From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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Evernote has been my go-to tool for over 10 years. In this productivity episode, I talk through how I'm using Evernote, how I organize my files (across all platforms), and some information on the new tasks feature in Evernote. I'll share the screenshots from Evernote into the show notes for this episode. For me, Evernote is more about organization and not collaboration. This is a peek into how I have kept my files organized for over ten years.
10 Ways I Use Evernote to Manage My Life
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How to Use Evernote Show Notes
Apps Mentioned in the Show
- Evernote
- Notion
- ToDoist
- Do What Matters – my productivity forms that I use with my Franklin Planner
- Franklin Planner
- How Successful People Think by John Maxwell
Features in Evernote I'm Using
Some ways I”m using Evernote.
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Evernote Tasks
You can ask Tasks with Dates onto Individual Evernotes. While it puts the tasks on one big card, I recommend keeping evernote tasks on the individual notecard for that particular task.
In this case, you can see the Evernote task is linked to the note for ebooks. I can assign dates and reminders to the tasks on individual cards. This is the task view.
In this case, I'm keeping very detailed information on a particular topic (private information is hidden) but you can see the task at the top with the due date and also the number of completed tasks at the top.
2. Filter Tasks by Notebook
In this example, you can see how I'm filtering the tasks by notebook. Unfortunately, you cannot yet filter by notebook stacks which would be awesome, in my opinion.
You can filter tasks by notebook. (But not notebook stacks, unfortunately.) This is still very useful and should help us want to keep larger notebooks by topic as I've done here.)
3. Create Notes for Events
The home dashboard has widgets, including a calendar widget that lets you easily glance at your calendar and also create notes for individual items on your calendar. I use this for podcast interviews and many other events on my calendar and it links those events to the notecard as well.
Now, you can link your calendar to Evernote's homepage and create notes for events from your opening dashboard.
Side note mentioned in the podcast: Office 365 has live fields. Watch the Office 365 Biggest features update to know more about this. This was the video I watched that reminded me of some of the Evernote features I mention in this podcast.
4. Import Folders
Import folders is a legacy item that Evernote removed and now has brought back. Basically, anything I save inside Dropbox to @Evernote Inbox is sent to my inbox inside Evernote. Then, I can work with those items during my weekly review. I also have it set up in my email to often download to those folders as well. This is so useful and I'm glad they brought this feature back.
Import folders allow you to have Evernote automatically import anything saved to a particular folder. I have all items saved to my @Inbox folder pulled into my Inbox inside Evernote so that I can sort and act on them during my weekly review.
Tip: I also have a temporary @Hot folder which is what I'm working on right now. It is like a working memory for me. I can put everything I'm working on this moment in the folder and filter the tasks on those in that notebook. When I'm done, I can drag them into their final location.
5. Drag Files into Evernote to Have an Archived Copy of Your Documents.
You can add copies of files into an Evernote card. I like to keep quotations, invoices, and also copies of things I've sent out. While I do include Google Docs links in Evernote, I always make it a point to download a PDF or DOCX copy of the document so I can retain an archived version of the communication in my files.
In this case, I had an order of some projector bulbs I was tracking, so I kept the quote and a task reminder to follow up on it. I appreciate having a copy I can find later for items like this and having it attached to the task is also very helpful.
6. Take pictures in Evernote which becomes a searchable note.
When you take pictures, it becomes a searchable note. I have many treasures like this football game text thread with my husband in my Evernote. This is a big reason I went back to Evernote from another program – I couldn't pull all of these things into the new notebook service.
Photos of my life including this October 10, 2015 football game are throughout my Evernote. A quick search and I can relive memories or find important documents.
7. Clip from Email or Your Web Browser
I have set up to clip from the web or from Gmail (for personal use) and Outlook (for school use) with the Evernote add ons. These are so convenient to use. While I can't (yet) add tasks from these, it is very useful.
- How to Add Evernote for Gmail
- How to Add Evernote Clipper for Outlook
- Evernote Extension for Chrome
- Evernote Extension for Firefox
- Evernote Web Clipper for Edge
Tip: I actually use paper tasks lists for busy times of the year, like now.
8. @Inbox
Keep an inbox to use to go over in your weekly review. The import folders discussed in #4 go there but also I put things in the inbox that I want to act upon during my weekly review.
9. Use Evernote Reminders and Task Due Dates
Reminders and due dates can be useful. For example, when I verify the windows update status on campus, I put in a note and task for when I would like to do it next as I check off that list. Then, I can see a list and documentation on when that particular task has been done.
10. Consistently Organized File Structure Across all Apps
I have a consistent file structure in all of the apps that I use. When I was using Todoist, it was also used there. It took some time over a year ago, but a consistent file structure has saved me so much time! I've included a graphic below of some of the places where I've applied this structure, but it is even in my filing cabinet at home. It just makes life so much easier.
Having a consistent folder structure on every place I save files and share (even my physical filing cabinet) was a game-changer for me. I can find things! It is so awesome!
The post 10 Ways I Use Evernote to Manage My Life appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!