How do I use this? Evernote

As an extension to the previous “17 Must Have Cloud Applications“, let’s take a few minutes and expand on each of the items.  We’ll start with Evernote.

Why do I need it?

Evernote is a great cloud based application for keeping all your stuff together.  When I say stuff obviously I mean electronic stuff.  It won’t keep track of those car keys.

This will allow you to always have all of those pieces when you need them.  Are you going to meet that client and can’t remember what floor he’s on?  Look it up in Evernote.  Wondering where the picture of that house went that you just listed?  Evernote has it.  Someone is asking about the receipt for your recent trip to Seattle?  It’s also indexed in Evernote.

Evernote can be the dining room table, with indexing.  You can simply search for the item that you are looking for and Evernote will sift through the piles and find where you saved it.

What should I do with it?

Some of the things that I have thought or read about doing would be: creating lists, archiving documents, saving pictures, remembering receipts, storing contact information, and taking notes.

While you’re traveling, take pictures of all of your receipts and put them in the travel expenses notebook.  If you happen to lose a receipt, you know have it at your fingertips.  Also, when you get back to your desk and need to fill out that dreaded expense reimbursement form… just head over to Evernote and pull up all the documentation.

Have a new client? Scan their business card and throw it into Evernote.  Add notes about specific meetings that you’ve had with them.  Add their current project documentation.  Next time that you draw a blank about the specifics of the project, just pull it up on your smartphone, iPad, or laptop.

How does it help me?

One word: ORGANIZE.  It helps organize all the information, files, contacts, etc that seem to clutter up our lives.  When you take just a few seconds to drop that document or image into Evernote, you now will have it with you all the time.  Add to that document specific information about the meetings that you just had and you have all the information all in one place.  Next up, share the notebook with your colleagues working the same project and the knowledge transfer becomes so much easier.

My Brain

I’ve heard people call EverNote their brain because it has everything all in one place when they need it.  By adding Evernote to your laptop, smartphone, iPod, desktop you’ve added a place to keep all the “stuff” that you come across during the day.  You have a place that you can go back to in order to remember what was said during the meeting.  You can find that business card instead of wondering what happened to it.

Next up… Gmail.

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Tagged as: Evernote