How I use Evernote: Why and for What I use Evernote
On a daily basis, so many random papers are coming to me that I cannot throw away but I don’t even know if I need it in the future.
Receipts, postcard size direct mails with coupon code, dentist estimates, letters from daycare, paper pediatrics wrote as milestone checkup visits, etc. etc.
Random paper in the kitchen counter or on my desk makes me sick. So these papers, I would love to throw away and never see them in our house.
However, each paper says “You cannot throw me because I have a reason to be here.” and that’s right. Receipts, maybe I will return one of the items. coupon code, it doesn’t expire in 2 months. I will want to see the breakdown cost again for the dentist estimates, I want to keep letters from daycare just in case, and I want to keep my baby’s milestone checkup visit note for the record.
One day, I decided to move all physical papers digitally as much as possible. That was almost a decade ago but I remember that changed my life.
Not seeing random paper at home feels great. Storing papers digitally is an essential step as minimalist.
Today, I would like to share my paperless lifestyle with you.
The Tool I use
Evernote.
I’ve been using Evernote for almost a decade and I will not change my tool.
Why Evernote? I hear you people. We have Dropbox and Google Drive for cloud storage. We have Bear for a writing tool. Here is why.
Why Evernote
Reason 1: I use Evernote as a Digital Storage
I use Evernote as a digital storage not for other purposes.
I am not using Evernote as a writing tool.
I am not using Evernote for storage of my photos.
Evernote is a giant digital black box for me. All my papers are in there.
The basic idea is I toss any physical paper document into Evernote and destroy physical paper physically.
For this purpose, Evernote is great for me. The concern I should care about is storage space. I am using an Evernote premium and this plan allows me to upload 10GB per month. This is enough space for me.
I actually don’t need 10GB per month. However, Evernote basic only allows me to connect 2 devices. This is not quite convenient for me. I use PC at work, I use Mac at home, and I have iPhone and iPad — 4 devices already.
To be able to access Evernote anytime from anywhere is very important for me. Thus, I am using a premium plan. But if you can limited 2 devices, you can start with Evernote basic plan which is for free.
Reason 2: Evernote Tag is amazing
Evernote’s Tag system is amazing.
When you want to find a certain note, you really want to find a short step as possible.
I add at least one tag to each note. So when you want to find a certain note, I can narrow down to dig in the tags.
Reason 3: Evernote Shortcuts is saving my time
In another way to access a note as quickly as possible, adding a note to shortcuts is another amazing way.
In some time period, you refer to the same note over and over. For example, when you’re working on a project, you want to refer to notes related to that project.
If you add that related notes to shortcuts, you can access the note quickly.
What I store in Evernote
As I mentioned above, I know how and why I use Evernote. This is not only for Evernote, but when you use productivity tools, defining why and how is the key to successfully use productivity tools.
Here is what I store in Evernote
#1 Physical Papers
- Receipt
- Bills
- Any random papers
work-related: job offer letter, yearly salary increase letter
Baby related: letter from pediatrics, ob-gyn doctor
Daycare related: letter from daycare, meal calendar, event calendar
Miscellaneous: business card, etc
These physical papers, I keep one plastic box I got from IKEA and store everything in here. Once a week or so, these papers are captured by iPhone to Evernote. After capturing, these papers are all gone to trash box!
There so many random papers we get on a daily basis. If we don’t have a system, these random papers are just sitting in some random place in your house. To avoid that, I store all physical papers in Evernote. So I don’t need to worry about the mess at the house, and also I can get the relief I can refer to if I need it.
#2 Digital Documents
We get documents digitally. Via email or so. All digital documents are also stored in Evernote. For example, I store this type of digital documents in Evernote.
- Lease documents
- Tax Information
- Certification for Online Courses
- etc
For digital documents, you can search email. However, unification of the searching process makes your life simpler. When I need to find a document, I don’t want to think “Should I search email or Evernote?” When I search the document, just go to Evernote straight. I like this simplicity.
#3 Project Notes
In general, I manage my tasks in the task system. I don’t store to-do lists in Evernote. However, some projects, I would like to see the record while I’m working on the project. In some projects, I would like to look back how the project went. For this purpose, I create project notes and store them in Evernote.
What’s project notes? — it’s a simple note collecting milestone dates and events.
For example, I am in the process of applying for the green card now. This whole project will take a year (or more). I would like to see the important dates such as the applied date, the date I got a notice from USCIS, the interview appointment date.
This will apply when you apply for college, for a job. Recording the milestone date will help — to recognize how long this process tasks. Also, especially these types of long term projects feel taking forever. But your project is moving forward to small steps. Recording milestone dates will tell you the small step.
#4 Bookmarks
I use Evernote as a digital bookmark tool too. When I want to save this page, I use the Evernote Google chrome extension to save the page.
What I don’t store in Evernote
I basically use Evernote as a digital storage. However, I don’t store items that required a secure system. For example, I don’t store in Evernote SSN, Passport, Credit Card Information, Passwords.
Instead, I use 1 Password to store all my secure items. 1 Password is another amazing productivity tool I’m loving it. I will talk about this in the future.
These are why I use Evernote and what I store in Evernote.
In the next article, I will write my Evernote process. How I capture and process Evernote. Stay tuned!
