This week we continue with Evernote Simplified, Part 2, and Vanessa shares some awesome time saving productivity tips! So many people tell me that they love Evernote, but sometimes don’t “get” exactly how to use it. Sure, there’s lots of “technical” references out there about Evernote, but what their really looking for is Evernote simplified!

So let’s get started! Read more…

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Alright so in Episode 017 I covered all the basics of how to get information into Evernote and how to retrieve and use it. So…the the “ins and outs” if you will.

Well today I want to take you on a little audio windshield  tour of the Evernote interface for the desktop version of Evernote. I’m on a Mac so if you’re on a PC the appearance may vary a bit, but the functionalities are generally the same.

A Dashboard Tour:

The desktop interface of Evernote beginning in the top Menu Bar.

Left Panel. Moving on the left side we have what Evernote calls the left panel. Top to bottom in the left panel we have Shortcuts, Recent Notes, the Notes view option, the Notebooks view option, the Tags view option, the Atlas view option and the Trunk option.

So, now you have a quick layout of the desktop and know that you can change HOW you see your info just by clicking different viewing options. Be sure to play around with your mobile device to learn your way around version of Evernote, too!

Evernote Advanced Tips:

In Part 1 of Evernote Simplified in Episode 17, I covered the basic tips, such as: What is Evernote, Why I like Evernote, some  Evernote Basics, Searching in Evernote, and finally Sharing in Evernote. Well, here are some more Advanced Tips:

Power User Techniques:

Final Thoughts: 

Evernote won’t just start working for you…you have to develop the habit of USING IT! It will take you a little while of playing around with it to master it. Heck, I use it every day and I learn new things about it all the time! I’m sure you will, too. I’ll be sure to come back to Evernote from time to time and of course, I’ll share all the cool stuff with you.

Do  you ever get overwhelmed with your to-do lists and wonder, “How the heck am I going to get all this stuff done? There’s just not enough time in the day!”

 Well, I find myself asking this very question from time to time and I’ve heard it countless times from my friends, colleagues and clients. The truth of the matter is, we are busier than ever these days and it can seem almost impossible to keep track of everything at home, work, with the kids, with school, etc.  But it is possible to have a little more control of your to do lists and take back your time.  It just takes a little bit of effort and daily discipline.

So, because  I’ve been discussing this topic a lot recently, I thought I’d share with you some tips and ideas to help you with managing your to dos and your time.  

1. Determine your goals and priorities in life.  Most of your efforts should be geared towards achieving your goals and priorities. Really think about the things you have to do as opposed to things you think you have to do.  A lot of to do’s are not necessarily things we have to do.  Often times the lines are blurred because we overcommit or feel obligated to things that aren’t  in line with our goals and rob us of valuable time.

2. Get your daily to-do’s under control. We put way too much on our daily to do lists.  I recommend having no more than 3-5. You can maintain a master to-do list but only pick 3-5 items that you are committed to getting done in one day. When you finish them and have time for something else, refer to the master list and tackle something else.  This is more reasonable…and motivating!

3. Prioritize your to-do’s. Either number your to-do’s or list them in order of importance, tackling the number one or top priority first.  Ask yourself: “If there’s only one thing I can get done today, what should it be?”  There’s your number one priority. Personally, I have two Master To Do Lists.  One for Personal and  one for Work/Business where I keep track of everything.  I review these lists at least twice per day (usually at night and first thing in the morning).

4. Determine when you are most productive and use that time to get things done. For years I thought I was the most productive first thing in the morning…WRONG!  I found that I’m usually most productive between 10:00-3:00pm.  So, this is the time I’ve reserved for getting important projects done.  Try to figure out the time your are most focused and productive and reserve it to focus on your goals, priorities and important projects rather than menial tasks and errands.

5. Don’t procrastinate! Procrastination gets in the way of progress and causes undue stress in our lives.  Get yourself in the right mentality and force yourself to get things done. I am a recovering procrastinator….Check out my post for more tips on how to combat procrastination.

6. Don’t overcommit. Try not to sign yourself up for more than you can handle.  Be realistic about the time you have for work, your family and extracurricular activities.  It’s ok to say NO.

7. Batch tasks…try taking care of two or more things during the same timeframe (not to be confused with multi-tasking and trying to do more than one thing at a time). For example, scrub your tub just before or after you take a shower; if you need to go upstairs, do a quick search around the first floor to gather things that need to go upstairs too; do two or more errands in the same trip/timeframe as opposed to taking separate trips.

8. Share tasks at work and home…or delegate/out-source.  Ask spouses, children and coworkers to help out with yard work, laundry, cooking, chores and tasks at work.

 9. Check email only a couple of times a day. Don’t get sucked into the internet! You don’t have to check your email every time you get something in your inbox or hear a ding on your phone.  It’s hard to do this.  If you can’t get into the habit of checking email only once or twice a day, at the very least, try not to check it when you are focusing on an important project…or when you know you are checking your email as an excuse to procrastinate.

10. When working on an important task turn off all distractions like the television, voicemail, email or text alerts. This will help you stay focused and more productive.

11. Cut down your television viewing. The average amount of time we spend watching television is 20 hours a week.  A week!!! We waste countless hours watching television that has nothing to do with achieving our goals and priorities.  Sure, television is nice…but save it for your relaxation time after you’ve committed to getting your important tasks done first.

12. Use your electronic calendar to keep track of multiple schedules and send you appointment alerts either to your email or mobile phone. My favorite is Google Calendar.  For every event you plug into your calendar, you can have the option of receiving an email notification, text notification…or both (but a word of caution…the SMS/text message will count against your allotted minutes in your cell phone plan). Anyhoos…Google Calendar is also great because you can create multiple calendars and share them with friends, family and coworkers…no more missed payments, meetings or pediatric appointments for your kids!

13. Develop routines and stick to them. There I go again talking about routines! Seriously, they can make a HUGE difference in managing your time and ensuring you are ready for the day without being stressed out.

14. Develop a backwards time schedule to make sure you complete a project or arrive on time to work or an appointment. Start with your “completion” time in mind and plan backwards to ensure you meet your timelines. Be sure to be realistic about how long the preceding tasks take.

15. Hold yourself accountable with important tasks by giving them a suspense date. Is there a task you need to do like, setting up dental appointments for the kids, getting an oil change or ordering gifts but you keep putting it off? Well, instead of putting it off, deal with it and plug in a date and time on your calendar of when you can and will accomplish that task.  Then keep the appointment and don’t bump it off the calendar unless you absolutely have to.

16. Be prepared for making phone calls. Before picking up your phone, make a list of things you need to talk about and questions you need to ask.  That way, you won’t waste time calling someone back because you forgot to ask an important question.  I even do this when I call my relatives if I have a lot of things to tell them.  Just make a list of topics and start talking!

17. Reward yourself!!! Stay focused on your priorities, get your important tasks done, then treat yourself to some fun stuff. It’s extremely gratifying not only when you complete your daily to-do’s but then get to chill and do something fun or relaxing.

I challenge you to adopt one, two, or several of these ways to manage and take back your time. Sure it takes effort and some discipline, but by focusing on your priorities and limiting distractions, you’ll soon find that you will be living a more productive and balanced life.

So…do you have any other tips for being productive? I always love hearing other ideas and suggestions.

THING Segment

Dan’s Thing:  Well in keeping with my Evernote theme, I wanted to mention the security breach that Evernote had this past week. If you hadn’t heard, someone hacked into Evernote’s servers and Evernote employees “identified and blocked what the company said was a “coordinated attempt” to break into secure parts of the service. Evernote was lauded by many in the information security arena…you can find more info in this following article by InformationWeek.com’s security department: http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/evernote-breach-7-security-lessons/240149911?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All  It covers everything Evernote did right and some areas where it needs to improve. Best of all, Evernote has pushed up its effort for two-part security. That’s techie stuff, but good news for all Evernote users and fans!

Vanessa’s Thing:

Links

How To Combat Procrastination