ICYMI, last week I took over Evernote’s Instagram Story to share about what a day in my life is like and how I use Evernote throughout my daily routine! It was so fun to do such a unique collaboration, especially with a brand I’ve loved for years and an audience that’s really similar to my blog’s.
I wrote a post years ago on my affinity for Evernote, but I wanted to make an updated version with the tips I’ve learned over the past three years in college. It’s one of the few organization tools I use (because too many tools = too MUCH organization!), and I definitely think it’s one you should consider if you’re looking to keep your study materials online!
Tip #1 – create a notebook for each semester, and notebooks for each class within that
I love having old notebooks to look back on in case my current class material overlaps with classes I’ve already taken, and Evernote makes that super easy with their notebook stacking feature. Just drag each class notebook into another notebook called “Fall 2017” or something similar and immediately feel the joy of a less cluttered workspace!
Tip #2 – add your semester’s notebook to your Shortcut’s list for quick access
If you have lots of notebooks (maybe you use Evernote for your job alongside school), you’ll probably find yourself searching the front page for the one you need too often. I add my current semester’s notebook to my Shortcut’s list since that’s the notebook I use most often, making it super easy to access! Just right click on a notebook, select “Add to Shortcuts”, and find it in the top left section of your screen.
Tip #3 – take search-ready notes for every lecture in its respectful notebook
One of the best features Evernote has is its searching abilities. I constantly find myself needing to look back on a specific lecture’s notes, but I don’t always remember exactly what day I learned something in class. All I have to do is search a keyword like “democratic theory” and all the notes with that search term pop up!
Tip #4 – add tags to your lecture notes to make studying even easier
Tags make it easy to get organized when you start studying for an exam. I tag all my lecture notes with the number of the exam I’ll need to know that content for, so when that exam comes around I just have to head to my tags page and study all the material in that exam’s particular tag!
Tip #5 – use the Evernote mobile app for last minute studying
Y’all. Evernote’s mobile app is an absolute GPA-saver. I’m that person who studies right up until the professor tells you to put your phone away, so having all my searchable notes in hand is SO NICE. I usually make a note with a summary of the most important things I need to know for an exam, but in case I need some extra refreshing, I can easily pop into a specific lecture note.
And one more thing—students can get 50% off a full year of Evernote Premium! Having a Premium account gives you access to more annotation features, more powerful searching (you can search pictures of handwriting??), new presentation features and much more. I’m a Premium user and absolutely recommend it, especially if Evernote is your main way of staying organized in school! You can sign up with that discount here.