Evernote Home Dashboards (from contest)

[DTLow 5,736]

I started this topic to discuss Evernote Home Dashboards

There is a contest posted at https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/122232-home-dashboard-contest/
with sample home dashboard notes
I wanted to follow up with more detailed discussion without cluttering the contest submissions

My contribution was

 

I use my daily journal note as my home dashboard
It's rebuilt each morning from a template

The template includes info and links for frequently accessed information
This includes Evernote notes, files, web sites, ...

In addition to the links, I also insert screenshots

 

In the Activities Log Section, I include checkboxes for daily reminders
and copy my events from the calendars

The calendar section includes links to the calendars/reminders I reference.  

 

The Tasks section displays my task notes exported to a spreadsheet

I also include a photo from my location.  
The mountains in the background are the Olympic Mountains in Washington state across the Strait of Juan de Fuca 

 

>Is any of that information dynamic at all? Or must it be built from scratch, every morning, with a ton of copy/paste actions going on....?

The links are static from a template; screenshots are a "ton of copy/paste" actions
The Task/Project lists are generated by Applescript

edit; moved to the new Home Dashboards forum

[DTLow 5,736]

On 12/4/2019 at 4:16 AM, Joe Leondike said:

Like most people people, I am juggling multiple aspects of my life; career, advancement, school, family, etc.  I have found the Eisenhower method helpful, with a twist.  I use it as my dashboard for GTD and add a side of Kanban.  That way I can see what is coming up and what has been done. 

I'm following up on the "side of Kanban"    
I know very little about Kanban
Can you explain how this applies to your home dashboard note?

>>Eisenhower method

I also use this priority method - with two tags; Urgent, Important
I don't use a matrix grid.  My task list is sorted by start date in a gantt timeline view
- Urgent/Important tasks are colour coded

[DTLow 5,736]

18 minutes ago, Sayre Ambrosio said:

All I did was custom make images in Canva and stick them in a table. Adding a link to each image to jump to a note and you’re done. 🙂

I like the idea of adding links to the images instead of text - it gives a bigger target to click on

[Sayre Ambrosio 520]

48 minutes ago, DTLow said:

I like the idea of adding links to the images instead of text - it gives a bigger target to click on

That's exactly why I did it. I had it as just a text based system earlier on and change it when some of the older residents that use it mentioned that sometimes they couldn't see the text without blowing everything up. Not gonna lie, it also gave me an excuse to pay for Canva which I love lol.

[DTLow 5,736]

59 minutes ago, toao said:

after experimenting with a number of things my dashboard ended up being my sidebar with a fair number of shortcuts and saved searches, representing the main processes I use EN for (alright, I admit it, all my digital processes are in EN):

I tried using the Shortcut section in the sidebar, but I found the lack of organization too chaotic.    
It's basically a long list with no hierarchy

I moved  the items to a Dashboard Note where I could add organization, and make it pretty  
I can also include non-Evernote links and references 

I do have a Shortcut to my Dashboard Note; at the top of the list; accessed by command+1 on my Mac

[DTLow 5,736]

22 minutes ago, Corybe said:

 I'd like dynamic content to break up text-only content.   I'd like my Google Calendar to load. I know how to set up a note for tasks and checklists to link to, but how do I get those to pre-populate the proper area in the dashboard

You can insert a link to Google calendar

By definition, Evernote Notes are static.      
Third party Filterize has a feature to update content dynamically.   
I use scripting on my Mac; also simple copy/paste

[DTLow 5,736]

On 12/7/2019 at 2:30 AM, Atif said:

A dashboard for me is a notebook, not a note. I call it 'Weekly'.  

That's valid, but it limits the scope (I removed Notes from this discussion's title)
Your method forces a dynamic notelist

 Also, you might use a Shortcut for easier access      
In which case you're not restricted to a Notebook; it could be a tag  or saved search

>>Each week is represented as a single note in the notebook. 

You might want to specify a year in the note title  instead of just Week nn  
I have daily notes with title example   2019/12/07 Journal  [2019.341 Saturday]

[DTLow 5,736]

58 minutes ago, Corybe said:

Nobody can access it but me (not even their awesome staff)

We allow Evernote access to our data on the servers; backup, OCR, indexing for searching

>>Can you speak to that concern since you use Filterize?

I trust Evernote and Filterize with access to my data   
...and I encrypt my sensitive data

>>DTLow - sorry, I don't understand your response.

You posted "Nobody can access it but me"   
For this to be true, your data must be encrypted with you holding the key

[Corybe 13]

Posted Wednesday at 09:02 AM to the contest site

Wow, you folks just opened my eyes to how I might solve the problem with which I have been struggling for years.  I use Evernote A LOT, and I have been wishing there was a way for it to be the first thing I open each day and have it guide me through my daily tasks and provide resources for said tasks.  I suffer from a brain injury, and my organizational skills, memory, and processing printed material are quite challenged as a result of the damage.  I tried setting up reminder alerts, but that got too cumbersome and overwhelmed me.  Having a dashboard note seems like an answer to my prayers.  Soooo, how the heck do you create one of these and load in dynamic content like photos?  I know how to use note links and such.  I need some help figuring out just how to do this.  Can someone help me?  THANKS!!!!

[Corybe 13]

1 minute ago, DTLow said:

We allow Evernote access to our data on the servers; backup, OCR, indexing fir searching

DTLow - sorry, I don't understand your response.

[DTLow 5,736]

22 hours ago, Corybe said:

Soooo, how the heck do you create one of these and load in dynamic content like photos?

My dashboard note is simply an Evernote note(s) that has links to other notes for quick and easy access
It's created each day from a template note
For easy access, I have an entry at the top of my Shortcut section.  This can be accessed with command + 1 (Mac)

>>dynamic content

My dynamic content is mostly manually copy/pasting screenshots
I generate some content using scripting (Mac)   
- third party Filterize has a feature for dynamic content

[Atif 23]

8 hours ago, DTLow said:

That's valid, but it limits the scope (I removed Notes from this discussion's title)
Your method forces a dynamic notelist

 Also, you might use a Shortcut for easier access      
In which case you're not restricted to a Notebook; it could be a tag  or saved search

>>Each week is represented as a single note in the notebook. 

You might want to specify a year in the note title  instead of just Week nn  
I have daily notes  with title   2019/12/07 Journal  [2019.341 Saturday]

"That's valid, but it limits the scope (I removed Notes from this discussion's title)
Your method forces a dynamic notelist"

less is more  I purposefully target just a single metric through the notebooks interface. 

" Also, you might use a Shortcut for easier access      
In which case you're not restricted to a Notebook; it could be a tag  or saved search"

Already do

"You might want to specify a year in the note title  instead of just Week nn  
I have daily notes  with title   2019/12/07 Journal  [2019.341 Saturday]"

Thought of that some years back but happy with keeping a notebook with 52 notes only. Comes Jan 1, the entire notebook gets renamed to 2019 and a fresh new 'Weekl'y notebook starts. You can see I am a minimalist and don't like 'non-data' ink as Stephen Few puts it here.

Also, by not mentioning the year, I can search more easily for say 'week 51' across all past years and compare  instead of searching for substrings like '/12/07' or similar for example

[Atif 23]

On 12/5/2019 at 4:41 PM, Sayre Ambrosio said:

That's exactly why I did it. I had it as just a text based system earlier on and change it when some of the older residents that use it mentioned that sometimes they couldn't see the text without blowing everything up. Not gonna lie, it also gave me an excuse to pay for Canva which I love lol.

Love this idea, will be especially handy on touch screens I reckon. 

I love Canva too 🙂 but for instagram mostly 😅

[DTLow 5,736]

On 12/7/2019 at 2:30 AM, Atif said:

• Each week is represented as a single note in the notebook. 
• I use a single color coded metric (Good, Average, Bad) week based on a qualitative assessment at the end of each week. 

I already do a reflection, but I like the concept of a Bad/Average/Great indicator
I'll borrow that for my daily journal notes

>>Each card ends with a picture of a coloured square which Evernote automatically picks up as the card picture in the middle column (Evernote layout). 

I'll just add an icon to the note title  🔴 🟢 🔶

>>My mantra is to get some really good weeks in a year

I like that.  I'll work towards 🔸 days each week

Cue John Denver, Some Days are Diamond

[DTLow 5,736]

15 hours ago, Kruger2147 said:

How do you have a new note generate every day with the tasks and things you need? Does it delete the old note? Do you have a notebook full of day old notes going back for months or years? How do you keep it organized?

I use a combined note for Dashboard, Journal, Tasks

@Terminal inicated automation using Automator AppleScript & Bash
My generation is via applescript on my Mac, scheduled to run at 7am each day
A new note is created with title yy-dd-mm Journal ....

Organized by note title, and tag !Type-Journal
Yes, I have notes going back years

The note is generated from a template
The project/task list portion is generated from project/task notes by the script

[DTLow 5,736]

On 12/8/2019 at 9:11 AM, ej8899 said:

here's my current dashboard note

I think you should win in the category of most emojis in a single note  😊
They look good

You're just including tags;  but full search parameters is a good idea  
It gets around the limitation of no links to a saved search
Another work-around is dynamic Table of Content notes

My dashboard is more spartan than yours.  I'm comfortable with using the tag filter for less frequent selections 

>>Evernote also is a CRM for me

Another topic
Apple Contacts is my front end, but I store content in Evernote including a copy of the vCard
I need to develop a script to keep the vCards current

[DTLow 5,736]

3 hours ago, merman said:

I wouldn't even know how to participate

To participate in the contest, just post a screenshot of your dashboard along with a description.   The discussion at https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/122232-home-dashboard-contest/ is being used for this

>>I've seen the contributions and read the discussion, but I still have no clue how to set up a Dashboard like the ones presented here.

Check out the posts.  A very basic dashboard is a note that includes links
Evernote notes can get "fancy" with tables, colours, ....

>>But what if I want to monitor not only particular notes, but notebooks? As far as I know it's not possible to link notebooks, is it?

As noted, we can't link to notebooks.  I have two work-arounds

• Include search parameters.  For example     Samples   ^{notebook:Samples}     
  The search parameters are copied/pasted to the search box
• Include dynamic Table of Contents, or link to a dynamic ToC note         
  Dynamic ToC is a feature of third party Filterize; I use scripting on my Mac

[DTLow 5,736]

18 minutes ago, cyclealltheway said:

My life is run by the email I get each morning from Evernote with those notes that have reminders scheduled for that day.

In itself, the reminder email is a dashboard
A concern is that it's a one time notification of the reminder; not repeated for open reminders

Kudos on using a Mac - you're ahead of the pack.  
I use a Mac and iPad

[DTLow 5,736]

On 12/12/2019 at 9:16 AM, merman said:

looks more like a website to me

A website can be used as a Dashboard
In fact; generate a public link and any note become a "website"

>>wouldn't meet my needs in keeping track of specific 'next actions' e.g.

A DashBoard may or may-not  include GTD information

On my Dashboard, I have chosen to include a link to my tasks (specific 'next actions' e.g.)          
I also include a screenshot

[DTLow 5,736]

On 12/5/2019 at 12:40 PM, toao said:

my dashboard   ...
- on a sidenote: one of these saved searches are notes in open actions that are not slotted into GTD yet (I call them unassigned). this is essentially my inbox.

On 12/12/2019 at 10:11 AM, merman said:

interesting! the Open Actions are the same as Next Actions in GTD-terminology, I guess. But how do you make them come from different projects into this very notebook?

More a GTD question, but I'm also interested in "Open Actions" and "Next Actions"     
I also identify  Completed Actions

My "slotted into GTD" begins when I identify a note as actionable

Actions and Projects
Instead of a notebook      
- I use a tag (Actionable) assigned to any notes that are actionable    
 - Project is another tag (Project-aaaaaaaaaaa)
To "make them come from different projects" is a simple search on the notebook/tags,
for  example tag:Actionable or  Notebook:"Open Actions"

I don't have a specific Open identification; I use not Completed in a search

I suspect Next Actions are addressed with tags Now/Soon/Later/Waiting/Thinking
For myself, I use the Reminder feature (also handles date specified actions)     
Either dated/undated; the reminder also stores Due-Date and Completed-Date/Status

I don't have a specific Now tag
An action reminder is defaulted to Now, if not Soon/Later/Waiting/Thinking/Future-Dated

[DTLow 5,736]

5 hours ago, dbvirago said:

One thing that would be nice is to have links to folders similar to notes. ... My workaround is to have an empty note in these folders and create an internal link to that note. Not very elegant, but it works. 

Agreed, links to searches would be useful (includes notebooks and tags)

Your empty note could be a Table of Contents for the notebook    
Even better, a dynamic ToC

My workaround is to specify the search parameters so they can be copy/pasted into the search box
For example:      Current Tasks  notebook:aaaaaaaaaa

[CalS 5,280]

14 hours ago, DTLow said:

Agreed, links to searches would be useful (includes notebooks and tags)

Your empty note could be a Table of Contents for the notebook    
Even better, a dynamic ToC

My workaround is to specify the search parameters so they can be copy/pasted into the search box
For example:      Current Tasks  notebook:aaaaaaaaaa

Mine is to put saved searches in a table in a note which is on my shortcuts bar and use a PhraseExpress hotkey to activate them.  Hover over the search term and use the hotkey.  FWIW.

[DTLow 5,736]

16 minutes ago, lisec said:

How do you hyperlink an image?

 

9 minutes ago, lisec said:

YES!  I figured it out. You can't right-click on the image because that will not give you the option to add a hyperlink. But if you select the image and use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+K you can add a link.  Doing the happy dance!

On my Mac, I can right click on a selection - image or text
I select the object first, right-click, then have the option of adding a link

[lisec 283]

54 minutes ago, DTLow said:

 

On my Mac, I can right click on a selection - image or text
I select the object first, right-click, then have the option of adding a link

On my Windows, I can't. 😉

[DTLow 5,736]

4 minutes ago, cmouse01 said:

I just started using my dashboard recently so it's a work in progress.  I keep alternating between a "bullet"-style journal, but sometimes I get annoyed having to set up weekly pages.  So I created this Dashboard template.  I have notes in various places but this is my summary ...

Usually, a dashboard would include links to those "notes in various places"

[Joe Leondike 16]

On 12/4/2019 at 10:55 AM, DTLow said:

I'm following up on the "side of Kanban"    
I know very little about Kanban
Can you explain how this applies to your home dashboard note?

>>Eisenhower method

I also use this priority method - with two tags; Urgent, Important
I don't use a matrix grid.  My task list is sorted by start date    
- Urgent/Important tasks are colour coded

Kanban is a system of tracking from ‘waiting for’ to ‘doing’ to ‘completed’. So many times I will place an item on my cue as a waiting for. That way I can determine the scope of the project before Putting it into a category. Only the. ‘doing’ is placed in the matrix. I hope picture here helps.  The 'To Do' is all of my pending actions that need to be accomplished.  The 'Doing' category is where I apply the Urgent/Important categories.  'Done' is just a list of those items that show me what projects I have completed or worked on.  

Sometimes, one part of project can't be started until a different part is completed.  

An example is my spring 2020 semester. Those I currently have as waiting, in January it will become Important as I’m tracking each task/project that needs to be completed.  Eventually my doctorate will fall into the completed category. 
 

I hope this helps. 

[DTLow 5,736]

4 hours ago, urusaiyatsu@gmail.com said:

The Dashboards I've seen are impressive but they seem to be a lot of work. I don't want to have to constantly maintain a dashboard, just set it up and it does the work for me. 

Most of the dashboards I've seen were static; set up once and used as an easy access to notes     
It would help if there were links to saved searches (I include the search parameters)

>>But, it feels like I am often working hard to make Evernote do what I want, rather than it being easy for me. 

I think what you're looking for is a different topic; automated workflows    
I've had some success using scripting on my Mac    
Examples: My task data is stored in Evernote - I need a task report in a specific layout   
                    My receipts data is stored in Evernote - I need a expense report in a specific layout

 

[DTLow 5,736]

3 hours ago, johnataylor said:

Someone raised the question of linking from a dashboard to individual notebooks. I do this by simply creating an index page in every notebook, then linking that page to my dashboard. The index page serves as a dashboard inside my notebook (sometimes created by the EN "Table of Contents" feature, sometimes updated manually as I add notes within the notebook).

The ToC note is even more useful, replacing a link to notebook, tag, or saved search   
It's also more flexible than a simple note list;    
- entries can have modified titles   
- entries can be organized in special sequence, under headings

A criticism is that the list in a ToC note is static and may omit new newly created notes   
Third party Filterize offers a feature that keeps the ToC notes dynamic, updated with the latest note list    
I do something similar using scripting on a Mac

>>how quickly we'll jump ship from Evernote because of the few things it has struggled with over the years  ...while ignoring the things it does well--even if sometimes it takes a little creativity

I like that Evernote provides the tools, but we're not locked into any paradigm
Dashboards work for me, but other users can ignore the concept

[Austin Smith 0]

" the idea of adding links to the images instead of text - it gives a bigger target to click on " ..I am not sure that users will pay attention to click on image instead of text. you may use "hit map" to check out the result.

[minousoso 0]

or instance a table calendar which cells would get filled with note links depending on the reminder dates and/or tags.

Should be possible with Regular Expression I guess:

Tutuapp 9apps Showbox

1. Identify the date from the note (tag or reminder date)
2.  Copy the internal link
3. Go to the calendar note
4. Find the month, then the day
5. Jump to the next cell
6. Paste the note link