I feel a bit dorky admitting that I have totally fallen for Evernote. Maybe it’s still the honeymoon, but I sincerely think it may change my life. I like UI and I love the iPhone version of the app. Between Evernote and Things I won’t just get things done, I will get everything done! Today! Before 5:00!
Ok, maybe not.
Much like a good old 3-ring binger, Evernote keeps all of my notes organized in one place, but it is much less heavy to carry around. I am using it to track information for future reference, not so much to-dos or other more action-oriented tidbits. Here’s what I’ve found it useful for, so far:
- clipping web pages I want to visit again sometime but won’t be visiting on a regular basis – like shops with nice things that I will forget about if I don’t make a note
- keeping track of prescription info, so I always have it handy for refills
- keeping a daily journal of what I did, just for fun
- keeping a list of blog ideas/ story ideas, so I will never lack a topic to write about
- writing blog entries in advance (this entry was composed in Evernote and posted later)
- making a list of music to check out
- making a list of apps to check out
- keeping meeting notes all in one place
- keeping weekly project status in one place
- keeping a non-urgent shopping list of things to remember to buy at some point (like an iron!)
What’s neat
- tags, for easily searching notes
- iPhone application so I always have my notes with me, and I can always add them
- accessibility via web or application or phone, all synched automatically
- the basic version is FREE
- besides text, it is possible to record voice notes, photo notes, and web clippings
- it’s easy to make multiple notebooks to keep notes organized
- multiple viewing options
I find it’s always challenging to track the miscellany that wants to be remembered. My brain has gone over capacity, and physical notebooks are somewhat inflexible (not to mention easy to forget and potentially heavy). This seems like it could be a good enhancement to my growing arsenal of productivity tools. The trick is really making good use of a program like this without it becoming another to-do in itself.
Meanwhile, I am using Things for my uber-to-do-list, iCal for scheduling + a Moleskine daily planner for my daily priority list. And things shall be done.
Plumb Wonderful 
I love a good 3-ring binger. In fact I went out on one last night. My head still hurts.
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Ha!
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hmm… now i have it on my iPhone and crated an account but still haven’t really used it. Now I shall have to inspect! Good post!
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I’m amazed by how much stuff I have recorded since I started using it.
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Great post! I use Evernote to log sleep schedules and dreams using the iPhone (iTouch) version right from bed!
It’s also great for taking notes during conferences or meetings.
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A dream log is a great idea! Thanks Robert.
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Agreed – Evernote rocks. I actually use Evernote as a replacement for Things: instead of projects, I have notebooks; instead of individual items, I have notes.
Google Calendar is my calendar, and I use NowDoThis (.com) for my daily priority list.
Similar workflow to yours, it looks like…
But I never thought of keeping my draft posts in it – I like that a lot. Big forehead slap. Now that you say it, it makes perfect sense.
Thanks!
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I have this thing about having a physical list on my desk for today’s priorities – thus the Moleskine. I’m apt to un-prioritize them if they are not right in my face! I will have a look at NowDoThis, though. Thanks Adam!
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im way into evernote.. have a weird system, @foldername, *persons name, #project/item
that way I can tag stuff, sort things very simple..
example – what are my company holidays
@company-HR, #benefits, *cindy, 2009 holiday schedule are the tags
@company-HR is the notebook (not also a tag), cindy sent them and i have premium version, so PDF is attached to note..
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I would fall for EverNote, too if only I had an iPhone. My birthday is coming up next month. Maybe I should put that on my wishlist. Do you love your iPhone cause of apps like EverNote? What are your favorite iPhone apps?
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@designinsomnia: yeah, having things like Evernote, Things, Lose It! (calorie tracking), and fun games like Wurdle make the iPhone way more useful than your average phone!
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I’ve had Evernote ever since the app note came out and yet I still have a hard time getting into it. I’ve become more acquainted with the Photo Note. I wish it had voice to text capabilities. I think I’ll use it for keeping a list of music like you suggested and I like the idea of blog and story ideas.
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I’ve been using Evernote for a couple years to organize ideas, small projects, lists of all kinds, to-do things. It’s valuable and important to me.
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I tried Evernote but prefer ndxCards–digital index cards that sit in your task tray.
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I really love Evernote! It has totally changed my life since I started using it last year. I too get ideas for blogging all the time and key it in on my iPod Touch with the tag “toblog”, and then I am reminded of what I wanted to blog when I get online and can actually blog!
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Sounds great. If I had an Iphone I’d use it.
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@maryrestaino: Just to be clear, it is also really handy even without the iPhone… especially if you are usually in front of a computer. The iPhone app was the kicker for me though.
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Great post! I love Evernote too. It helps me stay extremely organized (I run several businesses) plus the iPhone app rocks!
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I agree… great post! I, too, am in the Honeymoon period. I started with Evernote last week. I love it for dumping everything into for future reference. I even gave it all my delicious bookmarks – talk about amazing!
I’m a mac/GTDer with an iPhone so I’m vested in Things. It’s beautiful! I’m trying to get my mind around how to use both Things and Evernote without getting lost or duplicating effort. The iPhone app is crazy-good on both.
Evernote may just become the place where I mind dump (GTD:Collect) everything. Things is where I will process them into Next Steps.
Does this sound right to you?
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Yeah, Neil, I find it very handy for “capturing” – and intuitive to sort of process at the same time. Like, if it’s something to buy it goes directly on the shopping list, rather than going in a notebook to be transferred to a shopping list later. This seems to work well for my style of organizing my thoughts. I do still use Things for my uber to-do list, though. I record tasks in Things and “stuff” in Evernote. Although evernote can be used as a to-do list organizer I find it cleaner to keep my checklist separate from notes and ideas and information…
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I use evernote in conjunction with my online degree. When I am in class on my computer and the teacher shows an important slide I want to remember, I simply hit screen print, adjust the size (the first time) and tag the note!
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I love Evernote and write about it quite a lot on my blog. There are so many ways to use it and it seems to do a different task for each person.
I use it on my Mac and iPhone to integrate with my GTD system.
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I too love Evernote…I have been using the Free version for a while, and 2 weeks ago I decided to upgrade to the premium version…at first I thought I wouldn’t use the premium features much, but now I’m hooked: It has become my file repository…I’ve been dumping files in it, be it Word, Excel or even executables.I’ve found it useful also to have versions of some files: I keep several versions of my CV on a note, etc.
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EverNote is very rich feature wise but I like Idea Organizer much better for its simplicity in quickly logging ideas that came to me. Plus there is no account setup needed (which I dislike), very stable and doesn’t require any connection to work at all.
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I just purchased an iphone and discovered Evernote. It’s my favorite app. I can finally stop printing off reams of paper now that I’ll be able to find things instantly through Evernote.
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