It’s 2020, a time Back to the Future envisaged we’d be using hoverboards! The technology is still getting there when it comes to a commercial hover-anything with a number of remote control toys leading the way, but let’s not get distracted from the main point here – focus.

Being an author or screenwriter, you’ve got to experience the world and get a full spectrum of its joys and heartbreaks. But you don’t want to do this when you’re trying to get writing on the page! Cellphones buzzing, doorbells ringing, kids screaming, dogs barking and to-do lists beckoning, there are many ways we can get derailed.

“I’ll just grab a quick coffee” can turn into a rabbit hole of possible distractions and our cellphones are probably the culprits in most cases. The flashing lights, notifications, social media… it’s a device that can become an extension of ourselves. Try going 24 hours without looking at it once to see what we’re saying. Some phones provide feedback on your actual usage to try and offer a “health” check. Are we connecting our dependency on our phones with our health? Probably not, but that’s another discussion.

To get back to the main point here after much deliberation and distraction… the Forest App. What is it? How does it work? How will it help me stay more focused. Ecosia is a free web browser that enables the organisation to plant a tree for roughly every 45 searches. In a similar fashion, the Forest App supports the Trees for the Future project.

Okay, so they’re committed to planting more trees on earth. The real drive of the app is that they want you to stay focused and be more present… two goals that will also go a long way to improving our future. The app is useful in social settings with friends or loved ones, studying for exams or in our case, writing!

It’s actually quite simple. Download the app, open it and the longer you leave it alone… the more your forest grows. Check in and the forest dies. It may seem simplistic but this game-ified app will help you correct bad habits. Time is money, money doesn’t grow on trees and if these platitudes are anything to go by… you want your forest to thrive.

A representation of focused time, this is usually how we get in the zone and become our most productive selves. Being constantly distracted is how time disappears but we want time to disappear through sheer focus. So next time you get to your writing spot, download the app, stay focused and see how actively avoiding your phone can convert your hard work into a lush forest! It may just be the game-changer you’ve been looking for!

Screenwriting Tools #2 Forest App
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