Productivity 101

It has been a while since I started using Evernote as my primary tool for doing GTD. For those of you that just now stumbled upon this blog here is a link to the page where you can find all previous posts on Evernote and GTD.

Since upgrading to the premium version I find myself mailing in more and more documents for projects and it is just great to be able to have all the current files for a project in one place.

With the new iPhone version typing text notes is greatly enhanced because I can now use the landscape keyboard. I still miss a good list view on the iPhone app but the landscape mode makes it already better to navigate and use.

I have had some issues with Evernote. Errors with very large pdf files and errors with mailing documents to my Evernote account. Because these issues were messing with me wanting to have complete trust in the system I contacted Evernote support. They rock. In both cases they understood the problem and provided a good solution.

One of the things that amazes me is that as far as I know the guys at Evernote didn’t know GTD when they originally developed Evernote. It is so funny to see that in my case Evernote turns out to be the perfect GTD app that supports all the importants aspects of GTD. It enables me to keep things under control and have the right perspective on all things in my current reality, both personal and professional.

If you have any question about Evernote and GTD please leave a comment and I’d be happy to answer them. If you have found a great way to use Evernote for your GTD setup, please share them!

written by Fokke \\ tags: Evernote

Tags

When I first started out with Evernote in a GTD way I struggled with using the rights features for the right GTD use. I tried using the tags as contexts but this didn’t work out in a way I liked. I have to be honest that early on the tags feature of Evernote was somewhat unpredictable in my case where I mixed the Windows and Mac client together with the iPhone app and the occasional use of the web interface. But even after those glitches were solved by the guys from Evernote I still didn’t completely trust that system. Not that it wasn’t reliable but it just didn’t work in my workflow.

In the meantime I have found a great way for tags in my GTD setup. I use the tags as temporary labels for project support material entries. I use it for web clippings, all kinds of documents (see below about Premium). It is my experience that I have at most about 20 active tags. When the project is done I simply delete the tag.

Saved Searches

This feature of Evernote is used for several lists that I use every now and then. I have a saved search that lists all the notes that contain interesting books, films or music. Also Saved searches provides me with a list of restaurants. I have for each saved search a dedicated word that is used for generating the list from all my notes across all notebooks. For books to read the keyword is simply: booktip.

Premium feature

There was one thing in my GTD workflow that didn’t quite worked. In a lot of my actions and projects I have to deal with documents, spreadsheets and other files. With the premium (aka payed) version of Evernote you can use these kind of files in your notes. What I particulary like is the ability to mail documents to your Evernote account. I explained the feature of mailing to your Evernote account in an earlier post on Evernote and GTD.

When I receive a document that I need to review I mail in to my Evernote account address. Before sending the mail I change the subject line of the forwarded mail with a meaningful action like this:

Read quarterly report for the budget meeting.

All mailed entries are routed to my Evernote Inbox and are processed from within Evernote. The automatic syncing of documents is just amazing. Always the most actual version of the document is available on whatever device or computer I work on.

This is the last entry in this series on Evernote and GTD. Since this is my primary GTD setup, every now and then I will write about new cool things I have figured out. For your convenience I have listed the entries below:

Evernote and GTD (1)

Evernote and GTD (2): Collecting

Evernote and GTD (3): Collecting with the iPhone

written by Fokke \\ tags: Evernote, GTD

In this third post in the series on Evernote and GTD I will discuss how I use the Evernote client for iPhone. I find myself using the iPhone client primarily for collecting information.

Over time I still find new ways to use one of the four options for entering information on the iPhone. When I am doing a weekly review I use the new text note to just enter new tasks to pop up during the time I reserve every week. But also when I am on the phone with someone it is quite easy to quickly add tasks that way. It takes some time to make it a habit to enter every single task or item that pops up during the day. Also I have found some resistance in entering some small detail like get new batteries for emergency light. But it is now a natural thing to do.

The Snapshot Note option has proven to be a very convenient way to be more productive and ahead of things. I use it for business cards, clippings from magazines and newspapers, price tags in shops, location of my car in the car park and numerous other ways. Basically all things that I need to remember or want to remember is entered through this option.

The Saved Photo Note is ideal if you want to add photo’s you have taken into a note, for instance when you are writing about a trip you have made.

I use the Voice Note option a lot in the car. When I want to brainstorm on a subject or when summarize a meeting I was in I create a new voice note. The quality of the audio is great. Sometimes I just listen to the audio note and then process the tasks that are in the recording. Other times I just keep the recording for later use.

But there are also other ways I have found the iPhone to be of great help in collecting. I use Google Reader as my newsreader and with the handy option of emailing items right from the mobile browser interface I email items of interest to my Evernote email address. Sometimes there is an action involved in an item and just emailing them keeps my head clear because I later process the items when I review the inbox notebook in Evernote.

A lot of people miss the copy/paste option on the iPhone. I use the screenshot option on the iPhone to make screenshot from a lot of apps on the iPhone. Not only webpages but also screens from applications like contacts, Google Maps, TwitterFon, the SMS app, Calendar and others as well. When I am looking at my tweets in Twitterfon and there is something in a tweet that needs my action I just press the power button and the home button to take a screenshot of that page. With the Saved Photo Note I then add the screenshot to Evernote. The possibilities are endless.

Clarifi case

I really think the iPhone camera is of good quality for the day to day use as I need it. If I want to take quality pictures I take my digital camera. But in one area the camera of the iPhone good be better and that is when taking shots of text. The Clarifi case has a built-in sliding lens that makes close-up photos incredibly clear. Together with the text recognition feature of Evernote there is no need for typing in business cards addresses because with Evernote you can search for that name or address on the card. I have found out about the Clarifi case on the Evernote blog. I immediately bought the case and I must say it is a must for serious collecting with the iPhone client.

In later posts I will write about the ways of the iPhone client for reviewing information and taking action. For now I close with again a call to your readers to add your own tips and suggestions by commenting on this post.

written by Fokke \\ tags: Evernote, GTD