[TeaVMFan]

I like the idea of a distraction-free writing environment.

However, when I'm writing, I find I sometimes need to do research. I suppose for the best writing flow I should block time for research and time for pure writing. However, if I discover I need to look something up, a hard block on internet access would be a problem. Of course it's a slippery slope from researching something on Wikipedia to navigating to related articles. Timed access per hour?

[embedding-shape]

> However, if I discover I need to look something up, a hard block on internet access would be a problem.

When I'm in "writing mode", I forbid myself from doing quick lookups, because I can almost never stick to the "quick" part of the process, and end up chasing rabbits. Instead, I just put something like (verify) or (research to confirm yay/nay) while writing, and move on to what I can do in the moment. Then much later do I go through with a "editor" mindset and address all those things in one go, rather than in the moment.

I guess kind of like picking work into a queue rather than doing it immediately, and leaving it hanging until I can work through the entire queue in one go.

[kstrauser]

The old timey trick is to write “TK”, for “look this up later”. It’s not a common letter combination so it’s easy to visually or automatically scan for. Example:

> The moon is TK miles from earth.

Write away, don’t get distracted by the details, and catch up afterward when you’ve shifted to editor mode.

[boplicity]

The solution is simple -- switch to another device!

Our minds are hard-wired to build habits via physical association. Having a single-purpose device very much fits with how our minds work. If we want to do research, then go to a research enabled device. If we want to focus on writing, then open the writing focused device.

[noir_lord]

I like https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/ and have used it for years and years, you can configure the look and feel pretty extensively.

Lots of ways to skin that cat (especially if you are a linux user) but focuswriter does everything I need, very little I don't and there is a frame/mindset shift to using the same tool for a specific task.

[al_borland]

Even more basic, I will often use the Lookup option in the macOS right-click menu to get a quick definition just to make sure I have the right spelling correction. If it’s a correct spelling of a wrong word, that can be harder to find later and difficult to remember the intended word later.

For example…

Whether - expressing a doubt or choice between two alternatives.

Wether - a castrated ram

That one letter makes a big difference.