Pretty much everyone I know has used a notebook of some sort at sometime in their life. A notebook is a great place to take notes, to write down ideas, to make yourself a task list, to write down things you want to remember or just to doodle. Paper notebooks are good but they have their limitations.
A number of computer-based and/or on-line notebooks have recently been created. The best I have seen and which I now use extensively is Evernote.
Here are some of the best features of Evernote:
1. It is FREE! Yes, there is a Premium version, but the free version has extensive features.
2. It works on multiple platforms (Windows and MAC) and devices (laptops, mobile phones, iPad, iPhone, etc), which can all be synchronised effortlessly.
3. You can create a system of notebook folders for every area of your life, work or ministry, including sub-folders.
4. You can capture pretty much anything in a note – text, graphics, screen shots, web pages, documents, photos, audio files, etc, etc.
5. You can organise all your data extremely easily. Everything is indexed and there is an extensive search feature, helping you find pretty much anything that you have stored within your notebooks. You can also tag your notes.
6. You can record yourself or a meeting and store the audio file within a notebook. This is a great feature for listening to lectures or speakers in any environment.
7. You can encrypt confidential data within a note so that it is accessible only via a password.
8. All of your data is stored and backup via a cloud, although you can also have copies locally on your computer.
Click here to watch a brief video profile of Evernote. Click here to download the program. After that, create your own free account. Click here to read the Getting Started Guide. If you become a serious user, it's worth purchasing the extensive Evernote Essentials document ($25 US).
Michael Hyatt has written many BLOG posts about the benefits and uses of Evernote. Click here to access these helpful posts.
Happy note-taking!
I have heard a few people mention evernote lately. I will have to check it out…
I have evernote, but I really like ‘awesomenote’ it is more visual and that works for me. But thanks for the tip. It’s always good to find new apps that work for people.