Anyone who has more writing to do than motivation to get it done should check out Write or Die from Dr. Wicked, who claims to “put the ‘prod’ in productivity.” Write or Die is a lovely little web application that implements the Psych 101 principles of Operant Conditioning and Negative Reinforcement to get the writer’s ass in gear.
The writer sets a word count goal, a time goal, whether they want the grace period to be Forgiving, Strict or Evil, and then chooses the level of negative consequences: Gentle, Normal, Kamikaze, or Electric Shock (sadly, that one’s not actually selectable). Then the writer just has to start typing words in the box until the goals are met.
If writing stops, the negative consequences begin. In Gentle Mode, a little box pops up reminding you to keep writing. In Normal Mode, a really grating song starts playing and you will have it in your head for the remainder of the week. And in Kamikaze Mode, if you stop writing, your text begins deleting itself. A little bit evil, but it could certainly help anyone with procrastination issues.
Posted by Alexa Harrington
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