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(Archived) Evernote Uses


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I started a blog last month that attempts to help people understand some of the concepts behind the technology that they use every day. The idea came from my friend's who often ask me questions about their phone or their computer, or even some software they're having problems with. The one thing that comes up frequently is that people don't realize how badly they abuse technology! :D

In an effort to get people thinking about being more productive, I've made Evernote a fairly large part of my site. People have emailed me and told me I've done a good job explaining Evernote, but they still don't understand HOW to use it exactly.

I made a post tonight that chronicles some of my big "uses" (http://www.techbarber.com/evernote-use/), and it got me thinking. Sure, I love technology and I love Evernote, but there are likely ways to use it that haven't yet occurred to me. I thought it may be cool to post a thread about some of the more colourful ways everyone is using Evernote. My post had ten items but it will only hold people off for so long. I need to report back with some really quirky ones!

;)

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I started a blog last month that attempts to help people understand some of the concepts behind the technology that they use every day. The idea came from my friend's who often ask me questions about their phone or their computer, or even some software they're having problems with. The one thing that comes up frequently is that people don't realize how badly they abuse technology! :D

In an effort to get people thinking about being more productive, I've made Evernote a fairly large part of my site. People have emailed me and told me I've done a good job explaining Evernote, but they still don't understand HOW to use it exactly.

I made a post tonight that chronicles some of my big "uses" (http://www.techbarbe...m/evernote-use/), and it got me thinking. Sure, I love technology and I love Evernote, but there are likely ways to use it that haven't yet occurred to me. I thought it may be cool to post a thread about some of the more colourful ways everyone is using Evernote. My post had ten items but it will only hold people off for so long. I need to report back with some really quirky ones!

;)

Hi. That's a great post, and hopefully it will give people some sense of what Evernote can do. Here is a link to a few use cases that might give you some more ideas.

http://www.princeton.edu/~cmayo/evernote-use-cases.html

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Thanks!

Someone said to me last week "I like to think if something is truly great you can sum it up in one sentence. What does Evernote do?" I froze like Bertie from the Kings Speech!

It's hard to describe Evernote in one sentence! I said it was a "digital filing cabinet", but there's so much more - web clipping, scanning, paperless etc etc. Hopefully that helps a bit.

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Thanks!

Someone said to me last week "I like to think if something is truly great you can sum it up in one sentence. What does Evernote do?" I froze like Bertie from the Kings Speech!

It's hard to describe Evernote in one sentence! I said it was a "digital filing cabinet", but there's so much more - web clipping, scanning, paperless etc etc. Hopefully that helps a bit.

I've struggled with this also when talking to others.

Here's my best shot:

Evernote is a cloud-based, highly portable, personal information manager that makes it easy to capture, store, and retrieve all sorts of information from a wide variety of sources using most computing platforms (HW & OS) including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops.

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What can't you do with Evernote? (in a keeping and organising notes and remembering things kind of way...)

Evernote helps you be a smarter you!

Believe it or not I just got through half of an alphabet of uses from Astronomy to Lecturing with some general notes about use cases - then I lost the lot*. Suffering from apathy and an impending deadline now, so won't retype it - I'll just give the first couple of entries as an example:

A - Astronomy; organise observation notes, pictures, locations, dates and upcoming events.

B - Beer making; recipes, diary, reviews, pictures.

- feel free to add your own...

* Should have done the draft in Evernote...

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"A place where you can put stuff so you'll never forget it. You may forget where you actually PUT it, but the search will bail you out!"

One use I found particularly useful - moving. I moved to a new house a year ago and it was a great place to keep track of everything. When the gas company called and asked for the meter number on the new house I had a pic in Evernote ready to go. When our agent asked for our new house lot number - that was in Evernote too. Some of the best uses I've found so far are in situations just like this. They don't occur often, but when they do EN is key.

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I made a post tonight that chronicles some of my big "uses" (http://www.techbarbe...m/evernote-use/), and it got me thinking. Sure, I love technology and I love Evernote, but there are likely ways to use it that haven't yet occurred to me. I thought it may be cool to post a thread about some of the more colourful ways everyone is using Evernote. My post had ten items but it will only hold people off for so long. I need to report back with some really quirky ones!

;)

Hi TechBarber:

Just read your blog, nicely done. I am using 6 of your 10 suggestions, so we are on the same page. Each day I discover just one more little nugget that makes Evernote that much better.

I think my signature line best describes my feeling about Evernote.

Regards,

David in Wichita

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I made a post tonight that chronicles some of my big "uses" (http://www.techbarbe...m/evernote-use/), and it got me thinking. Sure, I love technology and I love Evernote, but there are likely ways to use it that haven't yet occurred to me. I thought it may be cool to post a thread about some of the more colourful ways everyone is using Evernote. My post had ten items but it will only hold people off for so long. I need to report back with some really quirky ones!

;)

Hi TechBarber:

Just read your blog, nicely done. I am using 6 of your 10 suggestions, so we are on the same page. Each day I discover just one more little nugget that makes Evernote that much better.

I think my signature line best describes my feeling about Evernote.

Regards,

David in Wichita

Your signature is succinct....I like it!

One thing I've found is even though I've been using Evernote for a couple of years now, I still have moments where it's like "why am I not using Evernote for this!!?". It's difficult sometimes to train yourself on something after 20 or 30 years doing it another way.

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Thanks!

Someone said to me last week "I like to think if something is truly great you can sum it up in one sentence. What does Evernote do?" I froze like Bertie from the Kings Speech!

It's hard to describe Evernote in one sentence! I said it was a "digital filing cabinet", but there's so much more - web clipping, scanning, paperless etc etc. Hopefully that helps a bit.

I'd use their catch phrase for the the one sentence description: "Remember everything."

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So I'm curious to know if I've missed any other cool uses for EN.

I'll list one more. Home renovation ideas. Great for storing clips/scans from magazines to get ideas for building decks, fences, flowerbeds etc.

Did you check out the links on my page (http://www.princeton.edu/~cmayo/evernote-use-cases.html)? It's there in the comments for this one (http://www.andrewcmaxwell.com/2009/11/100-different-evernote-uses/), and of course, there are over 1000 use cases in total, so you may be reinventing the wheel here...

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So I'm curious to know if I've missed any other cool uses for EN.

I'll list one more. Home renovation ideas. Great for storing clips/scans from magazines to get ideas for building decks, fences, flowerbeds etc.

Did you check out the links on my page (http://www.princeton...-use-cases.html)? It's there in the comments for this one (http://www.andrewcma...-evernote-uses/), and of course, there are over 1000 use cases in total, so you may be reinventing the wheel here...

Sorry - I meant to but I forgot to go back to it.

Just going through it now. I think this will help!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, it's gone pretty well so far. I've turned some people into Evernote "newbies" with that article. Unfortunately, after writing three or four different articles I still get a few people saying "I downloaded it, but...I still don't GET it" or "I have Evernote, but I need a quick lesson".

Apparently there is more work to be done :huh:

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There do seem to be two kinds of folks out there - the ones who always need a detailed route map with all the good rest stops marked in red, and the ones who are prepared to head into the woods knowing there's a shortcut to the beach in there somewhere. Most of the forum members with more than 5 posts are in the woodsperson camp*, the newbies are often looking for help with their map. All you can do (I think) is try to personalise the application of Evernote to individual interests - cooking? like films? collect stamps? This is how Evernote can help..

* vague pun not intended, but I'll take 'em when they happen...

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There do seem to be two kinds of folks out there - the ones who always need a detailed route map with all the good rest stops marked in red, and the ones who are prepared to head into the woods knowing there's a shortcut to the beach in there somewhere.

There is a 3rd kind that pops up occasionally in the forum.

That is the type who needs a detailed road map, but still refuses to read it.

I'm thinking of those who complain about a problem.

Then admit they never backed up their data (because they though it was safe in the cloud).

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There do seem to be two kinds of folks out there - the ones who always need a detailed route map with all the good rest stops marked in red, and the ones who are prepared to head into the woods knowing there's a shortcut to the beach in there somewhere.

There is a 3rd kind that pops up occasionally in the forum.

That is the type who needs a detailed road map, but still refuses to read it.

I'm thinking of those who complain about a problem.

Then admit they never backed up their data (because they though it was safe in the cloud).

And a fourth. Those who are afraid to "mess something up". You've got to plow ahead, save notes, press buttons, and if you see something that makes you think 'what does this do', don't be afraid - Google it.

Or press it!

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Another thing it's incredibly useful for - taking screenshots.

I especially like the fact you can highlight a specific area on the screen to capture just the portion you need. At first, I thought it was a fluke that the folks at EN included this feature but it totally makes sense. If you make a note-taking app it stands to reason you'd want as many options for getting stuff INTO it as possible.

Kudos to the developer or team that had the foresight to include that feature.

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  • 1 month later...

Reviving an old thread here, but this is the kind of thing that I love Evernote for. In fact, it's my favourite kind of note taking.

Earlier this week, the remote for my daughter's ceiling fan stopped working. After a frustrating struggle with remote codes today, I finally got things working again and I was terrified of having to go through the process of cycling through all the possible remote codes again in the future. (Turns out my 3 year old son was "fixing" the remote, so this may well happen again).

So what'd I do? Grabbed my phone, took a pic, and smiled because I know that if this ever happens again I'll know exactly what to do!

I posted the full story on my site with a picture that really is worth a thousand words!

http://bit.ly/SydTm5

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It's funny how amazing Evernote is.

I store everything that comes into my life.

We had my In Laws over for Sunday Roast and my Father In Law told me about a guy they met who works for the local fire service and checked their house for smoke alarms. 'He was brilliant' said my Mum In Law 'and fitted new alarms for free'. She then got out a receipt for their 'donation' and a letter. I asked my Daughter to bring my Doxie scanner to the dining room and promptly scanned both documents. Then explained these would be on my computer shortly! They were of course amazed!

The biggest use for me has to be a daily note with every task that comes across my desk. Each day is a note, each task has a tick box. Once every task is completed in a days 'note' the note is then sent to the completed diary for the respective year. There it stays forever. Allowing me to search for every aspect of that task, customer, supplier, product etc.

I would be lost without Evernote.

Regards

Chris

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Bah Humbug. Christmas shopping a couple of days ago and someone touch-parked next to my car. Impressive scrapes and dents, just visible in the dark. Started a new note on my phone and added pictures so I got the damage, the neighborhood, and the car parked next to me - plus the date and exact time. After a bit of amateur bodywork the next day what looked like serious damage pretty much went away, but if I had needed to pursue a claim against anyone I had some good supporting pictures...

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I always park at the end of a parking lot, because I'd rather walk than have to deal with damage to my car. It's good exercise, and keeps me from having to Evernote my vehicular foes :)

It's too bad that for every smart, car loving, Evernote-using citizen, there are 50,000 dough heads who are unaware of the space they take up in a parking lot. :rolleyes:

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Bah Humbug. Christmas shopping a couple of days ago and someone touch-parked next to my car. Impressive scrapes and dents, just visible in the dark. Started a new note on my phone and added pictures so I got the damage, the neighborhood, and the car parked next to me - plus the date and exact time. After a bit of amateur bodywork the next day what looked like serious damage pretty much went away, but if I had needed to pursue a claim against anyone I had some good supporting pictures...

THAT rocks!!! Well, not that your car was damaged, that's too bad. But it's a very cool way to use Evernote! If you had to pursue a claim, I would think your insurance agent would be very impressed. IDK about in the UK, but here, even with minor damage, I'd still be tempted to file a police report & provide them with all your supporting data.

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Just a reminder that Evernote can only do so much. My husband's aunt is visiting next week & she had mailed her flight information back in October. (She's in her 80's & not computer savvy. Although she doesn't use Evernote, she's still *very* organized.) Anyway, for some reason, I was thinking I had not yet scanned the letter & put it in Evernote. So I spend 20 minutes this morning, frantically looking for this letter. Finally, I think I'll check Evernote, just...in...case...I had scanned & tossed it already. Sure enough, there it is! Moral of the story is to remember to check Evernote, even if you think it may not be in there. :wacko:

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Ok, I've recently had another "fail - but not on Evernote's part" thing. I'd received an email from MyHabit.com (seems like it's an Amazon affiliated upscale outlet & they often have items at very deep discounts) and there was a pair of shoes I just loved but they only had 1 pair left in my size/color. When I'm unsure about something I wait a while & if I don't think of it again, I figure I didn't really like it all that much. So I thought about the shoes & the next day, the pair in my size/color was gone. When that happens, I figure it wasn't meant to be & move on. (Most of the time.) That was two months ago. I kept thinking about these shoes & even put myself on the MyHabit "wait list" in case they ever got them again. I finally decided I wanted these shoes & bought them last week. I found them at the standard online shoe places including Amazon & the current price at all these places is exactly what MyHabit said was the standard price & is over TWICE the price MyHabit was charging. I know this because I checked Evernote & saw the screen cap. Had I (impulsively) bought them when I first saw/liked them at MyHabit, I would have paid less than 50% of what I ended up paying for them. If I didn't have this screen cap in Evernote, I would not have known exactly how much I could have saved had I impulsively bought them. (sigh) Oh, well... ;)

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Ok, I've recently had another "fail - but not on Evernote's part" thing. I'd received an email from MyHabit.com (seems like it's an Amazon affiliated upscale outlet & they often have items at very deep discounts) and there was a pair of shoes I just loved but they only had 1 pair left in my size/color. When I'm unsure about something I wait a while & if I don't think of it again, I figure I didn't really like it all that much. So I thought about the shoes & the next day, the pair in my size/color was gone. When that happens, I figure it wasn't meant to be & move on. (Most of the time.) That was two months ago. I kept thinking about these shoes & even put myself on the MyHabit "wait list" in case they ever got them again. I finally decided I wanted these shoes & bought them last week. I found them at the standard online shoe places including Amazon & the current price at all these places is exactly what MyHabit said was the standard price & is over TWICE the price MyHabit was charging. I know this because I checked Evernote & saw the screen cap. Had I (impulsively) bought them when I first saw/liked them at MyHabit, I would have paid less than 50% of what I ended up paying for them. If I didn't have this screen cap in Evernote, I would not have known exactly how much I could have saved had I impulsively bought them. (sigh) Oh, well... ;)

I blame Evernote. If you hadn't of used Evernote in the first place, you would have consumed rather than Evernoted, but instead, you compulsively recorded information that will now taunt you forever from inside your account. If you had consumed first and Evernoted later, then you could have the screenshot and a picture of the shoes on your feet :)

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I blame Evernote. If you hadn't of used Evernote in the first place, you would have consumed rather than Evernoted, but instead, you compulsively recorded information that will now taunt you forever from inside your account. If you had consumed first and Evernoted later, then you could have the screenshot and a picture of the shoes on your feet :)

Yes. So if I go crazy & start shooting off a paintball gun at the clerks in my local Nordstom's shoe department, I will no longer be able to use the Twinkie defense, due to the shut down of Hostess Cake. I'll have to go with the Evernote defense.

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