Using Evernote
Managing all the information in my life is a constant battle. From remembering little tidbits at work, to recalling the model of a water filter. I’ve found as I get older I have more and more things to keep track of. So, I’ve always been on the lookout for programs which can help me do so. Evernote is a program/service that I’ve used for a number of years. But it is only recently that I’ve begun to use it to it’s full potential. It’s an example of how technology can help humans manage things.
Evernote has two major things going for it that allow it to live within almost any workflow. The first being device independence. You can use it on your desktop, android/ios device, or the web. That combined with the interaction with other applications via its API really makes it shine.
The trick for me to use it more and more has been the tagging. Notebooks are important, but since it is basically a data repository, search is much more important. So proper tagging is required in order to use it. Without tagged entries it becomes nearly impossible to track what you put in it. This also means that I’ve ended up putting all sorts of random, and not so random, data into it. I have technical data, project stuff, travel information, recipes, model numbers for some house stuff. I’ve found that by making it a default to send it stuff I know I may want to keep that it becomes more valuable. It also has saved me quite a few times by having data I could not find elsewhere. It also has me wondering though, how others use Evernote or similar programs.
Tools For Getting Organized – Sharing the Information.
I’ve been making a push to get myself, my life, more organized. Being the geeky guy that I am I’ve been looking at various gadgets and bits of software to help me along in this endevour. I currently have three main devices that I use, my iPhone, my laptop, and my desktop computer. Both computers are macs as as well so it’s been fairly easy to find stuff to help.
My main philosophy in getting myself more organized and on top of things relies on information management and dissemination. I deal with information all day. I need to parse it, manipulate it, use it to do my jobs. If I cannot keep that under control I’d be lost. As a result I gravitate towards things that allow me to easily share and update this information. I have begun using a combination of web-based and more traditional items. Also, I still have my notebook and pen. Since it’s a lot of information I’ll just focus on how I manage to share the information across devices. Read more
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