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I agree with all the reasons shared by Evernote for discontinuing this feature, but it is disappointing to see how they are choosing to communicate important changes such as this to the users.
I’ve known about LaTeX for a while, but I’ve never actually used it. When Evernote added support for it, I thought it would be an opportunity to learn it and make an in-depth video. 🫣 Well, that was a habit hole I wish I had not fallen into. Anyway, here’s my TL;DR video.
Bending Spoons was the best thing to ever happen to Evernote.
The more I learn about how Evernote was operating before Bending Spoons bought it, the more I love how well it’s been taken care of now.
Although I began using Evernote in 2008, it was only in 2012, when I joined the Ambassadors Program, that I found myself gaining access to some inside information. But just like what happens today as an Evernote Expert, there was never full access to all the details, strategies, or plans for the future. For those, I’ve always done my homework, consuming every bit of public information and connecting the dots myself.
Things got slightly more complicated when they were acquired by a company I had never heard of before. That meant starting from scratch to learn all about Bending Spoons.
Like in the past, I found myself reading, watching, and listening to everything I could find related to that unknown company. And I mean anything. Even if it is about products unrelated to
The inspiration behind the Timeline System
A brief history of the pitfalls and struggles that ended up leading me to create the Timeline System. And how Evernote helped me twice.
Years ago, when I worked for big corporations, I quickly realized how much of a problem it was not to have a good system for organizing information and keeping up with activities.
After trying many existing options, it became clear to me that they often felt rigid and unnatural, forcing users to adapt to the system rather than the other way around.
The closest I got to something that would work in a more intentional way was Agile, which I studied for many years. I ended up adapting some of its core concepts to Kanban boards, which I still use to help companies. But it is far from ideal for managing life. Anyway, this learning experience led me to Kaizen, which also heavily influenced the way I see mindful work.
The problem with Evernote’s AI, is Evernote.
Navigating Evernote’s AI Journey: Balancing Privacy and Functionality.
Although Evernote has gradually evolved into a more collaborative space, it has been a place for personal note-taking since its inception. Furthermore, the company has consistently emphasized its privacy-first approach throughout the years.
If we compare that to how AI normally works, I believe it is a bit difficult to create an environment that will make both pro and against AI users happy and comfortable with the app experience.
An immersive AI experience like we see on Voicenotes would mean giving the Large Language Model access to all the notes and everything in our Evernote. Some people would never accept something like this, but that is precisely how to create an outstanding experience of fully interacting with our notes and all the memories and knowledge we have saved over the years.
Strip down Evernote and go back to basics to focus on notes.
Tired of Evernote’s clutter? Too many features overwhelming you? This is how you can strip it down to a pure note-taking app.
Those of you who have already watched the video at the end of this article, know how happy I was when I first tried that new Sidebar Configuration feature. I was both nostalgic and overjoyed to see my decade-old companion working as a note-taking app again.
If that’s also your goal, here are some tips to convert Evernote into a plain, simple note-taking app. But first, make sure you have the correct version. The settings below are only available on version 10.107.3 or later.
Removing Distractions
Click on your name in the top-left corner of the screen, open the Settings menu and go to the Sidebar tab.
Uncheck the Show Task and Event Creation buttons option to remove the big, super-distracting purple and red buttons from below the Note button. However, as a reminder—or tip—they are still accessible by clicking on the three dots.
The Show note counts is an important element in my Timeline System and I kept it checked. As for Show recent notes, I prefer them on the Home page because I can see the thumbnails. As a side note, both of these settings have always existed.
We’ll soon get back to the last option on that list. For now, scroll down to the section below and click to close as many eyes as possible 🤣. Jokes apart, Here’s what I left visible on my sidebar:
We are not done yet, but I need to take a moment to share a tip with those of you who love keyboard shortcuts.
More than just features: Bending Spoons has a vision for Evernote.
As a longtime Evernote user and frequent collaborator with the team, I’ve always felt a deep connection to the app. But a recent Vergecast episode with David Pierce and Federico Simionato made me see things from a different perspective.
However, before that, “The Great Evernote Reboot” episode title evoked a wave of nostalgia. It made me remember all the years I went to the Evernote conferences and when the company and its products were on the news all the time. Ironically, that nostalgia made me freeze for a moment and skip that episode. I wanted to listen to it with attention and give it the deserved respect and treatment. In honesty, it felt like a special moment.
The features discussed didn’t surprise me, though. For example, I just published a video about the sidebar customization. But Pierce’s approach was like turning things around just enough to give me a new perspective on Evernote’s direction after the Bending Spoons acquisition.
The goal is not to give users all the features they’ve been asking for quite some time. That’s great, but the main goal seams to be re-examining many things, from what Evernote is about for its users to the company’s revenue model. It is about focus and making the company sustainable for years to come. In a way, it feels like a reboot of the “100-year start-up” mantra, and I love it.
But listening to this episode also taught me a valuable lesson: sometimes, all it takes is a well-crafted question to gain a fresh perspective, even on something as familiar as Evernote.
I love that Bending Spoons is constantly adding new features to Evernote, but after a while it made the sidebar too crowded. For a long time, I’ve been wanting to remove many items from there. It appears that this day is closer than I thought.
My client didn’t show up, so let’s use that time to record another video. This one is about Evernote, as I really want to discuss a recent tweet from Federico.