Evernote

For what do I use Evernote? Everything. It’s less of an exaggeration than it might seem. If you have never heard of Evernote, let me introduce you to this gem of a utility.

Evernote (www.evernote.com) is an information gathering and organizing application, and it literally keeps my crazy life somewhat together. I have their apps on my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, and I don’t know what I’d do without it. Here’s how I use it:

1. Web clipping – This is one of my favorite uses, by far. I love Twitter for professional development, and I come across articles or resources daily that I want to find later. I simply click on the Evernote Clearly extension on my web browser, and that information is dropped right into my Evernote account for me to read later. I can then read those resources anytime I want on any of my devices. This has been invaluable to me, as I’ve spent many hours on a train to or from Chicago without an internet connection. As long as I sync the app on my iPad before I board the train, everything is there for me to browse through.

2. Recipes – I am not a cook. I don’t enjoy cooking. I am getting better at it, little by little. Finding recipes online is an easy way for me to stretch my limited cooking abilities. I clip recipes from websites and put them in my Evernote recipes notebook. I have my personal cookbook wherever I go! My mother-in-law is a nutritionist and sends me recipes, which used to get lost in my email inbox. Now I forward them to my Evernote account, so I can keep them all in one neat spot.

3. Master’s Degree Project – Being a working mom leaves me little free time to sit down and write my paper. From time to time, as my mind wanders, I come up with an idea or something I want to research later to include in my project. I will grab whatever device is near and write myself a note and stash it in the notebook for my project.

4. Music Students’ Digital Portfolios – In conjunction with #3, I have 50 notebooks in my Evernote account for digital portfolios. I teach approximately 50 individual instrumental lessons each week, and I have been documenting my students’ progress through recordings. I can then share them with parents via a student specific website.

5. Christmas Shopping – My kids love to take me in the toy aisle every time we’re at the store and show me things that I should be buying for them. I snap a picture of their wanted items and stick those pictures away in my gifts notebook. Besides reminding me of what they wanted, it also helps me compare prices and stay within a budget for holiday shopping.

6. Inventory – Some people have their book collections inventoried in a spreadsheet. Oh, how I would love that, but I don’t have that kind of time. In Evernote, pictures can be text-searched, so I can take a picture of my bookshelf and it becomes my card catalog. Want to find out if I have a book by Peter Boonshaft? Let me search my library!

7. Penultimate – This is an app I am just starting to use on my iPad. Take handwritten notes in this app and sync them with Evernote. Handwritten notes are now searchable too. I’ll update this post as I gain more experience with it.

There you go. I really do use Evernote for just about everything!