Have you ever had a thought and then when you went to jot it down it’s all gone? Well, my thought train moves so quickly it gets pretty hard to keep up, which I why I started using Evernote in the first place. I have an Android phone, which means I get an Evernote widget on my homescreen, and because it’s been rooted and hacked ten ways to Sunday, I also get a widget on my lockscreen, ensuring that I can jot down my thoughts as fast as my brain moves.
So, with all the apps out there, why Evernote, right? Well, for starters, I’m typing this article (as with most of my articles) on my Macbook Air, with my Evernote application… but I sometimes write on my tablet, or phone, both with Evernote for Android. But what if I changed operating systems? Oh! No worries, Evernote has apps for Windows and iOS too. And if all else fails, there is a web application I can use from a browser. And there is more… it’s FREE. F. R. E .E. 🙂
I need to say that the new Evernote for Android app looks and feels great… I love it.
I’m a big fan of Google (who isn’t?!), and used to love Google Drive and Docs, but there is a place for that. Evernote is my secret haven, where I have just about everything, from my blog notes, to my projects, and my shopping lists. Google Docs I use for collaboration, when I’m working on something with other people, since you can clearly see who edited what, where and when. Evernote has a collaboration tool I think, but I’ve never used it, I don’t think it’s free and from what I heard it’s not as easy to use as Google Docs for everyone. I try to keep it simple with people who are not as tech-savvy as I am.
Evernote is my most used application.
Evernote has clean, almost distraction free writing, although, WordPress actually has distraction-free writing, which I would love to see here. But what I do like is the ability to quickly create a new note while I’m writing something. No thoughts go lost any more.
There is this wonderful thing called Notebooks, where I can organise various notes on the same topic into notebooks and then I can stack those notebooks into a notebook stack and group them all together. Oh, the possibilities… It’s an OCD haven. It may sound complicated but it’s not really, once you start using it exclusively. You need to get a few notebooks together before it really starts taking shape.
Reminders are relatively new to Evernote, but it was the best addition they have had for a while. With reminders, I can now add a date to a note, and keep track of it, making Evernote more of a project management tool than it was before. This was a great addition to my blogging too, which now allows me to sort of “flag” an article, and place a date to publish on it, keeping me on top of all my tasks.
What I do want to see on Evernote is a visible word count. I’m certain they have been asked this before, but I’ll have to say it again: a visible word count should be made available on the apps, because I can just glance up and see how close I am to my word limit without having to move away from my writing and click on the little ‘info’ icon. With writing essays, any distraction can derail you completely; so a visible word count would be ideal. With blogging, I have to write in Evernote, then when I get to WordPress I edit to stay within my desired word count. I would like to just write here, then copy my work and slap it on WordPress, put in the final touches and hit publish. It should be so that when I leave Evernote, it is just to Bold, Highlight, make Header, add Read More Tag, etc. in WordPress and no real editing.
I can’t write 600 words on why I love Evernote, it’s just not enough space (and there is a world of people who agree with me on this). But, I’ll write an Evernote series, and show the different ways I use Evernote for just about everything. And if someone from Evernote is reading this, please remember the visible word counter; it will change the way I write forever!
