I would like to welcome Jessica Millis to NAG today. She is here to share some tools to help save time for us writers. Check it out and see if may help you with your efficiency without sacrificing the quality. Enjoy!
You write a sparkling content, you have a stunning writing style and feel of words. But if you want to pay your bills, you can’t work more time than you’re getting paid for. No one sets out to waste time, right?
But how many times have you found yourself, pouring another cup of coffee freaking out because your client expects their copy tomorrow. Like the coffee is going to deliver creative genius at 10pm.
“Why didn’t I start earlier?” You cry.
“Why did I spend so long researching?” You wonder.
“Why did reply to all those emails?” You regret.
When you work for yourself it’s up to you to meet your deadlines. It’s up to you to put your grown up pants on and manage your own time.
But never fear. Here are time saving tools that will help you write more profitably. You need to manage your time. Lots of tools claim they save time, but there are many times when they simply add more steps into an already slow process. The true fact is that the most hassle-free and time-saving services are those that allow writers to check and alter your work so that you do not have to. The tools here are very varied, but each one is useful for saving time in one way or another. They all have features that make them useful to both academic writers, students and freelance writers. Actually, these tools are useful for everyone.
1 – Convert Case
http://convertcase.net/
This is one of the greatest time-saving tools of all time. It is a tool that hundreds of people should have created and yet here is the only website that offers it (for free). If you type or copy something in a capital case, or a lower case, this tool will change it for you. If you want your titles to have the first letter of every word as a capital letter, then this tool will do that for you too. It is the sort of tool that seems worthless when you don’t need it, and seems like a gift from the heavens when you do.
2 – Write or Die
http://writeordie.com/
This is a tool that makes it so that you write as much as possible without distractions or procrastination. If you stop writing for a certain amount of time, then it starts making noises and annoying you. You can set a tolerance level for if you have to do a lot of reading before each sentence, so that it doesn’t become unnecessarily annoying. It helps you write and keep writing. It helps to stop you becoming distracted by reminding you that you are supposed to be writing.
3 – Mind Node
https://mindnode.com/
This is a nice tool you can use to organize your thoughts. It allows you to create mind-maps. You can create mind maps to organize your ideas and thoughts and link them together. You can put a number of things onto one image so that you do not have to paw through hundreds of notes to remind you of what you need to write about or do. If you need to remember key concepts, then you can put them into a mind map and save time later through not having to go through your notes to remind yourself of the key concepts.
4 – Word Count by Essaymama
http://www.essaymama.com/wordcounter/
This is a tool you can use to count how many words or characters are in the text you have pasted into the tool. Copy and paste sections of your work into the tool and see if you have gone over word count. It is also handy if your boss or client wants you to use a set number of characters because you can check how many you have used. You can also alter your text within the browser and it shows updates on how many characters and words have been used.
5 – Spin Bot
http://www.spinbot.com/
This is a time saver if you need some content and you need it now. You can copy content from another website, enter it in the spinner, spin the content and then proofread it. You will have to carve away a fair chunk of the content, but what is left is usable and hopefully will fool the plagiarism detectors. Toggle the options as you use it to see a variety of results.
6 – Spell Check Plus
http://spellcheckplus.com/
This is an independent spelling and grammar checker that only gives a certain amount for free. If you want to use it for free you can only enter 250 words for each check. If you subscribe and create an account, then you can enter around 3000 words per check. The tool checks your spelling and grammar and suggests improvements. It is rather good at pointing out dropped or over-used commas. The tool works online and will work on your web browser. The only downside is that it takes a few seconds to load the results, which can become tiresome if you are checking a lot of work at one time.
7 – Evernote
http://www.evernote.com/
This is an organizational tool that many people claim helps them save time. It is certainly good as an organizer and reminder tool, which may be all the help a person needs in order to save time. This tool will help you take and organize your notes, video, files and audio, and will also allow you to set reminders so that you do not forget important dates and such.
8 – Inbound Writer
http://www.inboundwriter.com/
This is a tool you can use prior to writing your post or article. You can check to see if the tool thinks your post will fly or flop. It uses data collected from similar texts and from online metrics. If you are a big believer in trends directing attention without fail, then this is the tool for you. If you are a big believer in the chaos theory, then every result this tool gives is as good as a wild guess. See if any friends or colleagues have a subscription and try theirs to see what you think.
9 – SpellCheck 24
https://spellcheck24.net/
This is a spelling and grammar checker that you can use on your web browser. Paste your text into the tool and click the button. It checks your work and then offers simple suggestions. It is free and very easy to use, plus it does not take a long time for the results to generate, so you can check numerous pieces of work a little faster.
Author Bio: Jessica Millis, a freelance writer, editor and content creator. Jess has 12-years experience in educating, writing and other content related -ing things.