The web has transformed many types of work, and there are legions of web workers who write online for much of the day. From bloggers like those of us here at WebWorkerDaily, to journalists who used to focus on print, to people who collaborate on business and marketing documents, the online medium has become a central gathering place for scribes. Over the years, I’ve accumulated many tips for mixing up my writing routine and writing more efficiently.

Here are five writerly ways to stay fresh and preserve a healthy mix of habits in your routine.
The Zen of Writing. In my post “12 Top Zen Apps to Keep You Focused,” I covered tools, including many word processors, that remove distracting interface elements when you’re at the computer so that you can focus on what you’re writing. You’ll find lots of good tools for a calming writing experience there, with some great suggestions from our readers in the comments. You’ll find even more zen writing tools in Leo’s post on minimalist word processors.
A Way With Word. If you use Microsoft Word a lot, it helps to take advantage of time-saving efficiency tips. You’ll find a large collection of good ones in this post. One of these I use all the time: If you need to step away from a document but want to have your cursor sitting right where you left it when you return, you don’t have to leave your document open. Go ahead and close it. When you reopen it to resume editing, hit Shift+F5 to take your cursor back to precisely where you were.
Walk Around. This isn’t purely a tech tip, but boy is it important to me while writing. Writing takes a lot of mental energy, and it helps enormously to get up and get the blood flowing at regular intervals. Many of the most revered writers who ever lived followed this as a best practice. Nabokov wrote most of his many novels standing at a lectern, handwriting. Hemingway did this too, including a lot of pacing. We just ran this post about building a standing desk for writing on your feet.
Automate Tasks. Most people who write every day can benefit greatly from automating repetitive tasks that they perform. If you use Word, definitely get to know how to create and use macros for creating scripts that can automate tasks. Also learn how to save and reapply styles. If you’re a Firefox user, you can also create macros for writerly tasks you perform within the browser, such as loading favorite news sites or blogs that you look at each day. In this post on OStatic, you’ll find a visual step-by-step guide on how to use the iMacros Firefox extension and create your first macro.
Write From the Center Out. This is a tip that can really help eliminate writer’s block. When I used to write a lot of news posts, I would put a quote I got from a source in a blank document, write a piece of analysis above it to frame the quote, and then insert a transition sentence right after the quote. Boom, the news story already had a feel to it and some direction even before its official beginning, with no labor over an earth-shaking lead sentence. Try it.
Share your writing tips in the comments.
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