I’ve been using Evernote for two years and I’m a believer. It’s changed the way I work and has helped me go paperless in my office. If some of you started using it, it would revolutionize the way you get things done too.
If you do a Google search for Evernote, you’ll find a ton of tricks, tools and hints for making the most of it. However, you’ll also find yourself lost – especially if you’re a newbie. Here’s my attempt at Evernote for Dummies: Kidmin Edition.
What is Evernote? (Remember, this is Evernote for Dummies. I am assuming you know very little.) Here’s my best attempt at describing it in a sentence: Evernote makes it easy to capture, organize and remember things in your life using your computer, phone, and/or the web.
How should I start? When I started using Evernote, I started simple. As I learned it, I did more with it.
Start by downloading it. It’s easy to download, and it’s free.
Once you’ve downloaded it, set up four folders. Commit to staying with these four folders until you’ve had time working with it. The folders you should set up are:
Inbox
Work
Personal
Meetings
Use Inbox as your default folder. Everything you capture should drop into the default folder first. After you look at what’s in your Inbox, move it to either the Work, Personal or Meetings folder, depending on where it fits best.
The Work and Personal folders are where you will store notes that you want to save and you might need some time down the road. One of the best things about Evernote is it’s powerful search engine. You’ll never have a problem finding what you need in these folders.
Finally, in the Meetings folder you will keep your notes from various meetings (a little obvious, I know). Knock yourself out and type meeting notes for every meeting you attend. If you are in a meeting and want to capture what is on the flip-chart, just take a picture of it with your phone and drop it into this folder. Evernote can search hand-writing in images, you you’ll never forget what what was captured on the chart.
What are you waiting on? Download Evernote and get started today!
I too have been using Evernote for years and it had become my use all a long time ago. This was the key along with a scanner app for my iPhone and neat receipts scanner that allowed me to go paper free a while ago.
Love Evernote use it for loads of things.
Blog research links
Organize and research a book I’m writting.
Digitize my wife’s cookbooks
Keep track of notes illustrations for speaking engagements.
They also came up with a new app that is fantastice for networking with people at conferences.
Todd what scanner app do u use?
Todd, I’d love to hear about that scanner app that you use too!
Last year (2011) I took the Evernote plunge. So glad I did. What I missed the first few months was that I could email Evernote emails from my Inbox and save them in the folder that I wanted. This kept everything together.
I also love how it sync with Ipad, Iphone, PC, and my Mac. Oh and I do this all on a free account. Is it worth upgrading?
I upgraded because I wanted to be able to save any kind of file type in Evernote. It’s been worth the money to me. Thanks for the comment!
I have the feeling I will be using evernote, like a champ during CPC
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