The four tools that I use for all of my writing
One of the key things that I’ve learned in my attempts to generate meaningful revenue from Medium, is that consistency is key.
As such, I have set up a daily routine designed to help me write five articles each week. There is a lot that goes into that routine — but just as important as the topics I write about are the tools that I use. By keeping those tools the same for every article, it becomes easier to hit the “Publish” button every day.
What follows is a list of the core tools that I’m currently using to create all of my content. Whether that’s for Medium, Twitter, or LinkedIn, having the same tools available to me makes it easier to sit down and not be distracted from my work.
Mac mini M2 / iPad Pro
The majority of my writing takes place at my desk on an M2 Mac mini.
However, I find that changing my writing environment can help both with productivity and writer’s block.
Therefore, I often take my iPad Pro (2018, 11-inch) to the park or a local coffee shop. My writing synchs across devices meaning that I can just pick up where I left off at home.
It also means that I’m able to continue my writing if I’m away from home for a concerted period of time.
Keychron K7 keyboard
The last couple of years have seen me move away from the Apple Magic keyboard and down the rabbit hole of mechanical keyboards.
My favourite keyboard at the moment is the Keychron K7 — a low profile 65% board that switches between the Mac mini and the iPad effortlessly via Bluetooth. As such, I can use the K7 wherever I end up writing — even if that’s away from home.
You can read about the K7 in more detail here but the key reasons that make this the ideal keyboard for me are:
- The optical red switches are quiet meaning that I can tap away in places such as libraries without any kind of problem.
- Its Bluetooth connectivity means that I can write on the Mac or the iPad (and switch effortlessly between the two) without any cables.
- Due to the size and the weight of the keyboard, it fits nicely into my Messenger bag when I want to work remotely.
- The Aluminium frame gives it a reliable weight. As such, it’s it’s very hard to damage while transporting.
More information on keychron.com.
IA Writer
I’ve tried a lot of writing apps but my current app of choice is iA Writer. The app strips away anything that is related to writing, leaving a very minimalistic interface.
There are no on-screen menus, the status bar is turned off by default and there are only three fonts to choose from
That, coupled with the app’s “focus mode”, means that it becomes easy to focus on the individual sentence or paragraph that I’m writing.
Once the writing is complete, iA Writer integrates with several publishing options including Medium and Wordpress. This makes it easy to push my final text directly into the platform of my choice.
The app is available on both desktop and laptop devices and syncs reliably using iCloud. It comes without a subscription model, although the one-off charge isn’t cheap and you are required to buy the iOS and OSX apps separately.
Sony WH-1000XM5
If I have a secret weapon, then it’s probably my noise-canceling headphones. I hadn’t owned a pair of high-quality headphones until a couple of years ago, but now I couldn’t do without them.
Once IA writer has been opened, the headphones go on and I start playing either some white noise or an orchestral playlist from Spotify. Either way, the world melts away and I’m able to focus entirely on the job at hand.
The headphones are light, comfy, and fit in my Messenger bag easily. I can therefore use them when I write remotely and it’s at these times that I really appreciate the industry-leading noise-cancelling functionality that the XM5s have to offer.
More information on Amazon.
One last thing
If you found the article above useful, then there are three things you can do to support my writing:
- Hit those clapping hands so that other people with your interests will become aware of it. Hopefully, they’ll find it useful too
- Follow me here on Medium so that you become the first to know when similar content is posted
- Carry on the conversation. Either leave me a message here or get in touch on Twitter/X or Mastodon. I promise I’ll get back to you!