6 Creative+Bonus 8 Pro Tips for Evernotes Power Users

There's a reason the Evernote logo is an elephant. Because when used correctly, this helpful, versatile, free app will make sure you never forget anything ever. Just like an elephant.

If you're unfamiliar with Evernote, the app utilizes "notebooks" — basically a system of folders and subfolders that become increasingly helpful as you create more. Greater organization makes it easier to recall exactly what you need at a later date, across any platform.



When harnessed fully, Evernote can build an entire second brain for you, synced automatically across all devices. Every picture, article, website or personal note you might want to recall can find a place there.

That's a good thing, because you're probably aware that your own brain can be fallible at times. You'll operate more efficiently by shifting responsibilities onto something else, freeing up your own mind for more important tasks.

The applications for Evernote are limitless, but we thought we'd list a few here to get you going. Best of luck to you and your second brain.

What creative ways have you found to organize your life with Evernote? Let us know in the comments.

1. Save Clippings From Anywhere

If you're using Chrome, download the Evernote Web Clipper from the Web Store. Now the app is never farther than a right-click away. Evernote's UI is simple and intuitive, but its huge potential may intimidate you. Where to begin?



First things first: All of your future note-taking should take place in Evernote. Small groups, company-wide meetings, 8 a.m. lecture classes ... all of it. And beyond that? Well, we'd normally advise you to use the sleek service known as Pocket to bookmark articles for later. But if you're already comfortable with Pocket, you can create a "Read Later" folder in Evernote to do the same thing.

2. Deepen Your Reading

Whether on mobile or desktop, the definition to an unfamiliar word or phrase is never far away. But don't equate instant access with retention. Evernote gives you a way to quickly catalogue new words, trivia and more for future reference. This is only one way the app can change your reading experience. Whether you're reading an article on circles or an e-book on your Kindle, you can save a passage or quote at any time.

Throw an inspirational quote into your "Inspiring" notebook. Bookmark a paragraph for discussion with friends or classmates. Save an illustration or photograph for later reference. Does your text cite myriad references you don't have time to examine right now? Don't be afraid to start too many notebooks; Evernote can handle it.

3. Win at Shopping

You might tell yourself to remember to pick up avocados after work, but when dinner time rolls around — no such guac. Or maybe it's not even your fault. You relied on your significant other to pick something up, but it didn't happen. Build all your future shopping lists in Evernote and share folders and notes with your roommates or spouse. Not only can they view the list — it will sync on his or her phone as you update it from your phone or home computer.

4. Make a Wish List

You only see things you want when you can't afford them, and you won't remember them when you have a surplus. That's how memory works. Let Evernote help. Not only can you create a "Wish List" notebook of fantastic items — they'll show up alongside your Google searches if you're looking for something similar.

Don't let your wishes end at products, though. Did you see a recipe online you simply must try out? Evernote can be your reliable recipe repository. Is there a DIY project you want to try out next weekend? Put it in your "DIY" folder.

5. Keep Track of Pages for House Hunting

The search for a new house or apartment can move pretty fast. You might look at dozens of options in a day, and you can only leave so many Craigslist tabs open at once. There are some services and apps that will catalogue your favorites, but Evernote can do it too. Use the web clipper to throw your selections into a notebook, while simultaneously adding tags like "Affordable" or "Good Location" to remind you why you liked the place.

6. Plan Your Future

There was a book you wanted to read this summer, but you can't remember it now. Luckily, Evernote can, because you dropped it in your "Summer Reads" notebook. There are other online resources for this kind of planning — Goodreads comes to mind — but you'll find Evernote's appeal is its universality. Instead of visiting several different sites, you can collect your otherwise scattered "second brain" into one place.

Bonus 8 Pro Tips

Evernote is the ultimate productivity app for keeping your notes, reminders and to-do lists all in one place. Essentially a notebook stored in the cloud, the app helps you get (and stay) organized.

Getting started can be tricky, so if you've never used Evernote before, make sure to check out circles's beginner's guide.

For those of you who have been using the app for a while now, and are looking to get even more out of it, check out our tips for power users below.

1. Integrate With Other Evernote Apps

Evernote's Trunk collection allows you to integrate with other productivity and note-taking apps in the Evernote family. The following are some of our favorites.

Skitch allows you to annotate your notes visually. You can annotate an image or turn a text note into a PDF, and then mark it up with different colors accordingly.

Evernote Web Clipper is a web browser extension that makes it easy to save text, photos and links from your favorite websites. These web clippings are then saved to folders within Evernote, which you can access from your desktop or mobile device.

Penultimate is a handwriting app for the iPad. It allows you to use a stylus to take notes directly on your screen. The benefit of using Penultimate is that it makes your notes searchable and syncs with your desktop and mobile device.

2. Highlight Text in Your Notes

The in-app highlighting function is a recent addition, hitting Evernote last month. Now you can select text within your notes and highlight the most important information.

3. Set Reminders

This is another great, newly-added feature deemed one of Evernote's most requested features of all time. The feature helps you stay on top of your extensive to-do list by setting deadlines and digital reminders to keep up with your tasks.

You can set up a text reminder, smartphone notification reminder and even an email reminder. Never worry about forgetting to pick up milk or get a regular dental checkup again.

If you're using Evernote on your Mac, you will see a small alarm clock icon in the upper right hand corner of your app. Within the iOS app, the alarm clock is located in the lower right corner of the screen. Unfortunately this feature has not yet rolled out to Windows or Android clients, but we can assume it will be available in just a short matter of time.

4. Create Audio Notes

Creating an audio file is another way you can take full advantage of Evernote's multimedia note-taking capabilities. To do so, create a new note and click the audio button, which is located on the top right for both the desktop and mobile versions of Evernote.

5. Create Note Links

The Note Links function lets you create hyperlinks to other notes. This function is helpful if you want to be able to access several different notes from one landing page, such as a table of contents or a to-do list with specific instructions for each item saved on separate notes.

You can only create a note link on the desktop version of Evernote, but you can access the linked notes from any device. This function does not work for linking externally. Only people with whom a notebook has been shared can see note links.



In order to create a note link, right click on the thumbnail image of a note and select "Copy Note Link."

6. Encrypt Pieces of Text

When sharing notebooks (or sensitive information in general), you may find that you need to encrypt certain parts of text in Evernote. To do so on your Mac, hold Command + Shift + X. For Windows, hold Control + Shift + X.

Evernote will prompt you to create a passphrase. You can also create a passphrase hint. Note that the passphrase is case-sensitive.

7. Use Twitter to Save Articles for articles for later

If you link your Evernote account with Twitter, you can tweet @myEN or DM your account with a link to an article. Evernote then creates a new note for this link, so you can remember to read it later, or reference it in an essay or presentation.

For step-by-step instructions on how to set this up, view the Twitter account here.

8. Keyboard Shortcuts

Use these keyboard shortcuts to navigate the app quickly, without having to switch back and forth between mouse and keyboard.

For Macs:

• To create a new note: Command + N


• To create a new tag: Command + T


• To change font: Command + T


• To merge lists: Command + Shift + M


• To switch between shortcuts: Command + [number of Shortcut]

For Windows:

• To create a new note: Ctrl + N


• To create a new tag: Ctrl + T


• To clip a section and insert into note: Win + a


• To start a new Evernote search: Win + Shift + f


• To paste clipboard into Evernote as a new note: Ctrl + Alt + V

This is just a small sample of the Evernote shortcuts available. For a complete list of shortcuts on Mac, click here; for Windows, click here.