It gets random.

For some reason last week’s quote didn’t show up in the emails. Here it is.