Apple picker V the last article on Evernote I have described the various types of inputs that can be received into this great service. I mentioned the possibility of saving a text note, audio recording, images or scanned documents, e-mails, files, web content, business cards, reminders or lists. The information collected in this way does not need to be organized in any complicated way when the number of records is low, because to find a specific note it is enough to use the basic procedure – enter a keyword (or several words) in the search field, start the search action and the note will appear in a few seconds. However, search is one of the most powerful weapons of this service…
However, in the growing amount of data, it also grows the need to implement an organizational system, which will simplify our orientation and subsequent work with such carefully collected content. And how can information be organized in Evernote? They exist three basic organizational tools, which you can use, plus one simple function that will allow them to be connected. Let's get down to it and imagine them step by step.
notebook
Probably the easiest object to grasp in Evernote that will give your notes a logical order is the notebook. Think of it as a classic bound or glued notebook or folders, in which you place each newly created note with any content introduced in the already mentioned previous article (obviously taking into account the maximum note size option, which varies from version to version). You can then freely browse, sort or search these pages.
We distinguish between two basic types of notebooks – local a synchronized. We choose the type of notebook when creating it in OS X, in the version for iOS it is possible to create only the second of them, precisely because the local notebook is intended only for use in a desktop application without the possibility of synchronization to the Evernote server. Although for this reason you cannot access it from any other device (including the web environment), you can prevent data from being sent outside your computer (if you do not want to lose control over some sensitive data, for example).
Another parameter that you will encounter in Evernote is the flag, i.e. default notebook (default notebook; again, it is configured only in a desktop or web environment), which defines the notebook into which, for example, e-mails forwarded to a special Evernote address will fall by default. Simply put - it's a basic entry notebook for your notes (if you know the method Getting Things Done, this notebook can be marked as yours inbox or inbox).
An important option for you who pay Premium or Business account, is a setting offline access to notes in individual notebooks. Sometimes it can happen that you need to look at your notes even when you don't have internet access. It comes in handy on the go, out of reach of a mobile or Wi-Fi network, or if you want to work with your notes immediately. In the Evernote environment, you are able to set the complete download of all your notes to your device - but pay attention to the maximum capacity of your device and the size of the notes you have in your notebooks.
Notebooks in Evernote (not just for iOS) are the only organizational tool you can share with more people and thus enable cooperation within the team, or active or passive use of the entire content by all interested people. It is also possible to set different types of permissions for sharing - from the option of just view notes until editing and option invite others to work with a notebook. Of course, you can also share a separate note, but this function offers other options and is used in different situations.
And finally, one small caveat – pay attention to the limitation of the number of notebooks, which you can create within one account. In the case of the free version, it is 100 notebooks, in the case of the premium or business version, it is 250 notebooks. There are also other restrictions, such as sharing. I recommend taking a walk article, which describes all these limitations in detail.
stack
If you imagine several notebooks logically belonging to each other and stacked in one place, you will create a so-called "bundle", which is another organizational tool that can help you in easier orientation in your system. Kupka as such is just a visual unification of notebooks, for easier finding. It doesn't have any special features, you can't share it or put notes into it (just notebooks really).
label (tag)
The last and most discussed organizational tool in Evernote is the tag. It is not the point of this article to describe labeling strategy (if you want, you can find the strategy set by me described in one of the articles on Getting everything done), however I have one tip for you – keep the labels in a simple, easy to remember and few structure. It's worth it, just as it's useful to occasionally "clean up" your labeling system (meaning smear unused labels). I personally clean once a month.
In terms of label organization, you won't enjoy as many options in the iOS version as in the OS X app. Don't expect to be able to create multi-level structures either way drag & drop or otherwise. You can create, rename, assign or delete a label in the application for iPhone or iPad. Nothing more, nothing less.
A dot in the form of a saved search (saved search)
Wondering what to do in an article about organizing notes? I might not even include it here if it weren't for the possibility of whatever search you entered and used as well save for later use. Thanks to the special search syntax, you have the possibility to combine the view of notes not only via notebook or label, but also to combine these two organizational categories. Remember the two search parameters – laptop: (to find all notes in the notebook) a Day: (for restrictions according to labels that are assigned to notes). Once you have entered a search query (eg. notebook:"2014 Evernote The apple tree" tag:article tag:June tag:2014), you will also be able to save it and use it again at any time with one click. I recommend adding such saved searches to the abbreviation (shortcuts) if you use it really often.
Definition of strategy? Long time run
Which notebooks, bundles, labels or saved searches you choose is really individual and not universal. I myself struggled with the configuration for several years before I found my own, simple and functional one. Of course, it also changes with the nature of the activities you carry out in your personal and professional life, or perhaps with the people you work with. And more changes and adjustments come if you decide to use Evernote in a team.
If you want to find out more about Evernote, its options or even the definition of the organizational structure, I recommend visiting the portal LifeNotes, which focuses directly on options using Evernote in practice.
I wish you much perseverance and diligence in building your Evernote system. In the continuation of this series, we will look at the tooth apps for iOS, with which you will expand the possibilities of use your Evernote.
[app url=”https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/evernote/id281796108?mt=8″]
I somehow didn't understand how it is with the "local/synced" notepad for iOS. When I create a notebook on the iPhone, I can see it both on the iPad and in the Win client. So how do they sync if it's only local?
Díky
You are right, there is a mistake in the article – the word SECOND should be used instead of the word FIRST. I already wrote and asked for a correction.
Thanks a lot for the heads up.