Office Max Portable Folding Cart

3 out of 5 stars

Office Max Folding Cart

Pros:

large capacity for transporting things
wheels roll smoothly
can be condensed (when empty) to be compact
retractable handle
relatively inexpensive

Cons:

awkward to move when not rolling i.e. when you need to pick it up
large and can get heavy when filled
pieces for holding the shape don’t attach the best, along the top
wheels are noisy (no sneaking up on anyone with this in tow!)

Review:

Once a month I volunteer for the CCFA (Crohn’s Colitis Foundation of America) where I facilitate a support group. I bring brochures and handouts/articles for the attendees to take as needed. When I started, I loaded everything into a large bag. I created a binder with tabbed pockets for the handouts. My shoulder would ache after a meeting from lugging it around that day, and then the bag strap started to tear. I knew I wanted something rolling to lug the papers around in – it would just make things easier. I considered many options and decided on this portable folding cart from Office Max.

Let me be blunt, I liked the price – at $20.99 it was affordable, unlike the roller and catalog cases which most often were over $100.00. The folding cart also inspired an idea about changing how I would organize the articles I brought to each meeting, which has turned out to be quite successful. The size allows me to have 2 smaller desktop hanging file organizers inside the folding cart organizing the paperwork for the meetings (one of which is pictured here).

Desktop File Organizer - one style I bought to live inside the folding cart

The larger of the desktop hanging file organizers is pulled out completely for each meeting and then sits on the table (more fitting for it’s name than living inside the cart most of each month). The size of the cart of the file organizer makes it relatively easy to pull out and put back in. Since the size of the cart is large, I also have room for a smaller file organizer that holds the brochures and sign-in sheets, this is also easy to pull out and put away as necessary.

Here's my own folding cart

I was admittedly surprised by the noise of the wheels. You definitely will not be able to sneak up on anyone, yet the wheels seem to work on every surface you’d likely encounter. The handle retracts and extends as needed. There is a slight flimsy feel to it, though I have encountered no problems in the 6 months I have been using it.

As soon as I had filled it, I knew there would some areas that it would bother me. Our home has stairs at both entrances – which means I have to pick the whole cart up and carry it up or down those stairs. (Yes, I considered leaving it in the garage, but this isn’t feasible.) Since the cart is large, it is bulky and not convenient for carrying around, even short distances. This applies to lifting it into and out of the trunk of the car. Once I accidentally caught one corner as I was putting it down and cracked the plastic. Fortunately the cart still functions as it had before this accident.

Another aspect of needing to pick it up and carry it however briefly – is that it gets heavy when you have things inside it. This is rather intuitive – of course it’s heavy when it’s loaded with stuff. The other aspect is that there are these little pieces of plastic that you attach to 2 sides of the top to help keep the square shape. They live close to the handles you use for picking the cart up. They don’t attach the best – most every time I pick it up, I need to push these pieces back down (wondering when I will forget to do that and they will fall off, unnoticed).

Challenging to photograph - the little plastic piece(s) that attach to the frame on 2 sides

If you find yourself needing a portable folding cart, this is something to consider. Although there are several aspects I struggle with, overall it is serving me well. It continues to provide the benefits that matter most to me – portability and consistency. It’s still working as well as it was over 6 months ago when it was brand new and considering the price – I am satisfied (not thrilled, yet how often can be thrilled by products?).

* There is a similar one offered by Office Depot as well.

** As usual, I have not received anything for this review. 🙂

Getting Things Done

It has only been in the last year that I actually picked up and read David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. As I’ve mentioned before, my father was an avid follower of Franklin Covey – this is what I learned about how to structure time and productivity. I’ve also seen how often Franklin Covey does not work for people – clients with binders never opened and frustration. This is just another reason there is such a plethora of systems for people – one way doesn’t work for everyone. David Allen doesn’t care what tools you use, he outlines his way of organizing your time and productivity.

A major component of David Allen’s Getting Things Done approach is the idea that if something will take you less than 2 minutes to accomplish – you do it now. If it will take you longer than 2 minutes, you then evaluate where it needs to go: into a specific day/time in your calendar or into your organization system to do later (or to delegate it). If you can successfully apply this, you cannot procrastinate those fast tasks and will in fact getting things done. Also intrinsic to this system is the need to review your system at regular intervals from the daily to the Weekly Review.

There are 5 stages to mastering work-flow: collect, process, organize, review, and do. One of the steps people gloss over is often the collecting – it can be hard to really collect all of your tasks, emptying your mind of everything and getting it down on paper (or electronically). Our brains can only hold a certain amount of information at a given time – we need to have it collected somewhere concrete. Processing is about deciding on the next action item, which I wrote about in “Decide on the Next Action.” Organize for him is where you add the action to your calendar or appropriate list. Review is critical to any time management system; you need to stay aware of what is on the horizon. Finally, do is for deciding on what you will tackle next.

One of the most intriguing aspects of what David Allen talks about is his “4 Criteria for Choosing Actions in the Moment.” Many systems focus first and foremost on the priority of the task, not with Getting Things Done. This applies only to those tasks that aren’t important enough to be in your calendar already. His criteria are:

Context
Time available
Energy available
Priority

Context is an easy initial criterion since if the task requires a computer, but you are not near one, you cannot do it. Time and energy available are self-explanatory, and do need to be evaluated before deciding on a task. No matter how high the priority might be to work on ‘x’, if you do not have the time or energy, it’s better to wait until the initial 3 criteria are in place. I think choosing your next action based on following these criteria could ease the stress I see people putting on themselves – the rational for why they need to wait.

Most productivity systems promote the importance of thinking beyond the immediate – Stephen Covey wants you to create a mission statement for your life; David Allen is no different, he talks about the six levels for reviewing: the runway or your current actions to 50,000+ feet or life. David Allen clearly outlines what the six levels are and I find this more accessible than a mission statement. Too often this is an area we neglect in our planning, yet is a worthwhile task in order to keep us in line with where we want to be.

Although this book was a bit dry, I appreciated many of his ideas. It has flexibility built into it, with the idea that you don’t put things into your calendar that aren’t time sensitive. I’ve been know to be one of those people who will put things into the calendar with the best of intentions and then to avoid it. I’ve learned how important it is to keep the calendar a sacred space and now have another way to approach the other tasks – to consider the 4 criteria.

The key to any system you use to manage your time and productivity is to make time for reviewing. It’s likely most of us fall off our systems from time to time – I know I do – but we need to be able to get back on the system. David Allen lays out the steps to hopping back onto it and makes it easier to do so.

Planner Pad Organizers

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Planner Pad organizer

Pros:

money back guarantee (6 month)
nice layout – monthly & weekly
good division of schedule & to-do lists
focuses on a “funnel down” prioritizing

Cons:

size constraints
spiral or binder in middle of weekly view; can get in way of writing things

Review:

When I was in high school, my father insisted I start using the Franklin Covey organizers. I continued to use these organizers through college and for many years after. It wasn’t until my shoulder and back started giving me troubles that I began to reconsider what I wanted to use – I always carried a purse big enough to hold the classic size organizer. Although this was the breaking point for me, I was struggling with the system – it was no longer as helpful.

From other professional organizers, I heard about Planner Pads and was definitely intrigued with their layout. I even set up a spreadsheet that replicated their design; I was still too frugal to order one. This turned out to be a good decision since I won a Planner Pad in a contest – and have had the chance to actively use the executive spiral organizer. This organizer has a monthly view as well as a weekly view. I’ve come to value the weekly view – it provides a great way to review your week and track your tasks and appointments.

funnel planning for the week with the Planner Pad

Planner Pad funnel planning

One of the things I like about this particular organizer is the layout – the top section, spanning the two pages of the weekly view – is for you to list your categories of projects or type of activities. For me these were things like: Business-usual, Business-client, Business-other, Household, Volunteering, Personal. I could then identify my priorities and tasks according to these categories – not worrying about putting them into specific days. One of the strengths of this area is the limited amount of space – the thing I see most often, even with myself, is thinking and trying to do more than what is realistic – so this helps to control that inclination. 🙂

Top section of the weekly view of the Planner Pad

The second section, below the first section, has the days of the week for your daily to-dos. This is where you can put in the tasks you absolutely must do on specific days. I also would record what I did from the above section on the corresponding day. I appreciate the openness since I sometimes feel limited by trying to decide when I will do certain things. It’s also easy to see how I am coming with my tasks as the week progresses.

Middle section of daily to-dos of the Planner Pad

The final section is for your appointments – with the executive size, showing time from 7 until 9 with lines for the hour. Ideally, you want to use this area for the time specific appointments – whether meeting with someone or time chunks for dealing with tasks.

Bottom section of scheduling for the Planner Pad

Along the right side is a column they’ve divided for “Notes/Calls” and “Expenses” as well as 3 small month views for the prior, current, and future month. There are also pages in the front and back of the organizer for some of the more typical things you’d like to have with you – address book, future year planning, notes, and goals/projects/calendar. The pages throughout the planner have a dotted line along the upper page corners, which I would cut off to help me get the pages I needed more easily.

If I were to purchase one at this point, I would lean towards the smaller, personal size. I do have concerns that it would be too small to be as useful. I also would prefer the spiral, as the binder lends itself to the temptation for overfilling. It then can become heavy and cumbersome. The spiral occasionally makes writing in things near it more challenging – not enough that I would not use it.

Although my primary calendar is electronic, I find it useful to have a physical list of my current activities, even including calendar events. An organizer is meant for planning – this is extremely challenging to do with a digital device. I haven’t yet decided whether I want to carry around a paper organizer, although I’m seriously considering it. Next month, I will be reviewing another planner system.Continue reading→

To Go Paperless or Not

Papers are the number one struggle I see people dealing with – there’s always more of it. It never stops coming in, the mail is delivered almost 6 days a week. There’s no escaping it, despite how we’ve been hearing predictions of being a paperless society. This does not mean that we cannot reduce our paper consumption, although there are considerations to doing this.

I’ll admit that I was resisting going paperless. I would check my banking account online and they’d ask me if I wanted to go paperless and I’d say no. I liked part of the idea of it, how much did I need those statements in paper? Yet, it was comfortable and familiar to have them waiting for me in the mail. I don’t trust completely that my computer isn’t going to suddenly do something it shouldn’t (whether a corrupted file or a more serious overall computer malfunction). One day working with a client, we ended up talking about this, and when I told her I wasn’t getting my statements electronically, she looked at me quizzically and asked “why not?” I hadn’t thought that much about it and I struggled to put words to my reasons – I was just not changing the way I’d always done it. Within a week, I logged on and changed to getting my statements electronically.

This is the only occasion that I’ve personally gone paperless though (personally, as my husband has several accounts we share as electronic). I download my statements and check on things. I don’t need to worry about computer issues since my account with the bank keeps all my monthly statements for a few years – therefore if something were to happen to my files or my computer, I can just log back in and get them downloaded again (if I even need to have a copy on my computer). There could even be an argument that I don’t need to use the space on my computer for these files once I’ve reconciled things.

There are other accounts that I’m still attached to having a hard copy – something I can put in a file and have access to. I do look at these papers periodically. If I were to set up getting them electronically, I would just have to spend time logging in, reviewing, and printing out. What’s the point of them being electronic then? Paper is being used either way, and to get them automatically in the mail saves me time and energy. I’d rather spend that time and energy in other ways (and the post office gets some support too).

I’ve talked before about e-mail and how that too can become clutter. I avoid giving my e-mail address out to every vendor that wants it (not professionally), as I too often feel overwhelmed with email. There are times I don’t look at my electronic bank statement promptly simply because I have so many emails to review. If you’re one of those people with hundreds (or even thousands) of emails hanging out in your mailbox, getting statements electronically could make them easier to miss – which becomes more critical when they’re actual bills that need your attention.

There’s also the way to be freer of papers – to set up auto payments for your recurring bills. This makes sense in that it saves you even more time and energy. You tell certain (or all) regular bills to be withdrawn from your account and on what day. This can be also be accomplished by your bank’s online bill pay option. You save the paper of the check and envelope.

Have you moved toward being more paperless? If not, what exactly is it that is you are resisting? Until I figured out that answer for myself, I didn’t change. There’s no right answer, but finding your own, personal solution.

Review: Organizing from the Inside Out

At this year’s NAPO conference, Julie Morgenstern gave one of the keynote presentations and after that, she signed her books. I didn’t bring the one book I owned for her to sign – Organizing from the Inside Out. Although it’s been a number of years since I’ve read this book cover to cover, I do periodically reread sections. I also liked this enough to borrow Organizing from the Inside Out for Teenagers from the library and then to buy a couple of books at NAPO (which I then got signed!). I look forward to making time to read those down the road.

One of the things that I appreciate about both books I’ve read by Julie Morgenstern is that she insists you find your way to the organizing answers. If you’ve read her book, you’ll have seen many similar posts from me. I also use a quote from her in almost every presentation I give since it resonated deeply for me:

Being organized has less to do with the way an environment looks than how effectively it functions. If a person can find what he or she needs when she or she needs it, feels unencumbered in achieving his or her goals, and is happy in his or her space, then that person is well organized. ‘Organizing is the process by which we create environments that enable us to live, work, and relax exactly as we want to. When we are organized, our homes, offices, and schedules reflect and encourage who we are, what we want, and where we are going.’ — Organizing from the Inside Out, first chapter

This is a critical piece to me when I talk with people – that what is important is their definition of being organized.

In Organizing from the Inside Out, she spends the first 2 (out of 4) talking about general principles: “Laying the Foundation” and “Secrets of a Professional Organizer.” Part 3 is the main chunk of the book and spends time talking about specific rooms and items (i.e. purses, suitcases, filing cabinet, memorabilia). She wraps the book up with “Time and Technology” briefly, and has a whole book Time Management from the Inside Out (one I did buy and will read!). She also provides several appendices with further resources.

As an organizer, I appreciate that she spends some time addressing the possible things that are getting in the way for people struggling with organization. She also spends time talking about the steps that people often want to skip when embarking on getting organized. She breaks the process down so that it’s easy to understand and follow.

I’ve mentioned before I’m not a big fan of acronyms, I find them hard to remember and largely unhelpful, and she does use one as a basis for getting organized. It’s SPACE: sort, purge, assign a home, containerize, and equalize. Essentially I can appreciate this steps, especially the need to do them in order after you’ve completed analyzing the situation, strategized, and then moving into the attack mode (where SPACE comes in). She offers time estimates for the rooms and items, as many people struggle with figuring out how long things will likely take them.

If only organizing books could solve everyone’s clutter problems! We all know they don’t, sometimes it takes someone else coming in and helping. Fresh eyes, fresh perspective, someone to ask those questions and wait for an answer – these things we cannot always do for ourselves. I love how she encourages you to think outside the box and find the inner style that will make organizing work for you. I also know that for just me, that this is often extremely challenging to actually accomplish – and my organizing struggles are minor compared to some people. Some of her ideas seem great as ideas, but I sometimes question the practicality of them.

There is a plethora of organizing books available, and I would recommend this one. Some of my clients have more than a shelf full of books on how to get organized – and although I’ve not ready most of them (gasp!); this would be one to keep (and yes, I’d encourage you to recycle most of the others). It has the essentials on getting and staying organized, if you can follow her steps. This is probably why there are so many books out there, maybe another speaks to you and your style.

Find Your Motivation

We all have different reasons for why we want to get organized or even to stay organized. There is no one right answer – what matters is why you want it. Do you know what your reasons are? It’s worth it to give it some thought and find as many reasons as you can. These personal reasons are what can help get you going if (or when) you falter.

Some of what I hear a lot is how overwhelmed people feel with what they’re dealing with – from piles of boxes on an unused room to the mass of papers they have to a house that has simply collected lots of things. It doesn’t matter what the size or scope is, what matters is how it feels to you. A few people are concerned about how their loved ones are feeling and reacting to the state of their home. Others are adjusting to difficult transitions in life – from the death of a spouse to downsizing (voluntarily or not) to new health issues.

Although the above are fine reasons for wanting to get and stay organized, some of them are phrased on negative terms. If we went to a list of our reasons for getting organized and saw as a reason “because I’m overwhelmed” or “because my spouse is always yelling at me” or even “because I cannot concentrate the way I used to” it’s unlikely to inspire us.

Find a way to make the reasons positive. If you’re overwhelmed, you are looking for an easier way to doing things, a way to simplify things for yourself. If a loved one is badgering you, you might be looking for a way to improve your relationship and become closer with them again. Sometimes those life transitions are challenging, yet I believe there are positive ways to view your situation. For me, it was a chance to learn new ways of doing things and I love learning.

The point is that you want to figure out the reasons that matter to you for getting organized – maybe you want more time to enjoy life. I’d suggest that you actually write them down somewhere. I don’t think you need to look at them every day, although you certainly can. The idea is that you have them to pull out when you get discouraged or falter in your efforts. It could also help if you find yourself procrastinating working on things.

When you’re feeling discouraged, you not likely to remember the real reasons why you’re trying to change things. You’re also more likely going to remember the negative reasons, which are not usually motivating! By having a list of positive and personal reasons to change, you can refer to it when you need to. You can even add to it as things occur to you – since life is a process like organizing, your motivation can shift and change too.

Knowing what your motivations are for getting organized is probably the very first step you need to take toward getting and staying organized. Just as it’s hard to remember what inspires you when you’re feeling discouraged or overwhelmed, our reasons for being more organized can get lost when we’re struggling. Those underlying reasons can re-inspire us to keep working (or start trying again). When we have a list to refer to, it’s easier to re-energize ourselves.

Google Docs

You might remember my first introduction to cloud computing was a client who used Google Calendar. My first business e-mail was a Gmail account and as I was looking around, I saw Google offering Docs. So, as I was building this business, I used Google Docs as a way to share ideas and collaborate with others. Google also offers spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and forms, though I’ve not used any of these yet. All you need to use Google Docs is a Gmail account, which you can get free.

I’ll be honest; I don’t use Google Docs much these days. When I was collaborating more, it was a great way to share ideas. I still use it when I need to grab some text for various things – like when I post ads to Craigslist or someone wants a bio. Part of this is that I’ve not bothered to get many of the files onto my computer and it’s simple and easy to get it from Google Docs.

Google Docs Screenshot

I appreciate the simplicity of the layout – you can see that along the left side are the options for creating new documents and uploading files. Below this are more categories and then folders that I created so my overall file list was easier to navigate. The center shows the complete list (based on the selection – in this case, “all items”) of my files. This includes files I’ve viewed from other’s shared collections – I was surprised to see “Heartbreaker Valentines.pdf” there. This was something I looked at and never realized it was part of Google Docs! The right side is something relatively new – where it provides some additional information on the file that’s highlighted from the middle.

I like how they’ve set up the collaborating options – since you can create files that are public, anyone with a link to the file, or private. Even when you decide to keep the settings as private, you can still share the file with others and controlling whether you want them to be able to edit the file or to just view it. When you share a file, the person you’re sharing it with does not need a Gmail account – which I think is wonderful.

With how I’ve tended to use Google Docs, I’ve never needed or wanted many editing or formatting features –for my purposes, they have what I need. I’ve heard there’s some struggles with creating and editing tables with Google Docs. I find the editing tools easy to find and use – and without many the additional options I rarely use even with MS Word. I also like that they frequently save your work as you go – mostly seamlessly – but include a “save now” button so you can also save it when you need.

As with all cloud computing, it’s accessible whenever you have an Internet connection. I’ve found the accessibility to questionable with other devices – Google Docs has only recently been improving their functionality (in my opinion) for smart phones and other devices, like the iPad. Just the other day I was using my iPad to access Google Docs and I kept getting an error message – while other applications that need the Internet were running perfectly. I’m pleased they’ve been improving their mobile accessibility, and am hopeful it will become useful. At this point, I avoid doing it if possible.

Google Docs is free and easy to use. I love the idea that anywhere I am with some time on my hands and an Internet connection I could sign in and be productive. Is this something that would benefit you and your life?

Pendaflex I-Organize Storage Binder

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

That bit of red is part of the new binder technology.

Pros

new technology for securing items into binder
selection of accessories for use in binder
the fasteners secure behind accessories when not in binder
sturdy materials
customizable for your needs
strap to close binder

Cons

shaped like a traditional binder
only two sizes of binders
hard to find locally to look at and handle in person

Review:

At some point after the 2010 NAPO conference, this arrived in the mail for me – a Pendaflex Storage Binder with several accessories. I was excited, as I’d admired this binder at the conference. Initially what caught my attention was the different technology they used for securing things into the binder. They did away with those rings and put in “channel slots” with a release lever at the bottom. It makes it easy to use and your fingers aren’t at risk of getting pinched.

There are 8 different styles of accessories that work with the binder, and this is critical due to the way the binder functions. They are all made of poly material. The clipboard is the most interesting and unique to me – as it clips into the binder while still being sturdy enough to use independently. They offer the more traditional media file, envelope with string closure, a file folder with elastic closures, and a single and a double (“twin”) pocket. They also offer a display book and a project pocket – neither of which came with my binder.

Pendaflex Clipboard

Each accessory has a piece of plastic on one side for slipping into those channel slots, and when they are being used outside of the binder, they bend behind and can be held there. This makes them look like your basic accessory – clipboard, document pocket, document envelope, etc. This is a wonderful feature for offering those accessories for multiple purposes and not limiting them to use only with the binder.

I’ve talked before about how normal binders are just OK to me, I dislike how their shape affects their utility when not in use, whether upright or on their side, it doesn’t make them conducive for stacking or keeping on a shelf. These binders are shaped in the same way. I do appreciate the elastic closure they’ve included and if you prefer not to use it, you don’t have to.

These binders come in only two sizes. In some ways, this might not be a detriment; it forces all of us to limit how stuffed we might be tempted to fill it. It certainly won’t stymie us with choices, as there are two choices for the binder – the presentation or the storage style. Of course, there are all the different accessory pieces we can choose. The binder has 8 channel slots, so you can fit your choice of 8 accessory pieces.

I realize that the world is moving more and more to online shopping, but I really prefer the ability to see and feel products before I decide to spend my money on it. These do not seem to be available locally – OfficeDepot offers them on their website, but only for delivery.

Note: All my reviews are done without consideration for the company (sorry!) – as unbiased as possible! I don’t receive anything from any of them and most don’t know I’m even reviewing their products.

Look Out – Papers Incoming

I’ve got the NAPO conference on my brain – from the three and a half days education in San Diego – to the state chapter meeting just four days after the end of the national conference. I have absorbed some of the mass of information available and gathered even more, for when I can handle more! This may not be a situation that happens regularly, yet it’s important to have ways to deal with it.

For last year’s national conference I printed out all these sheets – the map of the hotel and expo, the slides for the presentations I wanted to attend as well as some back up slide presentations in case I changed my mind. I took lots of notes in the workshops and gathered flyers from most, if not all, the companies exhibiting their products. Lots of paper. Within a month I had the business cards and flyers organized. Those notes though, those are still sitting in the binder I took, waiting for my good intentions for organizing them.

This year I had my nifty iPad, so I decided to take a risk and load all the slide presentations and maps on that. I took a small spiral notebook just on case I couldn’t make do with typing on the iPad. I’m thrilled to say that using the iPad was a complete success. I’m even more excited that I won’t need to worry about transcribing the notes – as they’re all electronically searchable and ready for me to use the information when I’m ready.

I took with me 2 empty document envelopes, like Peter Walsh’s,

Peter Walsh's Document Envelope

and at the end of each day separated the flyers and various papers I’d accumulated into 2 piles. One pile was for things that I want to follow up on in one way or another – companies I want to look at their websites, articles to read, or people to e-mail after conference. The other pile was for things to save, but more for archiving – things I might want to refer to later but needed no action or attention in the short term. Each pile went into one of the document wallets. I’ve begun the process of dealing with the small collection of papers that need action, and it’s easy since they’re all together.

With the small context of our local meeting, I simply made a list of the things I want to act on, separate from the notes gathered during the presentation. I’ve figured out that taking notes electronically is ideal for me – no need to make time to transcribe notes, and I’ll keep them organized in my Evernote account where I can search and access them anytime.

Although this can be an ideal way of handling any information you get – making a separate list of action items – for me, the amount of information from the national conference was overwhelming and I wanted it to be simpler. I’ve already started acting on the items, though I’ve certainly got more to do. Yet now I’m ready to add them a to-do list, therefore simplifying things even more.

Papers are often the biggest struggle – despite the aim toward a paperless society, we continue to have a plethora a paper bombarding us. I was excited to limit that some by not printing the handouts, yet I certainly brought a good amount of additional paper home.

Having a plan for what you want to do with those papers is important – figure out whether you want/need to take action and you need the physical papers to remind you or if you simply want to archive them for reference at a later point. Or do you want to pass them along to someone else? What is the next thing you want to do with them? This will help you deal with any papers coming into your life.

Note Taking for Virtually Everything

If you’ve been following me for a little while, you might have noticed a recurring mention of elephants. Yes, I like elephants. Now what does that have to do with anything I would share with you? Well, when I was browsing various smart phone apps, I saw an elephant. When I decided to find out more, I discovered Evernote and started using it.

I’m a slightly skeptical consumer, so after creating an account (free) with Evernote, I only used it on my phone and via the Internet. I put off downloading the desktop version and used Evernote for only limited things. Yet, I loved how I could use my phone to make notes, copy webpages, and bookmark sites, while waiting for my appointment to start. I also had the grocery list and other task lists always accessible – since my phone is always with me.

Of course, I asked my husband if he’d heard of it – and he hadn’t, but he checked it out and uses it regularly. More than me of late. He even decided on the premium service, quite reasonable at $45 a year (or $5 a month) with some nice additional benefits. I’m considering upgrading eventually too. One of the features he uses and appreciates is how Evernote gives you an e-mail address so that you can just e-mail notes into your account.

They also offer the ability to share your notebooks or just notes with others. This is one of the first things I read about – a parent of a special needs child using Evernote to coordinate information between the doctor’s office and school, by having an account where certain people were given permission to access and modify (when appropriate) all the notes related to the care of her child. I might need to start sharing Evernote notebooks with clients on the various research I do for them!

I appreciate the layers of potential organization with Evernote, as you can create notebooks to gather like items together and that you can create tags as well for each item you add. Although I’ve not needed to try it out, Evernote says that everything is searchable, so if you’re struggling to find something you could probably find it even if you only remembered some obscure word.

I’ve been a bit frustrated, as one of my shopping lists has become problematic – in that it doesn’t want to load properly – on any of the devices. I just need to delete and make a new note. I’ve heard of problems with formatting issues between devices. Yet, I believe that Evernote will work to resolve any issues. The range of how to access Evernote is quite impressive; just about any device now has a platform to access it – and it syncs once you have an Internet connection again. There are some limitations with some devices – like my smart phone and Evernote don’t always work well without Internet or modifying notes on the iPad, again without Internet can be problematic.

I’m excited to explore Evernote even more, and especially since I’ve finally downloaded the desktop version for my computer. From what I’ve seen the benefits far outweigh the few struggles they have and the improvements come regularly. There are so many possibilities and ways to have Evernote work to benefit you – as an individual, to fit your needs. This is the ultimate goal for anything you use.