A Different Take on Using Evernote to Become Massively Productive
The article How to Use Evernote to Become Massively Productive written by Bryan Collins got a lot of visibility when it appeared in Forbes in April 2020.
Although the article contains some solid advice, it falls short on orienting you to some key points to consider when learning to use Evernote effectively.
The article has five key points. Each is posted below along with my commentary, and an additional free resource to improve your understanding of how to become massively productive with Evernote.
(If you’re wondering who am I to critique his article, learn more about my story and Evernote journey here.)
Article Point #1: Capture Everything
I couldn’t agree more. Evernote is the best capture tool on the market, and I love the idea of training yourself to think “Can this go in Evernote?”. To understand Evernote capture more deeply, review Evernote: The Ultimate Capture Tool.
Article Point #2: Use Notebooks Sparingly and Tags Heavily
There’s no greater debate in the Evernote user community than if you should use tags or notebooks to organize Evernote. But, following this advice without understanding all the implications is a mistake.
I’ve recently published an article that addresses this debate. It relates specifically to organizing Evernote for GTD, but the concepts translate to anything you want to organize in Evernote and should be required reading before you jump into Bryan’s tag-heavy advice: Notebooks: The Most Efficient Way To Organize Evernote for GTD®.
Article Point #3: Review Your Notes
As the article states, “The real value from any notebook lies in reviewing what's inside and seeing how different ideas relate to each other.” It’s good advice. And, there’s a key Evernote skill that will assist you in making review and discovery within your Evernote account valuable to you: Note links.
Learning about Evernote note links transformed my understanding of what was possible with Evernote. And, they’re a huge support in tying together related ideas and gaining valuable insights from reviewing your notes. Learn all about note links here: Mastering Evernote: Your Complete Guide to Note Link Nirvana.
Article Point #4: If All Else Fails, Search
I wholeheartedly agree with this point. Search is often not discussed enough in Evernote tutorials. I provide an analogy to help understand the full power of Evernote search here.
Article Point #5: Collaborate
I love that the article mentions Evernote’s collaboration features. I find Evernote’s sharing tools to be the least understood and most underutilized Evernote features. Years ago I recorded this training video discussing several of Evernote’s key collaboration tools. The features are still relevant today.
There are lots of good nuggets in the article, and I hope you find the expanded resources deepen your understanding of how to truly become massively productive with Evernote.
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