---
title: "A Visual ‘Writer’s Log’"
date: 2012-11-20
author: "Richard MacManus"
categories:
  - name: "Books"
    url: "/category/books.md"
tags:
  - name: "Trackers"
    url: "/tag/trackers.md"
---

# A Visual ‘Writer’s Log’

[![Screen Shot 2012-11-20 at 9.26.47 PM](https://ricmac.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/screen-shot-2012-11-20-at-9-26-47-pm.png)](http://ricm.ac/2012/11/20/a-visual-writers-log/screen-shot-2012-11-20-at-9-26-47-pm/)

A visual ‘Writer’s Log’ tonight, because this image says it all for me today. From 10am through to 12pm, I had just one software program on my computer screen: Byword. It’s a classy, minimalist, word processing app for Mac (I think it was +[Jon Mitchell](https://plus.google.com/100784670873737717716) who turned me onto it, earlier this year).

At 10am, I put Byword on full-screen – meaning that no other app or website was viewable. Then I just wrote, for the next two hours. Specifically, I was re-writing the latest version of my book outline. By the end of the two hours, I was very happy with it.

I’m a man of routines and I’ve penciled in 10am-12pm every weekday for dedicated book work. Also most of my afternoons. But that 10am time slot seems to be the one where I am most disciplined.

I must confess it’s taken me a while to settle into this new post-RWW routine (after a decade of blogging, I figure I can cut myself some slack). But today was a very productive day and I stuck to my self-imposed schedule. I’ll try and do the same tomorrow.

Oh and here’s to the full-screen mode. Evernote, another of my favorite apps, has it too. I’m using this mode more and more. Part of the reason I haven’t tweeted since just before 10am today!