What We Learned in 2017: Our 15 Best Stories
The productivity tips you need to read, all in one place
Just like that, another year is almost over.
And 2017 was quite the year. A year of change. A year of getting things done (hopefully). And for us here at Evernote, a year of stories — filled with tips, insights, and new product enhancements to help our customers and readers be their most productive selves.
We’ve rounded up 15 of our most popular articles in 2017 so you have the all the coveted productivity tips, stories, and sources of inspiration from the past year in one place. From templates and distraction-free deep work to tables and tricks for staying focused, here are some of the best reads from our blog and Medium publication.
So take some time to reflect on the past year — 2018 will be here before you know it. And these tips and insights will help you make it happen.
15 stories that grabbed our readers’ attention in 2017:
- Speed things up with templates: Templates are real timesavers, but how do you use them, and where can you find them? This definitive guide to templates has got you covered, explaining how they work and rounding up some of our favorites.
- Get to work with business templates: If you already know your way around templates, this one’s for you. We teamed up with Barbara Fuller of Simplify Days to create a free set of templates that help entrepreneurs organize and streamline their work in Evernote, from hiring candidates to writing a marketing plan.
- Borrow some ideas from Albert Einstein: You don’t have to be a genius to bring creativity to your work. We can all learn a lot from Albert Einstein’s Unique Approach to Thinking. It turns out Einstein went about his work in ways anyone can apply, from visualization to daydreaming, and even a dash of procrastination.
4. Learn how do deep work in a sea of distractions: There’s an ongoing battle for your attention. We live in a distracted world, but deep work matters more than ever. And we’ve got tips for distancing yourself from distractions so you can reach new heights of productivity.
5. Avoid those pesky focus-stealing traps: With all of the distractions in today’s world, we could all use a little help getting (and staying) focused. Learn how concentration works and get these four tips for avoiding distraction traps.
6. Read the story of Evernote’s founder: We celebrated 9 years of Evernote in 2017 by giving thanks to our incredible founder, Stepan Pachikov. In a profile of Stepan, we dove into his innovations, hopes, struggles, and his impossible mission to preserve human memory.
7. Keep track of what you’ve done: If your to-do list is stressing you out, tracking what you’ve already accomplished can be refreshingly empowering. We make the case for keeping a “done list” alongside your to-do list to boost your productivity.
8. Adopt Eisenhower’s approach to task management: “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.”- Dwight D. Eisenhower, probably. This quote is questionably attributed to the five-star general and 34th U.S. President, but it’s the foundation for the Eisenhower matrix, a decision-making tool for time management. We explain how the approach works (and give you a template for using it Evernote!)
9. Discover the new tables in Evernote: One of the best features for organizing information and ideas in Evernote got a major update in 2017. The new table editing experience is simple, flexible, and more colorful.
10. Listen to our podcast conversation with Michael Hyatt: For the first episode of our re-launched podcast, “Taking Note,” we sat down with leadership mentor Michael Hyatt to talk about resolutions, goals, and making the most of 2017. Take a listen, and then check out our other guests from Season 1.
11. Join the debate: messy vs. clean desks: Clutter gets a bad rap. And while orderliness seems linked to success, messiness can actually lead to increased creativity. So can changing your desk change your life? We explore how your workspace can impact your experience on the job.
12. Boost productivity on your phone with Evernote: With Evernote on your phone, it’s easier to stay productive on the go. And we’re not just talking about to-do lists. We rounded up 5 ways you can use Evernote to get things done, no matter where you are.
13. Capture ideas with a new Slack integration: Evernote is where you keep your ideas. Slack connects your ideas to others. And in 2017, Evernote and Slack became better together, thanks to a shiny new integration. You can now share, write, and clip notes right from Slack — and get everyone on the same page. We rounded up 3 ways to use Evernote with Slack to help get you started.
14. Break things down with Feynman’s method: Richard Feynman is considered to be one of the most important physicists of all time. They also called him the ‘Great Explainer’. So it stands to say that we could all maybe learn a thing or two from him. Enter the Feynman technique, an approach to communicating complex information, simply. It’s a game changer for learning, writing, and teaching.
15. Make the most of working from home. Always distracted while working remotely? Even the best of us sometimes find the line blurring between offsite and off-the-clock. Here’s how successful telecommuters make working offsite more productive.
What was your favorite productivity insight of 2017? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading!
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