Getting Organized: Evernote

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Getting Organized: Evernote

A way to remember everything from your life

If you haven’t discovered Evernote yet, it’s time. It’s the best note-organizing software I’ve found since my love affair with OneNote back before I eschewed all things Microsoft.

Evernote is a great way to get all those little snippets and bits of information organized in ONE place with the ability to access them from ANY place. You can organize them into notebooks by topic, project, or interest and add as many pages as you need.

I reference my Evernote collection from my Mac, from my Nexus 7, and from my Droid Bionic smartphone. I can also access my information from any computer, anywhere… and I can do so securely.

I had tried Evernote a few years ago and had run away since there was a subscription involved. (I try to avoid subscription services as much as possible because they add up so quickly and increase the cost of living. Why do something to increase the cost of life, when I’m working so hard in every other way to decrease it?!?!)

But, I’ve been using Evernote this round for over a year and have never needed to increase my storage past the free level. I don’t use if for photos (as a rule) to conserve space, but I have snapped quick photos of products I want to remember.

Some examples of how I use Evernote:

  • Record ideas for future writing projects
  • Measurements of every part of my little cabin
  • Floorplan of the cabin
  • Quotes I don’t want to forget
  • Perfect products
  • Tech notes and “how-to” cheat sheets
  • Standard packing lists for trips (I keep them and just revise as needed)
  • Items to assemble onto my Bug Out Bag
  • List of stains and how to remove them
  • Common substitutions for cooking
  • Favorite go-to recipes
  • Client information and ideas (a quick place to jot down an unexpected brainstorm)
  • Gift ideas …. and on and on….

These are divided into notebooks for business, personal, writing, household, and others. The best thing about this form of note taking and compiling is the search feature. If it’s in there, you can find it. You can also use tags.

There are a number of products, programs and apps (desktop and mobile flavors) that integrate beautifully and seamlessly with Evernote. And, if you want step-by-step instructions, you can visit the Evernote site, the Evernote blog, or you can head over to MakeUseOf.com and download an Evernote “how to” book which calls itself “Evernote: The Missing Manual.” It’s free.

Are you an Evernote fan? Do you have another solution? What types of things do you record and carry with you everywhere?

1 Comment

  1. […] keep a list of these in Evernote. I’ve found that keeping that information close means that even if I can’t find them […]