Filing into the ether...

[PaperlessBrian 3]

Hey folks, I'm a looong time Evernote user.  I have an automated workflow that included the FileThis service (and Hazel) that essentially made my filing work pretty easy.  With the retirement of FileThis I'm reexamining my what I save, my workflows, and even my use of Evernote.

I thought I'd start with my biggest issue with Evernote (or really any tag based system) and see if there's anyone that has figured out solutions to this issue.  It's probably best if I walk through the issue at hand and see if anyone else has had this problem.

1. You have an important tax file.  This is not something you would search for at tax time.  It's something you need to be shown at tax time to remember.
2. You drop it into Evernote and accidentally tag it with the wrong tax year.  (I have a tag for each tax year - i.e. "tax year 20XX")
3. You're effed...

Obvious answer is to be far more careful when you tag things like this however, I prefer a more resilient process.  Compare to using folders on Dropbox.  I find that my error rate with folders is FAR less and it's fairly easy to search the higher level "tax" folder for files by creation date.  Another answer might be to use different notebooks in Evernote but this strikes me as counter to the tagging ideal of Evernote not to mention it might not be any more accurate.

Anyone have any advice?

[Jon/t 1,358]

Its the problem with tags. You usually need to remember what they are and to tag things.

For tax docs and invoices, I have a notebook/folder for each year and put all my invoices into this notebook with a strict naming convention so I can find them easily.

EG. Evernote Invoice Sept 2023

I don't need to tag anything.

Not sure if this helps:

https://tamingthetrunk.substack.com/p/capturing-managing-and-automating

[DTLow 5,737]

32 minutes ago, PaperlessBrian said:

Filing into the ether… (Wrong Notebook/Tag)

It happens - I’ve mis-filed documents   
To recover, I fall back to the text search feature.  
Creation date could also be useful   
Also I have a consistent naming/keyword standard for documents   
   
fwiw I’m not seeing it as a notebook vs tag issue

.

[gazumped 11,741]

I don't see a problem.  If a note is (or will become) important as of a certain date,  why not set up a Reminder or a Task or a Calendar item (with notifcation) or use the Home Page options like Pinned Notes or Filtered Notes to highlight important entries?

Yes you could forget to apply any of those,  and I have a system which I occasionally forget to apply at creation of the note.  My only protection is that when I spot an error or omission I'll correct it.

[PaperlessBrian 3]

1 hour ago, DTLow said:

It happens - I’ve mis-filed documents   
To recover, I fall back to the text search feature.  
Creation date could also be useful   
Also I have a consistent naming/keyword standard for documents   
   
fwiw I’m not seeing it as a notebook vs tag issue

.

You first have to know you lost it.

[PaperlessBrian 3]

50 minutes ago, gazumped said:

I don't see a problem.  If a note is (or will become) important as of a certain date,  why not set up a Reminder or a Task or a Calendar item (with notifcation) or use the Home Page options like Pinned Notes or Filtered Notes to highlight important entries?

Yes you could forget to apply any of those,  and I have a system which I occasionally forget to apply at creation of the note.  My only protection is that when I spot an error or omission I'll correct it.

I think perhaps Jon's suggestion will work best.  Have a Notebook specific to taxes.  This way I would need to mess up twice to loose it:  miss-tag and miss-drag.  I can make it a habit to look not only at the tax_year_tag but also at the taxes notebook.

[agsteele 2,964]

Like others I have a notebook for the current tax year. I create a desktop folder on my PC and link that as an Import Folder to the Evernote notebook for this tax year. Every bill, receipt and other tax related document is dropped into that folder and automatically appears on a new note in the notebook.

I also have a scheduled cleanup of the Import Folder so that I don't build a large folder.

[VincentC 274]

Also, since tax preparation (in the US, anyway) is an annual exercise -- with a pretty consistent set of steps that you need to go through each year, but widely enough spaced so that it's hard to remember exactly what the steps are -- maybe set up a "master tax preparation" note with a checklist that lists each step?

In that note, you could also include the details of your naming convention.  Like Jon, I use naming conventions as a primary organizational tool and I rarely use tags. I recognize that tag work really well for a lot of people, but I'm more a naming convention kind of guy.  But for a naming convention to work, you have to be really consistent and disciplined about applying the convention.  So, I keep a note that lists the details of my naming rules.

But my main suggestion is to think about a checklist to help you remember every step you need to take.

Vinnie

 

 

[PaperlessBrian 3]

1 hour ago, VincentC said:

Also, since tax preparation (in the US, anyway) is an annual exercise -- with a pretty consistent set of steps that you need to go through each year, but widely enough spaced so that it's hard to remember exactly what the steps are -- maybe set up a "master tax preparation" note with a checklist that lists each step?

In that note, you could also include the details of your naming convention.  Like Jon, I use naming conventions as a primary organizational tool and I rarely use tags. I recognize that tag work really well for a lot of people, but I'm more a naming convention kind of guy.  But for a naming convention to work, you have to be really consistent and disciplined about applying the convention.  So, I keep a note that lists the details of my naming rules.

But my main suggestion is to think about a checklist to help you remember every step you need to take.

Vinnie

 

 

Great ideas but I have to weigh this against just using folders (i.e. ditching Evernote).  Here are the features I find to be very useful with Evernote and those I don't.  (Not that you all need to see this but I've been thinking about it a lot and it's not a bad idea to be cross-examined on this.)

LIKES:

• One stop-shop for my filing including tax prep worksheets (but I have to upgrade to a business account which is a bit annoying)
• I can add commentary to a PDF file without some kind of clumsy PDF editor
• I don't have to worry about creating PDF/Word files for particularly large files such as when I do an photo inventory of my house for total loss purposes
• Mailto feature is very useful

DISLIKES (better with folders / Apple Notes)

• I'm always loosing notes...  this is a tagging problem as described above
• It's easier to group like files together (i.e. tax example, legal cases, big claims, etc) <- If anyone has a recommendation in Evernote I'd love to hear it
• It's not a replacement for Apple notes for quick notes and sharing notes with my SO (Let's face it, it's just not as fast)
• A company can't "shut down" a folder system like FileThis did with their service

[VincentC 274]

 

For me, it's not an either-or, one or the other choice.  I use Evernote AND I use folders on local storage.  They complement each other.

I myself don't keep filled out tax worksheets in Evernote.  I avoid keeping anything with my social security number in Evernote.  Those documents stay in my file system and are backed up to a cloud service with complete end-to-end encryption.  I might path links to those files in Evernote for convenience, though. 

Also, for me, the more consistent I am with naming conventions, the less I lose notes.  And, the better I get with search, the easier it is to find notes I have misplaced.  And I suspect AI search will make it easier to find notes as it matures and make a rigorous tagging or naming convention system less important.  (I wouldn't prejudge the usefulness of AI search based on its current stage of development - it's still in beta.  I think it has a lot of promise.)

BTW, I also use tasks heavily so I don't forget important stuff I need to get done.  I haven't felt the need for reminders or the filtered notes widgets.  Maybe I will in the future.

Vinnie

 

[DTLow 5,737]

3 hours ago, PaperlessBrian said:

I can add commentary to a PDF file without some kind of clumsy PDF editor

Evernote is note centric - there’s always a note with optional attachments    
Both a like/dislike for me - we can’t simply store pdf files

[PaperlessBrian 3]

18 hours ago, VincentC said:

 

For me, it's not an either-or, one or the other choice.  I use Evernote AND I use folders on local storage.  They complement each other.

I myself don't keep filled out tax worksheets in Evernote.  I avoid keeping anything with my social security number in Evernote.  Those documents stay in my file system and are backed up to a cloud service with complete end-to-end encryption.  I might path links to those files in Evernote for convenience, though. 

Also, for me, the more consistent I am with naming conventions, the less I lose notes.  And, the better I get with search, the easier it is to find notes I have misplaced.  And I suspect AI search will make it easier to find notes as it matures and make a rigorous tagging or naming convention system less important.  (I wouldn't prejudge the usefulness of AI search based on its current stage of development - it's still in beta.  I think it has a lot of promise.)

BTW, I also use tasks heavily so I don't forget important stuff I need to get done.  I haven't felt the need for reminders or the filtered notes widgets.  Maybe I will in the future.

Vinnie

 

This has been on my mind as well. It’s one of the reasons I’m considering switching to local folders again. If you don’t mind me asking, what do you put on Evernote? Anything with the exception of secure files?

[VincentC 274]

Lots and lots!  I'll respond more fully a bit later when I'm in front of my desktop and it's more convenient to type!

Vinnie

[VincentC 274]

@PaperlessBrian  In fuller response:  Here is a list of the kinds of information I keep in Evernote.

Professional:  All kinds of information about clients and client projects.  Email, meeting notes, general information about the client and project, reference material (e.g., rulemakings and rules and regulations from the FCC), checklists for projects, overarching summaries of projects in progress and work due, meeting notes using a template I created (tied to calendar entries and with tasks embedded), longer term projects whose timeline or complexity makes a note better than tracking in tasks, contracts, MOU's, other legal documents, larger picture financial summaries or projections, all kinds of business travel arrangements (flight and hotel confirmations, meeting agendas, etc).  Not in Evernote: receipts, expense reports (I use purpose-built Expensify for tracking and reporting expenses) bank and credit card statements (I keep these on local storage and organize them with File manager - they are typically one-and-done and I generally don't need to search inside them),  tax returns, anything with my or others social security number, any information subject to a non-disclosure agreement (not permitted by Evernote's terms of service).  Notebooks for each organization I deal with professionally beyond clients: vendors to me and my clients, professional and industry associations, legal, accounting and engineering firms, etc. 

Personal: Real estate records - house purchases, leases, HUD-1 or equivalent forms.  All kinds of reference materials: manuals for appliances and gadgets, wills, power of attorneys, insurance policies and medical records, memorabilia, reference articles, reference materials for Evernote, travel and vacation plans and records - both general and motorcycle trips for me personally, insurance declarations and other insurance records, reference articles and materials, computer and software manuals, records, hardware notes, etc., financial calculators and reference materials, local regulations (e.g., condo association, alarm requirements, etc.,) property tax assessments and payments, house blueprints and other reference materials, vehicle and drivers records, clothing sizes, motorcycle equipment records, restaurants,  federal, state, and local tax and IRS reference materials and calculators (but not completed tax forms), wines I liked, books to read, workout routines, several notebooks related to learning and speaking Spanish, several notebooks related to general photography and the specific equipment that I own or hope to own, GTD resources, Evernote resources...

... to name a few.

Hope this helps.

Vinnie

[PaperlessBrian 3]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:36 PM, VincentC said:

@PaperlessBrian  In fuller response:  Here is a list of the kinds of information I keep in Evernote.

Professional:  ...

Personal: ...

... to name a few.

Hope this helps.

Vinnie

Vinnie, very much so.  Thank you for taking the time to share with me.  What are the top three features/capabilities of Evernote that keep you using it (vs just storing these items in your file system)?

[VincentC 274]

Top three uses: 

1) Templates for meeting notes, 2) Tasks as part of those meeting notes and independently, 3a) web clipper for getting email out of my email client and into Evernote for follow-up (using tasks again), incorporation into workplans, and archiving, and 3b) Web clipper for storing links to trade press articles that come into my email client an which I gather, curate, and distribute (using email not Evernote) to a client list.  

Re: email forwarding: I try to keep my two email clients' inboxes down to one screen each and, thanks to the ability to easily forward and orgnize them in Evernote, I am mostly successful.

Hope this is useful.

Vinnie