Caroline Dennigan
10 ways to organise family life using Evernote
So what exactly is Evernote? Well, some people will tell you that this tool is their digital brain! Others will tell you it's a cloud-based software tool which will keep all of your important things and store them in the cloud instead of locally on your mobile device or laptop (it can do that too of course).
For both the professional and the casual, personal user Evernote is one of the best tools to help you stay organised. It will most certainly change the way you organise your personal day-to-day projects as well as business projects. Once you start with Evernote, you will probably find yourself using it more and more and rely on it to keep your life organised and running smoothly.
You can store anything that you need to reference at a later date and once you start using it, you will find Evernote quickly replacing your current physical filing methods. (Note from Geoff: Ash Tutors is 100% paperless, all stored in the cloud!)
The huge benefit of cloud storage is having all of your notes and files stored in the cloud and not taking up valuable storage space on your laptop or mobile device, or in any physical form. Also, if one of your devices happens to get damaged, you won't lose anything. As an added bonus, it will sync any changes you make to an existing file or note so even if you access your account from a different device, all your Evernote stuff will have been automatically updated.
Why not dive right in today and start creating to-do lists, make notes or even save a collection to share. As soon as inspiration strikes, get your thoughts down on Evernote.
Evernote has phone apps, Ipad (or other tablets) apps, and of course, it has the web service - all of which nicely sync up allowing you to have constant access to your notes.
To get you started, here are 10 ways to organise your family life with Evernote:
1. Keep your kid's paintings and drawings so you as they grow up you will have a digital record of their artistic talents. Free up your fridge door! Simply take a photo from within the Evernote app, and it'll be saved for eternity.
2. Store your shopping receipts and keep a track of your spending and outgoings. You can make tables and charts, tracking their school dinner money spend; tracking spend on Xmas items; keeping tabs on school timetables...the list is endless.
3. Collect all their school or college study notes and assignments in one notebook. This will be extremely useful for revision come exam time. By setting up a free Evernote account, your child can keep track of their homework notes, or research they do on the web.
4. Create a book list and store a reading list. Your child can make a note of anything they want to read in future. They might wish to write book reviews.
5. Brainstorming? Perhaps for homework? Evernote will help you and your child get the most out of it.
6. Create a to-do list and jot down your reminders and everything that needs to be done. This might help kids to follow a set routine when getting ready for school, or for tidying up. Perhaps you could list the chores they need to complete. See this post for how to tackle that particular task!
7. Never forget anyone's birthday ever again! Make a note and keep track of birthdays as well as holidays and weekly events.
8. Collaborate with co-workers or friends in a group notebook. Evernote makes it easy for your child to share notes or notebooks and both can work on something together but at different times and/or locations.
9. Organise your annual holiday and keep copies of your passport, travel insurance documents, tickets as well as the itinerary in your holiday notebook. Don't worry about not getting a signal. Evernote allows you to have notebooks available offline too.
10. Save your appliance manuals in Evernote by searching for the manual online. Download the pdf file into your notebook. Alternatively, photograph a paper copy. This is a great way to reduce clutter in the home. This could apply to your kids by always keeping copies of instructions for their games - those that easily get lost in normal circumstances.
Do you use Evernote to organise your family life? How does it help you?
Let us know in the comments below.
