Client Organization

[skafoure 0]

Really want to use Evernote in the best way possible to organize a lot of my life. I feel that I really use it like a hodgepodge mess, rather than a organized machine. Trying to look at different ways to keep all my clients information organized and structured. The two ways I see to do this, is either have a notebook associated with each client, OR, have a tag associated with each client.

Don't know which one other's have used to do this. I have to add data to my clients information every year, and keep up to date with it. This all needs to be easily accessible and highly organized. Just wondering what some best practices are that are out there.

Thanks

[~Adam 17]

It seems to me, that a lot of folks, including myself, are beginning to suffer from "Notebook Overload". We have this strange desire to classify, sub-classify and sub-sub-classify our lives until finally, we are so buried in "Notebooks" that it's no longer healthy. I'm starting to towards the route of "tags" myself. This way, I have a few main "Notebooks", yet many "tags" to work with.

[gazumped 11,652]

It's been said here before, but really the best process is "whatever works for you" - and systems used by others aren't necessarily the best for you personally. For information I have 7,500+ notes, 96% of which are in the default notebook. The others are in 10 specific notebooks because they're shared with others, local only and private, or I'm collating information for a project or a report. Some of the latter category will go back into the general population when I've finished the task at hand.

I have too many tags - enough so I can forget exactly which ones to apply, so I'm naming my notes carefully and using search more fully, and find that the best option most of the time. Tags will probably get edited down to a bare minimum when I have time - say about 2020 at my present rate of progress.

So 4 main suggestions -

1. Look into the search function and learn how to use it
   
2. have a look at this thread - http://discussion.evernote.com/topic/24614-spotlight-thanks-grumpy-monkey/
   
3. and this one - http://discussion.evernote.com/topic/24036-list-of-personal-tricks-and-tips-for-newbies-by-idoc/
   
4. Experiment freely - your data will always be there, and you can always go back and edit the notebooks, headings, and tags if you need to...
   

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

Really want to use Evernote in the best way possible to organize a lot of my life. I feel that I really use it like a hodgepodge mess, rather than a organized machine. Trying to look at different ways to keep all my clients information organized and structured. The two ways I see to do this, is either have a notebook associated with each client, OR, have a tag associated with each client.

A notebook for each client would work. A tag for each client would work. Put the client's name in the title of each note about them (a search for "intitle:name" will find every note on them). Assign a random code to each client and make sure to stick that in every note on them (a search for "werhowri820" will pull up every note on them). Use note links to keep track of them. Here is more on my method:

http://www.princeton.edu/~cmayo/evernoteresearch.html

Don't know which one other's have used to do this. I have to add data to my clients information every year, and keep up to date with it. This all needs to be easily accessible and highly organized. Just wondering what some best practices are that are out there.

Thanks

As gazumped said, whatever works for you! The notebook one is obviously the easiest (who isn't familiar with notebooks?), but give a try to some of the wonderful ideas that people on the forum have tried and see what you think