When I was in college, all of my friends would head to the library to study for midterms and finals. They would tuck themselves away in quiet little nooks, surrounded by books and silence and study until their brains could hold no more.
I, on the other hand, did my best work to the soothing background noise of The Gilmore Girls and random coffee house chatter. When I tried to follow the normal study habits of my friends, I became so distracted by the silence that I failed to do any work at all. Every tiny noise became a giant distraction, a sound to investigate, a conversation to overhear.
Those formative years writing massive papers as an English major have impacted my writing as a blogger. While some write the best in a quiet, candlelit room, my brain works best with just the right amount of white noise. When the topic of “ideal writing environment” came up during the recent Declare Conference Twitter party, my answer started an interesting conversation.
My answer?
Coffitivity.
No, that’s not a typo – coffitivity.com is a fantastic site (available as a web, Android, iPhone, or desktop app) that simply provides the random noise of a coffee shop! As the mom of a toddler who also works full time, my blogging time happens well before any small town coffee shop opens –and well after they close. Opening coffitivity.com in a tab helps my brain to write in those leftover hours without being completely distracted by a wonderful television show or the overwhelming silence. The sounds –as random and computer generated as they may be – trick me into believing I’m surrounded by others who are working hard, brainstorming, creating, and I join them. My productivity increases –and once I add a hot cup of coffee and a little chocolate, no blog post, editing project, or virtual assistant job is safe!
As someone who loves to find and test new apps, I would love to know – what are your favorite productivity apps? What tools do you use to write more efficiently or effectively?
Crystal is a writer, speaker, freelance editor, occasional song-writer, and lover of words and coffee. She also proudly wears the hats of wife, to her high-school sweetheart, Matt, and mama to their toddler, Madison. Crystal is passionate about building authentic community – online and in real life – and has a heart for encouraging women. You can find her writing at crystalstine.me, MothersofDaughters.com, and she been featured at incourage.me, HolleyGerth.com, Allume.com, and HowTheyBlog.com. She would love to connect with you on Twitter at @crystalstine.
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