How do I create notes without assigning them to notebooks?

[thomasella 2]

I'm coming over from Google Keep and I'm having a lot of trouble adjusting. I'm not so organized that I need everything to fit in a notebook -- I'd prefer that notes are just kinda there by default unless I choose to assign them to specific notebooks. I don't like having to force everything into a notebook immediately; sometimes a note is just a note and doesn't warrant an entire notebook being created for it. I made a "miscellaneous" notebook, but it's still just kind of frustrating, especially because it continually defaults all notes to a specific other notebook and I have no idea to change it.

 

It just doesn't make a ton of sense to me given that there's a "notes" category and a "notebook" category, so it seems to me like you should have all uncategorized notes in the "notes" area and all categorized notes in their specific notebooks.

 

Can someone help me out? Thanks!

[thomasella 2]

OK, by downloading the Mac app, I was able to change the default notebook, but still, is there any way to save notes without categorizing them?

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

Hi. The answer is "no." Every note must be in a notebook. I only used one notebook myself. For a while, it was called "notebook"

[jefito 5,589]

It just doesn't make a ton of sense to me given that there's a "notes" category and a "notebook" category, so it seems to me like you should have all uncategorized notes in the "notes" area and all categorized notes in their specific notebooks.

These are less categorizations than the actual structure of your note collection, and it's similar to that of a file system. All of your files must be in a folder; in Evernote, as GrumpyMonkey said, every note must be in a notebook. Now, the notebook that you choose to put a note in *is* a categorization, but the fundamental underlying rule still applies.

[thomasella 2]

These are less categorizations than the actual structure of your note collection, and it's similar to that of a file system. All of your files must be in a folder; in Evernote, as GrumpyMonkey said, every note must be in a notebook. Now, the notebook that you choose to put a note in *is* a categorization, but the fundamental underlying rule still applies.

Fair enough that Evernote's metaphor is about notebooks so you need to choose one to write in. I appreciate that Google Keep's metaphor is just post-it notes that you can just kinda have so you don't need to figure out a category for every single thing right at creation, but you can color it in a specific way if you'd like and sort them by color. That feels like a note taking system for regular people, whereas Evernote feels very centered around productivity for a work environment. I just wish there was like, "Evernote Casual" that just lets you take notes, and then if you really want to put something into a specific notebook, you can, instead of just forcing the issue.

[jefito 5,589]

You don't need to put notes into a notebook if you don't want to be bothered; Evernote will automatically put it into your default notebook if you don't want to think about it. Think of it as an Inbox, of sorts. If you want to move it elsewhere later on, that's easy.

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

OK, by downloading the Mac app, I was able to change the default notebook, but still, is there any way to save notes without categorizing them?

 

All Notes are "saved" and automatically go into your default Notebook without you taking any specific action.

 

One way to think about this by creating, and setting as default, a notebook named "Inbox".

I'm sure you can relate to this, as everything in your "Inbox" is not categorized, it is just stuff sitting there waiting for you to do something with them, maybe delete them, or filing them away for future reference.

 

If you want to keep a Note that is currently in your Inbox, you could move it to a notebook named "FileCabinet"

So, kinda like your physical world, you could keep things really simple and just have two Notebooks, Inbox and FileCabinet.

 

Does this make sense?

[thomasella 2]

@JMichael: Yep, after a couple other people mentioned similar solutions, now I just have a notebook called "Notes" and then additional notebooks for specific stuff. Given that that's the solution though, I still wish Evernote could solve this by introducing a new area for notes to go before they need to be categorized that looks and feels a little more like Google Keep, which is very casual and allows you to view notes as though they're simple post-its for easy consumption and do fun stuff like change the colors to make it look better. I'm not a huge fan of how Evernote has all your notes in one vertical list since many of those notes might be short and you could fit more of them if you're willing to stack them in multiple columns like Keep, but now I'm just being picky.

 

Now that I have a new default notebook, my problem is basically solved; I just wish it had been a bit more of an elegant process. Not a big deal. Evernote has better support, which I like, and even has an app for my Pebble Steel, which is what inspired me to try making the switch from Keep again. So it's not all bad -- it was just initially kind of confusing and seemed a little counterintuitive.

[jefito 5,589]

Wow, thank goodness we had someone come in to parrot the exact same thing others have already said earlier.

@thomasella: if you don't want to be bothered with categorization, then that's no problem; just keep one notebook. There's nothing whatsoever inelegant about Evernote's arrangement; it's used by many programs, including all of the email programs that I've ever used. Do nothing and don't worry, if that's your thing. The "new area" that you propose is called in Evernote the "default notebook". I doubt that Evernote even considers it to be a problem than needs to be solved. I don't think that they feel any compunction to emulate Google Keep; I've always felt that they're a lot more like GMail in many respects, though. There are third party apps that let you view your Evernotes in different ways than just simple lists, though. Since you're on the Mac, you might want to check out the Evernote App Center for Mac for Mac apps that integrate with Evernote (there are App Centers for other platforms as well).

[thomasella 2]

@jefito: You're right, and as others have pointed out, having one default notebook called "Notes" or "Inbox" or whatever isn't all that different from using Google Keep or another service. And yes, Evernote's interface isn't different than a lot of others and looks functionally identical to Apple's Notes program, for instance, so again, it's not that bad. It's really just me being spoiled by how pleasantly casual and simple Google Keep's interface is and my personal preferences are based on that. I'm adjusting to Evernote already, so it's not a big deal anymore.

 

Thanks for the recommendation on the App Store. I had no idea Evernote had that kind of functionality.

[jefito 5,589]

Yeah, they've been big on pushing their API for a while. The thought being that interconnectivity with other products strengthens their own position, and since it's the API they they themselves use, it gives them more some external validation that it works well. 

 

I tend to not use the third-party add-ins myself, except for awhile when I was using IFTTT and Zapier, but hopefully there's something out there that helps you with your desire for more suitable note list display.