Disclaimer: I’m not paid by Evernote. Yep, all this love is pure and provided by me free of charge. I first discovered Evernote in 2013. At the time, I was looking for something I could use to keep, well, notes. I had been using a composition notebook to jot down information as it came across my desk (phone numbers, figures, “remember to do this” lists), but it wasn’t ideal. One, they quickly filled up, and two, I had to furiously flip through pages when I needed to find the info again. Evernote seemed like a decent solution, and I kinda/sorta used it. I also had this sneaking suspicion that as useful as the service seemed, I was definitely not using it to its full potential. Then, I stumbled upon this article and as they say, the rest is history (note: yes, this article was written in 2013, but its still relevant). It took some time for my brain to train itself to go to Evernote by default. Now, it serves me on a daily basis. My workflow within Evernote has changed a few times, expanding and adjusting as my use for it increased. So, what IS Evernote? Right out of their own mouths, Evernote is…. "From inspiration to achievement, Evernote is where your work takes shape. Write, collect, discuss, and present, all from one workspace." And, WHY Evernote? For me, the fact its cross-platform and accessible from anywhere I have an Internet connection is ideal. I switch between devices throughout the day, so writing a note on my phone and knowing it’s also right there on my MacBook is a plus. I love that it has the option to encrypt text. Most of all, while I’ve tried other services, I've found Evernote to be the easiest to use, yet still packed with the features I need. I use Evernote primarily as my digital filing cabinet. Unlike a regular filing cabinet, I also create and file “notes to self,” recipes, meeting notes, etc. So while I like to think of it as a filing cabinet, I also consider it more of an inbox, as well as a fully-functional place to work WITHIN. For example, I wrote this post in Evernote, and drew and annotated all the images on my iPad, again, within Evernote. I’m going to share some general Evernote organization options, then how I personally use it. Remember - Evernote can be designed to work for YOU. This is what works best for ME, but we’re all different, as our workflows. Before I go into my system, note that if you’re familiar with GTD and David Allen, you’ll recognize that I use a fair amount of his principles in how I set it up. If you don’t know about GTD, then I encourage you to start here. I can’t say I use his system religiously, but I am a big fan. Within Evernote, you have notes. Those notes are filed into notebooks. Notebooks can be “stacked.” Notes can capture text, files, pictures, audio files, tables, etc. You can also annotate .pdfs, draw, add reminders, and present notes. Notes can also be tagged, which is a feature I use heavily. First, my default notebook, which is not stacked, is titled “*INBOX.” The asterisk forces it to appear at the top of my notebook list. Everything coming into Evernote goes here, and then I tag and file as I go. Notes come in various ways - I email them to this location, clip using Evernote’s Web Clipper, drag and drop attachments, use the Mac shortcut in the Menu Bar to jot down quick thoughts, use IFTTT, use my phone, etc. My first stack includes 31 notebooks, one for each day of the month. When I work, I go to the notebook for that day, and everything I know I’ll need is already there. As I work, I add notes to this folder. If something comes in I won’t need until next week (meeting agendas, lists), I put it in the notebook for that day. My second stack has a notebook for each month. This is where things go until that month gets here. Maybe I read an article with some really kick-ass tips for organizing the holidays. I won’t need it yet, so I toss that bad boy into say, November’s notebook. Maybe I learn of a movie or documentary that’s going to be out in May. Write a quick note, then I file it in May’s notebook. This works for goals, future projects, etc. Stick things you’ll need then there, then forget about it. Finally, I have a stack with notebooks for every year I’ve used Evernote. These are my archives, and where everything ends up. On the first of each month, I quickly move all the notes in the Day notebooks into the Archives, move everything in the new month’s notebook out into the appropriate place, and start fresh. And because I tag notes, everything in the Archive notebooks is easily accessible anytime I need. So, where do tags come into play? Let’s say I’m preparing a meeting agenda for my client Jane Doe. Her tag, janedoe, will take me to all the notes I have for her. Let’s say as I’ve taken notes or saved information for Jane over the last few weeks, I’ve tagged any notes that contain information that need to be looked at for this agenda with a “futuremeeting” tag. I filter notes by tag “janedoe” then “futuremeetings” and have only what I need presented. As I work, I review a note that reminds me that Jane wanted to have someone attend this meeting and had asked that I contact him by phone to extend an invite. Again, I narrow by “janedoe,” then “phonecalls” to get to the note I took the last time I spoke with this person. I could also search within the “janedoe” tag for her contact’s name. I have a fast filter in place to get my hands on information, and a CRM of sorts while I’m at it. I’ve encouraged (read: nagged) many of my friends, family, and former co-workers to use Evernote; whenever I do, I always advise them of the following:
Here are some examples of ways I use Evernote:
If you’re looking for more ideas, I would encourage you to check out the Evernote Forum. It’s a great place to get advice from people who are way smarter than me. Many of my own workflow set-up inspirations came from this forum, as well as some occasional troubleshooting tips. And finally, like I said last Thursday when we talked about going paperless, if Evernote isn’t for you, you can apply many (if not all) of my set-up to other digital systems (such as Google Keep or Microsoft OneNote). That concludes this love letter for Evernote. Wherever you land on using it, I hope you found some ideas for your own systems and some inspiration. And, if you have any suggestions for me not listed here, send them along! Like I said, my system changes and adapts as I need, so I’m always open to new ideas. Interested in having someone handle the day-to-day for you? Need an extra hand for a short time? Check out my FAQs for more of what I can do for you, or head over to my consultation page so we can connect. You can also follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |