What is your biggest complaint as an author? Is it the piddly sales? Maybe for a few of you but for most of us the money isn’t the reason we write, is it? Is it sitting for hours while you pour your heart out onto the pages? Not likely. We don’t even need readers because writing is something we do because we must — not for the fame and fortune?

If you’re like most writers, you likely have one challenge in common with the rest of us — distractions!

Personally, I can’t write if I have the internet available. I can’t resist logging in to Facebook to make a post on my author page or scrolling through Instagram to see what my author friends have posted — or to see how many of them like my last post.

Sometimes there is even a good reason to go online. I might need to research an important fact for my book or come up with a good name for that creepy guy that is spying on the main character’s date.

Unfortunately, once I open up that browser, my focus is gone. It’s history. Focus is something that doesn’t exist if I go online.

That’s why the Alphasmart Neo is my best writing tool.

No Internet, No Distractions

The Alphasmart is a word processor from the late 1990s and early 2000s. They are not even manufactured anymore. 2013 was the year they stopped making these wonderful little tools that writers around the world love and hoard (yes, writers that love the Alphasmart are known to buy several of them in case their main machine breaks down because once the functioning Alphasmarts are gone, there is no more).

Although the Alphasmart Neo can not access the internet there are many things that it can do including:

• run for up to a full year using only three AA batteries
• power on/off instantaneously
• store your words even if the batteries die
• stores your letters the second that you type them into the keyboard
• show you your word count
• change the font you see on the screen
• move the cursor up and down on the screen so you can change what you wrote (although I believe in writing first, editing later so I rarely use that feature)
• connect to your computer so you can transfer your words to the document of your choice.

Ultra-portable

Another thing that I love about the Alphasmart Neo is that it can go anywhere. It’s super light and can fit in a large purse or a tote bag.Because you don’t need a cord (some have a cord but batteries are fine for most versions of the Alphasmart), you don’t need to be connected to an electrical outlet.

Always wanted to travel and write? Get an Alphasmart. You can take it camping with you and take it to the beach or write by the fire. Upload your work to your computer when you get home or when you get to a town with a library or internet cafe.

Like to write while you are in the car (and someone else is driving of course)? A laptop table and your Alphasmart will let you do that. Because there’s only a tiny little window, you don’t have to worry about sun glare on the screen and it won’t overheat while it is on your lap.

Take it to the park, a cafe, or anywhere else you want. The Alphasmart Neo will go anywhere.

Easy Uploads

The Alphasmart Neo makes it easy to transfer your work to your computer.

Here’s how to transfer:

1. Open the file you wish to transfer from your Alphasmart Neo.
2. Open a document on your computer (Word, Google Docs, text files — even a Facebook post!).
3. Connect the cable cord from the Alphasmart to a USB port on your computer.
4. See the message appear on your Alphasmart screen that says it is ready to transfer. Hit “Send” and watch the words appear on your open document.

That’s all there is to it. Don’t forget to save the document on your computer though!

Once you’re done transferring your work to your computer, you can either leave your file on your Alphasmart or delete it. I like to delete it once it has been transferred because then I can start fresh the next time I go to use my Alphasmart. Many of these devices are very old so I don’t want to risk losing my work. That’s why I transfer each day’s work and start fresh the following day.

Where Can I Buy One?

If you’re convinced and can’t wait to see if it will increase your productivity by eliminating internet distractions you can fine the Alphasmart Neo online. The two best places to find them are on Amazon or on eBay.Make sure that you get the one you want though because there are different types of Alphasmart devices.

The Alphasmart Neo is the one I love but there is also the Alphasmart Dana, Alphasmart 2000, Alphasmart 3000 and the Alphasmart Neo 2.

How much will one of these miracle word processors cost you? They range in price from $20 up to around $50.

If you’ve never had a planner specifically for your writing and you’re interested in trying it out, there are two types of planners I would suggest. Both of them allow you to track and be creative at the same time.

#1 The Bullet Journal

The bullet journal is about “the art of intentional living,” according to its creator, Ryder Caroll. The only two things you need to implement this planning system is a pen and a notebook. You can use any notebook you like. There are many who get creative with their bullet journals by using colored markers or pencils, stickers, and even paint; however, those little extras a not by any means necessary.

Some of the things that are typically included in bullet journals include:

• Index — a list of the pages and collections in your planner
• Future Log — dated entries that are outside the current month
• Monthly Log — dated entries that include a calendar and tasks
• Rapid Logging — quick thoughts and tasks and events in bullet form
• Signifiers — symbols that indicate if it is an event, appointment, deadline, or even just a note
• Collections — focused information about a specific event or topic
• Trackers — to track things that you do on a regular basis

You can get as creative as you want. This is a page from my bullet journal:

There are many ways that writers can use a bullet journal to keep them on track. In the past I have used some of the following features in my writer’s bullet journal:

• Character outlines
• Plot points
• Summaries of scenes
• Word tracker
• Notes on the craft of writing
• Lists of useful websites
• Notes on conversations I’ve had with other writers

This video gives you a basic tutorial of how the bullet journal works:

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#2 The Happy Planner

If you’re not so good at keeping up with the bullet journal, the Happy Planner might the be right system for your writer’s planner. The months and weekly pages are all set up for you. It’s attractive and functional and there are a wide variety of options to choose from. You can choose different sizes and layouts and you can modify your planner to suit your interest. If you have a Create 365 Happy Planner hole punch, you can even add in your own pages.

You may choose a Happy Planner system that implements your writing plans along with other daily events or you may choose to have an entire planner dedicated to only your writing. it depends on how much information about your writing you want to include in your planner. Whichever option you choose, the Happy Planner can be a lot of fun and can help you stay focused on what is important.

If you want to keep to the basics — things like words written, deadlines, and goals, the monthly calendar at the beginning of each month of a Happy Planner is ideal. It’s a basic calendar with space for some goals.

If you want to get a little more detailed, pick up a Happy Planner with a dashboard layout. There are many options and you can find one you might like on Amazon or on the official Happy Planner site.

The Happy Planner dashboard layouts are perfect when you need a little more flexibility. I have been using a Happy Planner for a few months, but I decided that I wanted to have more space that the monthly calendar for details that would help me get more focused on my writing. I chose the “Choose to Shine” Happy Planner (see below) because it has space for goals, trackers, to do lists, and notes that will give me the space to create my best writer’s planner.

One note about both Happy Planners and bullet journals — if you go on social media you will think that they are more about stickers and highlighters and washi tape than anything else. They do not have to be that way though. If you like that sort of thing, that’s great; however if you are just looking for something that is functional and helps you become more productive in your writing path, don’t feel that you need to use them.

There are many different ways that you can plan. The travellers’ notebook, the Erin Condren system, or if you can’t make up your mind, maybe the frankenplanner — a combination of different planning systems — is right for you!

And throughout the next 6 years when I was promoted 5 more times I heard the same thing.

When the office I worked in closed down and I was offered a higher paying job with benefits and fabulous hours only 3 days later (without even putting in a resume) lots of people told me I was so lucky.

When I quit my job to work for myself full time people in real life and online line repeated that thought: “You’re so lucky”!

And when I was in university and aced all my essay exams fellow students thought that luck had something to do with that.

I AM NOT LUCKY!

I get upset when people call me lucky because to insinuate that luck has anything to do with the successes I’ve had is to ignore the fact that I’ve worked so hard to achieve those things.

According to Dictionary.com luck is:

–noun

1. the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person’s life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities: With my luck I’ll probably get pneumonia.

2. good fortune; advantage or success, considered as the result of chance: He had no luck finding work.

3. a combination of circumstances, events, etc., operating by chance to bring good or ill to a person: She’s had nothing but bad luck all year.

4. some object on which good fortune is supposed to depend: This rabbit’s foot is my luck.

Do you notice some of the key words there? Chance, a force, circumstances.

Luck is what happens when you get a job because you know someone, even though you don’t have the skills to do the job yet. Luck is what happens when you put no work into an essay exam and still ace it. Luck is what happens when they pull your name out of a hat to decide who gets the promotion.

I did not use luck to achieve my successes.

• I had a good work ethic.
• I made it clear that I had goals and wanted to reach them.
• I spent time thinking about how to reach them.
• I studied.
• I made it a point to learn how to write an essay exam properly.
• I networked.
• I displayed skills, knowledge, and thinking abilities.

My abilities and my hard work are what helped me reach the successes I have had.

Yes, I do sit on the computer playing Farmville and laughing at LOL cats some nights. But a lot of my “non-working” time online is spent learning things. It is spent asking questions, finding sites that can help me, making connections with people that I can learn from. I’m not “working” but I’m working at being more prepared to work.

Luck is something that is out there in the universe — I do believe that.

But calling someone lucky when their successes are a direct result of their hard work is just rude.

So, please, don’t call me lucky!

(But you CAN call me “available for hire” if you’re looking for a writer or a social media assistant! I am currently accepting new clients. Check out my site.)