Evernote is one of those apps that hardcore users talk about as though it's going to transform your entire life, double your salary and butter your toast in the morning. At its most basic, it's a note-taking app for recording the ephemera around you, but it has the capability to do much, much more.
You can take a photo of a whiteboard after a brainstorming session, turn it into a (text-search-able) note filed in the notebook for a specific project and tag it to make it easier to find in the future. Then make extra notes to attach to it, add an audio file of the meeting itself, then share it with colleagues or sync it instantly from your smartphone to your laptop.
Within each notebook, you can add relevant web articles, highlight and edit them, and generate links for each note so that you can compile a table of contents at the top of your notebook.
You can turn the app into a to-do list manager by using its template, list and reminder features. Things really take off when you start syncing it with other programmes, like IFTTT, a tool that allows users to connect seemingly disparate online applications. This allows you to automate certain processes, for example saving all your favourite tweets or starred Google Reader items as notes in Evernote.
There are countless uses for Evernote. Popular uses for notebooks include storing business cards and receipts or recipes, keeping bucket lists or inspirational ideas, archiving medical information and kids’ drawings, and gathering reference materials for work. I found it useful when I was moving house: I created a “sentimental” notebook and took pictures of all the cards, pamphlets and ticket stubs that weren’t worth keeping but that I wanted to somehow preserve.
Evernote’s power is that it’s so searchable: with a good system in place and a manageable number of sensible tags, you can keep tens of thousands of notes and still be able to pull up insurance information or “restaurants I’ve been meaning to try” in seconds. As with most productivity apps, the difficult bit is getting started and creating a system. Once that’s done, it becomes more useful the more it’s used.
q&a ease the entire process
Jessica Holland explains why we need to say goodbye to the paper notebook:
What’s wrong with real notebooks and clip files?
You don’t have them in your pocket everywhere you go, you can’t store them in multiple places at once, you can’t instantly share with your business partner or spouse, you can’t do an instant text search. The idea behind Evernote is that you could live a completely paperless life: everything from bills to receipts to jottings can be digitised and archived.
Where’s the best place to start?
Download the app from the usual online stores, such as iTunes and Google Play. It works with almost all phones, including Windows and BlackBerry devices as well as iPhones and Androids. Play around with the app by creating a few simple notebooks: books to read and recipes, for example. Remind yourself to make a note on the app every time one of these things occurs to you, or make an IFTTT command to create notes from saved or favourite items on Pinterest, Twitter and Pocket.
Any drawbacks?
Some people prefer a simpler interface, and there is no way to create “bulk” actions, like tagging several notes at once.
Is this all free?
Yes. There’s a Premium package that will get you searchable attachments, bigger notes, offline work capability and a few other extras, and a business package that makes it easier to work in teams, but I found the basic version sufficient for work and personal projects.
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