This Machine Will Make You Write More

A product recommendation with a twist

Hello friends!

If there’s one thing I love in this life, it is buying productivity toys. I love planners and pens and notepads and technology and anything (I think) will make me more productive. I’m not saying this is a good thing that you should emulate, but the heart wants what it wants. I’m not always trying to be productive to make more money and feed the capitalist machine, but I do like doing things, so I buy things to do more things. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks to writer-extraordinaire, Gwenda Bond, I have a new productivity toy in my life. She probably tweeted about the Freewrite, which is a smart typewriter. It’s a keyboard and a tiny screen that syncs to the cloud and, most importantly, DOES NOT CONTAIN THE INTERNET. Can you replicate this experience with the technology you have with apps like Freedom, and yanno, turning off the wifi? Yes. You do not need to throw money at this problem. If this is not in your budget, do not stress (more on that below).

I quickly backed the indiegogo campaign for the new, fancy Freewrite Alpha. It’s gonna be great! But it doesn’t come out until JULY! Gwenda! I whined, what am I going to do until then???? Because I am a baby who does not want to wait for toys. So I started googling and I realized I could buy a similar used one on ebay for a very reasonable (to me and compared to the new one) price. I got an AlphaSmart3000 and it is wonderful in all its Y2K glory. It’s translucent, forest green molded plastic. The keyboard is SUPER SUPER clacky, like loud enough that you could not use it next to your sleeping partner or child or skittish pet, unless they sleep very soundly, FYI. But it’s so fun to type on! And there is no internet on it!¹ And it’s highly portable (though probably heavier than the laptop I am currently typing on lol)! And I enjoy it. I have written about 15k words since November 1, so in conclusion, this product will make you write more because it has made me write more. Behold: my AlphaSmart3000.

Except, lol, you know where this is going. The thing that makes me more productive is not this physical object, but novelty and technology (even old technology). I am a Taurus! I like material things! I know this about myself and I am able to feed this part of my personality. (Until the other side of my personality comes to the fore, the one that cannot function with too much clutter, and I sell/donate/divest myself of all the crap I collect. It’s a cycle.) It’s fine. I know this about myself and I am able to harness it and use it for good, at least mostly.

If this is not how you work, how you are motivated, you do not have to buy this thing. Or anything. If you cannot afford to buy this stuff, then do not feel like if you just could buy it, all your problems would be solved. The act of buying this stuff, or anything, will not automatically and effortlessly make you more productive. You still have to do the actual writing.

What you can do is figure out what motivates you. Nice pens? Cozy socks? A sticker chart? Another episode of TV? A extra-long dog walk? A reward system wherein you do something and then you get to write, or one where you are rewarded after you have written? DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. Do not let anyone tell you the thing that works for you is silly, bad, ineffective, juvenile, whatever. They can go kick rocks. You have writing to do (and a reward to earn).

If a smart typewriter sounds like your thing, I recommend it. There are a bunch out there and I’m sure other evangelists will tell you about theirs in the comments. I’ll tell you how I like the fancy new one when it comes this summer. (And Brands, if you’re out there, I’m available for SponCon.) But if this is not for you, I grant you permission to ignore this, and find what does.

OXOXOXOX,

Kate

1. To get your work off of it you plug it into your computer with a plug that looks like an old printer cable and which definitely gave me flashbacks to college.