Evernote

     Evernote syncs beautifully across all devices and allows me to outline my life without having to commit anything to memory.

Why

• I have adopted some principles of David Allen’s Getting Things Done, but greatly simplified them and that simplification is where Evernote really shines. Evernote has grown from humble roots of a stripped down note-taking tool to powerhouse suite of software services and applica tions that can be used to run entire organizations, but the simple roots remain.
• Evernote is my giant file cabinet for anything I want to capture. It is simple yet brilliant and most importantly, perhaps, is that all my activity in Evernote syncs over the air to every device I use. This allows me to work on my laptop, iPad, iPhone or any computer I happen to stumble upon and know that the data is the same everywhere.
•  In simplest terms what I do for a living is consume, write and share information, so my system is built largely around making it easy for me to discover, retrieve, produce and distribute information.
• The function that makes Evernote so easy to adopt for this purpose is the ability to add and capture information in numerous ways.
• I can send Evernote an email with content and files attachments.
• I can upload text, voice messages and images.
• I can drag files from my computer to Evernote on my desktop.
• I can save a file to Evernote from the print dialog command.
• I can clip any web page or web content directly to Evernote while I surf.
• I can write text notes directly to Evernote.
• I can add photos directly from a camera.
• I can add scans with ability to search them.

How

• I create separate folders (for blog post ideas, research for my books, etc.) and then clip, take notes and email ideas as I visit my RSS reader, read my email, meet with clients and surf throughout the day so I know everything gets captured.
• I use Evernote as a tickler file by creating folders for each month of the year and adding reminders of future actions into each. When I need to file some quarterly report I find a reminder when I review that month and add it to the to do list. (We’ve all been asked to follow up with someone in three weeks and this keeps it and the email exchange in the system).
• Because I can get information into Evernote in so many forms I also create and maintain lists of unrelated work things I want to track and find later. This can look like gift ideas, books to read, vacation ideas, wines and music. If I have a great wine I snap a photo of the label and shove it into that list.
• I have folders for random thoughts and when I hear, see or read anything that I want to capture I use my iPhone or a service called Jott to quickly record a voice message that’s transcribed and added to Evernote.

     Evernote has become the central nerve center of my work and its usefulness has spilled over into every facet of day-to-day life. I check in every morning to create a list of action steps and to dos and then routinely add content throughout the day. The secret (once more for emphasis) is that it’s so integrated into every tool I use so it is easy to create a routine to use it.

Don’t use Evernote for...

     I fire up Evernote in the morning and draw up my to do list from a combination of appointment commitments, project commitments and information from inside Evernote folders and then I record them in ink in a Moleskin notebook.

     I’ve intentionally kept this step analog as I feel a very strong pull to keep some aspects of my work and life rooted in things that are non-digital and offline. While it is easy to get sucked completely into the appeal of an entirely digital world, I can honestly say that I can’t be as creative or inspired unless I employ all of my senses.

     I work through my to do list each day and fuse my actions and sparks of brilliance into Evernote in real time and as they enter my thoughts. The more I put into Evernote the more I focus on being creative, knowing that I come there and find everything that I want to keep.

     Source: The productivity handbook (John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing) e-book