Notezilla - Sticky Notes for Windows

Notezilla Sticky Notes offers a 30-day, full-functioning trial of their sticky note software. As an author, to keep track of tasks, and then on top of that, those real-life paper sticky notes, I welcomed the trial period of the software.

Digital sticky notes for which you can add check list features, reminders, etc., with the ease of a click of the mouse...a most welcome tool!

On different notes, in different colors and in even in different styles (skins), I keep track of my To Do Lists. On one, I track my household tasks, while on another, I list grocery items and cleaning supplies.

With a busy schedule, I welcome tools that help me maintain focus, assist me with staying on target, and that provide a satisfying record of completion.

The non-cloud version of Notezilla for Windows is sold at a reasonable price and has been more than worth cost in helping me stay on task. It's a simple, visual method that mimics an old school reminder method in a new, elegantly digital way.

Listen to Me Now! (Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Software)

Hearing my story read back to me has been a phenomenal help to my story crafting! The suggestion that I read my writing out loud has always caused me a great deal of discomfort; therefore, having the software Dragon NaturallySpeaking read the paragraphs to me works quite well.

Why is it the one thing you dread, resist, fear, dislike and avoid, is THE one thing that you need to do the most to succeed in your goal?
After hearing my voice on a tape recorder years ago, I have avoided reading aloud.

Hearing myself made me cringe and flush hot with shame and embarrassment. The tinny high-pitched nasal-sounding me that talked into the microphone ran for the hills and hasn't been seen since.

No matter how hard I try. I can't seem to overcome that fear. If I try to read aloud, my revising stalls out completely. Instead, I am using Dragon SpeaksNaturally software. The Read That (Test to speech) feature reads back paragraphs at a time.

Earlier on, I listen and make edits to flesh out the first draft, then later toward the end of the revision stage, the voice reading back to me helps me to vary sentence structure and adjust the sound of the word flow.

As the voice reads, I follow along in the text and make edits as needed. If I need to stop the voice, I press the Esc key, make more extensive edits, then select the text and either click on Audio, then Read That or say, "Select next four paragraphs" then "Read That" into the headset.

Hearing the flow of the words in the story had taken my writing to a new level. I highly recommend the Reading Aloud advice, but if that's not possible, Dragon SpeaksNaturally is the next best thing!

A Different Kind of Freedom

This blog post could be titled, How a $10 Internet Blocking Productivity Software Changed My Life, but I thought, Nah, too pretentious.

From 15 minutes up to 480 minutes (8 hours), Freedom software blocks your computer from accessing the Internet. You can still use all of the other functions on your computer -- just no Internet access during the time Freedom is activated.

And during that time, I am free from distraction and am able to focus on writing. No social networking, no email checking, no surfing the net. Just me and a blank page. No getting back on the Internet UNTIL the time I set expires (unless I reboot my computer). 

"Your book. Your grades. Your goals.
Your time is too valuable to waste. For the cost of two lattes, Freedom will help you fight evil distractions so you can get your work done." (from the Freedom website)

For those self-determined time-frames I am free -- to write.

Thank you, Freedom, and Happy Fourth of July to all!