Monday, August 9, 2010

Evernote = My Brain

I’ve only been using Evernote for just over a month now, but I wish I had been using it for years!

First, the reason I use Evernote. It’s simple to set up, easy to customize, and available everywhere. I use the Android version, the web version, and the desktop version daily.

I need to be sure that I can always get things out of my head, and into a place I can find them, and I’ve finally found that in Evernote.

Here’s how I use Evernote:

Inbox

Everything that comes into my head – everything – goes straight into Evernote. I can add things to Evernote via my phone my computer, via the Evernote desktop client, or on any computer thanks to Evernote’s fantastic Web version. I love using the Google Chrome Evernote extension! Every thought, every to-do item, and every random things goes out of my head and into Evernote.

To do this, I created a default notebook called “Inbox” within Evernote. Every new note goes into the Inbox, and once or twice I day I process all the notes in the notebook.

Ideas

Under my Idea Notebook, I have tags like crafts, Halloween, birthdays, 4thOfJuly, Christmas, etc. Anytime I see something on a website or blog, think of something to get for someone for their birthday, etc., it all goes into my Idea Notebook!

Food

In the past I used to have a folder called Recipes under bookmarks in my web browser, but using Evernote for recipes is much better! I can modify recipes how I want to make them. Some of the tags I have are chicken, dessert, veggie, eggs, sauce, side, try, etc. I love the ‘try’ tag because it’s something we haven’t tried yet, but we want to.

I love using the ‘Clip to Evernote’ feature that they have in Google Chrome {as shown below} and Firefox. I highlight over what I want to be part of the Note, and it automatically includes that text and pictures. I can easily view the recipe later on my phone in the kitchen. Or I could just print it if I didn’t have a Smartphone. It’s also easy to email recipes to others.

You can ‘share’ a Notebook with others, so if you wanted to share recipes with others, it can easily be done.

The search feature in Evernote works wonders, so it’s super easy to find recipes you’re looking for.

To-Do List

I can think of something I need to do and it can be forgotten faster than you’re reading this sentence. Hence, needing a to-do list! And as soon as I think of something {if I’m not at my desk}, I either send a Note to Evernote using my phone, or I call Dial2Do. Dial2Do sends things straight to Evernote just by talking. This feature alone makes me feel giddy inside!

I am a list person. In Evernote, I have a Note for each day. I name it as such: “2010-08-09 Monday”, so they are always in order. As seen below, I have my daily list, longer term list {doesn’t have to be done that day}, and my list of sites I check daily.

When the day is done, I just copy everything from that day and put it into the next’s days Note, so I’m ready to go in the morning.

image

Lists

Under my Lists Notebook, I have two tags

  • buy {things I need to buy, which I can easily lookup at the store}
  • wishlist {things I wish I could buy. When my hubby asks me what I want for Christmas, I can easily look at this and tell him.}

Garden

My hubby and I are in the process of getting ready to start a garden. Anything I come across about gardening, I store it in this Notebook.

In the future, I’m sure there will be many more Notebooks added to my Evernote account of projects I want to do.

Bookmarks

I store all my Internet bookmarks in Evernote now.

Fun Places To Go

I have two tags under this Notebook; adult & kid. If my hubby and I are trying to think of some place fun to go, we look here. If I want to take my son somewhere fun, I look here. This will come in handy once he is older.

Kids

Most of the things that are in this Notebook right now are for when my son {and his future siblings} gets bigger, but I love the feeling of being prepared. Some of the tags under this Notebook are books, school, sports, eagle scout projects, activities, church, computer, etc.

The Techie Geek Mom Blog

Anything that I come across that I want to blog about goes under this folder {currently 27 things, and that is just the beginning!}. Makes me get chills just thinking about all the cool things I want to share with you!

Conclusion

Don’t let Evernote overwhelm you. It’s actually super simple. I love how you can use it however you’d like. It’s fully customizable. I’ve never felt more organized in my life!

Please do NOT hesitate to ask me a question about it if you need help!

2 comments:

  1. Totally *LOVE* that you started this blog ... can't wait to see what you have to share!

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  2. Awesome website!! You go girl!! Evernote sounds really great! :)

    ReplyDelete