This is part one of a three part post. EC3 is coming up next week, and I wanted to highlight the top ten ways Evernote has helped me in three different aspects of life: Personal, The Job That Pays the Bills, and Photography.

EC3

I started using Evernote in 2008. What began as a place to drop an occasional note or two has evolved into a tool I use daily to organize and document almost every aspect of my life. If you’ve been around me in the past few years, you know I can work Evernote into almost any conversation. Next week, I’ll be heading down to San Francisco to attend my first Evernote Conference  My inner geek is giddy. The list of guest speakers has been growing more and more incredible as time goes on, and I can’t wait to surround myself with other Evernote-y folks. You can still get tickets–and when you do, use the code EC25 to get a discount.

 

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PART I: PERSONAL

Journal

I’ve been keeping a journal since I was in high school. Nothing special, just documenting life. I don’t write as often as I used to, but it’s really cool having all that history in one place.

Movies I’ve Watched

I have a habit of forgetting what I’ve seen. Now, every time I watch a movie, I open up the IMDb app on my phone, do a search for the movie I’m watching, and email it to my Evernote account. That note gets moved to a Movies notebook, so before I rent something, I can do a quick search to see if I’ve already seen it.

Timeline

You may have seen the posts about a project I started earlier this year. I’m taking boxes of papers, photos, cards and letters and scanning them into Evernote. Instead of taking up space in my garage, (where they’re slowly deteriorating,) they’ll live forever in a digital format. I haven’t had as much time as I’d hoped to work on this project, but I scan a stack of documents whenever I have some free time. Slowly but surely, I’m filling up my Timeline notebook.

IFTTT

If you haven’t checked out IFTTT before, go do it. It’s a great service that lets you automate online tasks. I use it to archive my online life into an Evernote Notebook. Any Foursquare check-ins, Instagram photos, or Facebook status updates get automatically sent to an IFTTT notebook. Originally, I had them going to my Timeline notebook, but found that I preferred to keep the two separate.

Vehicles

I used to keep all my vehicle information in an envelope, stuffed in a drawer or in the glove compartment of my car. Now, everything gets scanned and dropped into a notebook. Each vehicle has its own notebook. Everything from purchase documentation to service records goes in the vehicle’s notebook. When I need to sell the vehicle, I can either print everything out for the new owner, or send them a link to the notebook.

Pets

I have a seventeen-year-old cat. Understandably, the folder I was keeping her paperwork in was getting huge. So I scanned it all into an Evernote Notebook. Every piece of paper related to the cat is there. This definitely helps with vet visits, because I can pull up her health history on my phone and answer any questions they have. I recently got a puppy, and he has his own Evernote Notebook, as well. These notebooks aren’t just limited to paperwork. I add photos and notes along the way–the notebooks become timelines for my critters.

Health

The iHealth blood pressure cuff automatically archives test results to Evernote, so I just add my own notes and other documentation when necessary. Doctor visits, exercise, medication–all archived in Evernote.

Evernote Food

Whether you’re one of those people who shares pictures of his food or not, there are other reasons to document what you’re cramming down your gullet. Much like the Health notebook, my Evernote Food notebook can lend a hand in answering health-related questions. The latest versions of the Evernote Food app also incorporate recipes, so it’s a one-stop-shop for everything food related.

Tax Receipts

Any time I buy something tax-deductible, the receipt goes into a tax notebook for the current year. I use this notebook when filling out my taxes in the spring, but it would be just as easy to print or share the notebook with whoever is preparing your taxes. I also store my completed tax forms in the notebook with the receipts.

FileThisFetch

This is a great service that automatically grabs your online account statements and drops them in Evernote Notebooks. I’ve been able to eliminate almost all paper statements, because I know FileThisFetch will archive them for me each month.

 

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There it is. Ten ways Evernote has helped me personally. Stay tuned for parts two and three–they’ll both be out before EC3 starts next week.

How has Evernote helped you in your personal life?

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Don’t forget–you can use the code EC25 to get a discount off your conference fees.
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