Evernote
Stay tuned. I just had a great conversation with Federico about #Evernote's new phase.
Did you notice that Federico Simionato, product lead at Evernote, has been tweeting non-stop about new features in development and some ideas for the future? I had to find out what was happening, so I invited him for a conversation. He talked about this new phase, where the inspiration for the new features is coming from, and much more.
I have already looked through the footage, and everything looks great. Stay tuned. The video is coming up in a few days.
Google Tasks is just too convenient not to use
I had already moved my Evernote tasks to Obsidian with the help of the Tasks plugin, but I found out that Google Tasks was a better fit for my needs.
Even though I don’t like tasks, if you check out my videos about Evernote Tasks, you’ll see that I had a system in place for birthdays, bills, and other paperwork for my company. For everything else, I always use Kanban boards.
Similar to many other journeys I shared with you in the past, this one is also about experimenting and finding the best option for my specific needs. As I always say, it’s more important to create a good system that works for you than to try to find a magical app.
Did you know?
Although the Android and iOS apps were available from the very beginning, it used to be that the task drawer (1) was the only way to interact with your to-dos in a browser. That changed a while ago. You can also use Tasks as standalone application by clicking the icon at the top of the screen (2) or visiting tasks.google.com.
All the features are identical, but the dedicated page is more visual. You can reorder lists or move tasks to different positions in a list or to different lists. It behaves more like a Kanban board, but that’s not the reason I switched to Google Tasks.
Another important piece of information to keep in mind is that it doesn’t matter how many lists you create or delete; the first one provided by Google will always be the default list. You can rename or reorder it, but there’s no way to delete the default list. More on that latter.
Why have I switched?
There are many reasons. Let’s start with the fact that I have Google Assistant devices all over my home and office, and that makes it super easy for me to create tasks hands-free. There is a caveat, though. All tasks created this way will be saved in the default list. And because of this detail, I had to make a small modification to my system. We’ll get there.
Another convenient feature is seeing my tasks on the Hub Max. It recognizes my face when I look at it and shows my upcoming calendar entries and tasks. And that’s not all. I can even use the touchscreen to see more tasks and mark them as completed.
Then there is my Android phone, where I can also interact with the assistant using voice commands, even when I’m jogging. And, of course, I can use the widget to see what tasks are coming up.
These features are too convenient to ignore.
My system
I only have two lists. The first one is called Activities and it’s all about recurring dates. To understand it, I invite you to watch the video below, even if you are not an Evernote user. That’s the exact system that I have transferred to Obsidian and am currently using on Google Tasks. Including the emojis 😉.
Regarding the other list, it is the default list, even though it is ordered as the second one in my system. Everything I need to buy, from groceries to items for woodworking and other similar projects, goes on that list. It must be the default list because, more often than not, I ask Google Assistant to add items there.
I don’t know why, but at the time of writing this article, there’s no way to make another list the default one. I have learned this the hard way, but you don’t need to. Plan ahead and figure out what kind of tasks you’ll be asking the Assistant to add more often. That should help you with your default list.
Activities is the list I want to always keep an eye on, and that’s why it’s the first one. Every time I open the calendar, I see it. As for the other one, I only need it when I’m shopping and can easily open Google Tasks on my phone to check the items.
But what if I told you that I never open the Tasks app on my phone? Each list has its own widget, which allows me to view the tasks, mark them as completed, and even create new ones. Again, Google Tasks is too convenient to ignore.
One thing I’m always trying to do is remove potential complications from my systems. In the past, I tried splitting shopping items into a grocery list and a projects list, but that only added more friction to the system, as I had a third list to deal with. Since I rarely have a lot of items to buy, my human brain is capable enough to easily tell what is what on the Shopping list.
Naturally, the number of items that have been completed on this that will increase exponentially, but that’s okay because they go to a collapsed space when marked as completed. However, if you really want a spotless list, the ‘Delete all completed tasks’ option will delete only the completed items on that list. So I can easily clean up my Shopping list without messing with my Activities list.
That’s it. As I said before, I manage everything else using Kanban boards because they give me a much better view of the status of each project. But that’s a story for another day.
Finding my perfect match: #Evernote or #Obsidian?
After all the content I’ve published about Evernote, I’m sure many of you are wondering why the most recent shift towards Obsidian. The truth is that there is more to it than simply switching to another app. If we zoom in on how they work, each one is clearly a suitable match for different types of users. But what if I am a combination of two different groups of users?
Heads up! Evernote Legacy is no more.
Are you still using Evernote legacy? I suggest you read this post on Evernote’s blog because all versions before 10 on macOS, Windows, and Android will stop working on March 23, 2024. The iOS version has already been decommissioned. Jon Tromans also wrote a great article about it.
After importing notes from Evernote into Obsidian, the typed portion of the notes will be placed in a folder, while the images and other files will be located in another folder. But is this the best way to keep everything in Obsidian organized?
He was very close to locking himself out of Evernote
This is the story of how I helped him save his notes
Evernote, like many other companies, lets us use two-factor authentication. This means that, once you enable this function, you’ll always need to use a randomly generated code in addition to your password to gain access to your account. I see it as a good security feature that we all should turn on in every App where it’s available.
It’s usually activated by scanning a QR code with a so-called Authenticator App, which then starts generating random numbers. But here’s the catch: if you lose access to that App, you are in trouble because no one else has those codes.
As a last resort, there is always a list of one-time-use numbers that can unlock the account in case of an emergency. But not everyone saves that list, despite being instructed to do it every time we turn on two-factor authentication in an App.
The Problem
This unique combination of problems is beyond my comprehension, but criticizing him for not having the printed list of codes would not help. The facts are that this person only had Evernote logged in on his iPad, and he lost access to the Authenticator App.
I don’t believe the support team at Evernote or any other company would be able to help someone in this situation. After all, the codes are generated on the person’s device.
The suggestion
Before anything else, I asked him to try something that would probably not work on the iPad, but who knows? I’ve heard that some people have disabled the authentication layer by accessing the Evernote settings on the computer App. Unfortunately, as expected, it didn’t work on his iPad.
Time for a more drastic approach.
The plan was to move all his notes to a new account. On the iPad, he would have to go to each notebook and share it with the new account. On the new account, he would then create a local notebook and move the shared notes to it.
An important detail to remember is that one can only move 100 notes at a time, and there’s no way to select multiple notes on mobile clients. So, the easiest way to do everything on his new account is on a computer with Evernote’s App installed.
How can you prevent this from happening?
First, you should remember to take care of the Authenticator App you are using and to print the one-time-use numbers list. By the way, a good place to put this list is wherever you keep all your personal documents.
A password management App is another option. Many of them can read the original QR code and generate the authentication codes. As they are synchronized with the cloud, you will still have access to the information, even in the event of losing or permanently damaging your phone.
However, if you don’t like this type of Apps, you may want to also print the first QR code you have to scan when you create the code generator for that account. That QR code can be used to recreate the code generator on a different Authenticator App. Just be extra careful with where you keep it because anyone with that QR code can recreate the code generator.
Why choose Evernote instead?
Being good at something doesn’t mean it’s easy or that everyone will be able to do it. After helping clients for more than a decade, I can confidently say that the number of people who are not good with technology is much larger than we think.
Today, I started helping a new client who had already told me about his lack of proficiency in technology. In situations like this, Evernote is always my top choice because it’s easy to understand and use.
In about 20 minutes, my client was comfortable with the user interface and the simple structure of notes and notebooks. Tags and tasks were also part of the explanation, but I told him to ignore them for now. Even in such a short time, I was able to show him all the basics and how Evernote Home can be used as a summary of all the information he has in the app.
Next, I helped him strategically think about and create some notebooks that he’ll be using to add content for the next few days.
In half an hour, a person who is very uncomfortable with technology was already creating notebooks, adding information, and moving notes to organize things on his own. That’s how intuitive Evernote is.
If everything goes as planned, he will arrive at the next session with many more notes and some discomfort with organizing and finding information. Yes, you read that right. It is intuitive, but it can’t do miracles.
This is when we’ll start creating his mindful workflow. I’ll be helping him make sense of all his content while introducing strategies using tags, widgets, or whatever else. It will all depend on how he describes what he is having a hard time finding or doing.
Baby Steps
Not only is he uneasy with technology, he also has his business and personal life activities to take care of. Like several others in his position, he cannot afford the time it takes to learn the fancy apps and methodologies productivity gurus love to sell as magical solutions.
That’s why I try to constantly remind myself that many people can only improve their lives with technologies and workflows that are straightforward to understand and use.
That’s it for today. I hope you have a great week.
Plugins might be the missing link for Evernote’s success
Over the years, I’ve heard CEOs say it’s tough to change things or add new features because we all use Evernote differently.
In my opinion, Ian Small, the former CEO, said it best. People often refer to it as My Evernote because, in fact, it is an entirely different experience when compared to the way others use it. That’s why when the company releases something new, some people will love it, while others will see it as a waste of time and resources.
An ecosystem of compatible Apps
If we go way back to the beginning of the Phil Libin era as CEO, the App was much simpler. To add new features, businesses and developers would use the API to create a myriad of compatible services that, in a sense, functioned as plugins. Even Evernote, the company, would create separate Apps if they wanted to experiment with new ideas.
These Apps were listed on Evernote’s website in a space called Evernote Trunk, which was later renamed App Center. Those of you who were not users back then would not believe in the number of services available.
Eventually, Libin’s team began adding new features to the main App. But, the upcoming CEO, Chris O’Neal, took the opposite approach. In an effort to maximize the firm’s resources, he began discontinuing Apps and removing numerous features. That trend, for some reason, never stopped. Even today, features are still being removed. Nonetheless, new ones have also been added. Evernote 10 introduced Home, Tasks, Widgets and many others. And more recently, Bending Spoons add many AI options.
Being in the position of approving, rejecting, and removing features must be extremely challenging. Especially because it has a significant impact on so many people.
As an example, I enjoyed the Evernote map feature, but let’s be honest, how many people actually need to see their notes on a map? Likewise, I always wanted a way to see my notes on a Kanban board. For a long time, there was even a Kanban beta that never saw the light of day. Yet again, does it make sense to spend time and resources developing a feature like this? How many people are likely to use it?
The plugins approach
If the decision to remove or introduce features was a daunting task before the acquisition of Evernote, one can only imagine the current situation after significant staff reductions. But maybe it doesn’t have to be like that.
Remember the App Center? Many people didn’t know about that section on the website. And if they managed to get there, things wouldn’t be easy.
First, not everything would be an App. Some were more about connecting and synchronizing with Evernote. Others I would not even know how to categorize. For example, there was a substitute client for the Mac called Alternote. It was a fully functioning App, but Evernote didn’t build or maintain it. A developer from Ukraine was the responsible for it. Amazingly, the Alternote website is still up, so you can go there to see some of the amazing screenshots. I hope you’re getting a sense of how powerful the API was.
Do you remember the map and Kanban system I talked about before? Obsidian also doesn’t have these features. It doesn’t even have a task feature like Evernote does. However, I can do all of these and much more using plugins.
I’ve got a suggestion
What if Bending Spoons were to stop adding new features to Evernote? Possibly, even remove some of the current features to make the App easier to use and maintain. This would mean that fewer company resources would be needed. What if they were to transform it into something simple and elegant, such as Alternote? What about having a plugins space like Obsidian, instead of the cumbersome Trunk experience?
I do not have numbers or any inside information, but I think it is reasonable to say that this would make maintaining the App much easier and would possibly incentivize developers to innovate, as has never been done before. Naturally, it is imperative that the API is still working as before to make something like this possible.
It would also mean bringing Evernote back to its roots as a note-taking App, which would attract people who don’t like all the new features. At the same time, the plugins would make so many innovations possible. And those who are very specific about how the App should be, would be able to easily create their own My Evernote.
I’d love to know what you think about this idea.
Will 2024 be my first year without Evernote?
I think it’s fair to say that everyone was a bit astonished when the news broke on the third day of 2023. Bending Spoons, a company barely anyone knew about, had acquired Evernote.
For the past 15 years, I have never considered leaving Evernote. To be more precise, the thought never crossed my mind. Now it looks like 2024 will mean more to me than just a new year. Maybe it will be a year without Evernote. But it’s rare for something so big to happen suddenly. We have to go back to the beginning of 2022 to understand what’s going on.
I was already experimenting with Obsidian for my video production workflow when some of my clients asked me to help them build their workflows on Obsidian. That ended up starting a feedback loop of fresh ideas and more experimenting and teaching. Long story short, by the end of 2022, this learning and teaching system was at full speed. Then, boom! The acquisition news in January 2023. And, let’s not forget the chaos Twitter was in because of its own acquisition. What if Evernote experienced the same fate?
There you have it. It was a perfect storm forming before my very eyes.
What I’m trying to say is that it’s rare for only one event to cause a big change. It is usually the culmination of many small things happening simultaneously that creates the perfect conditions.
Most of my notes—about 80% of them—are still in Evernote. But if I’m quoting Pareto, the 20% of notes I’m using 80% of the time are already in Obsidian. And this makes all the difference. When I need to find something, chances are that Obsidian will have it. Which ended up helping me create the habit of opening Obsidian first. Oops!
Another important aspect of Obsidian is the fact that the mobile clients are fully functional. During short trips or vacations, I do not bring a computer with me, and I can still use Obsidian on my iPad as if I were at my office computer.
It’s not all roses, though
I was an early adopter of Postash.io back in 2014, and I loved the fact that I could convert any of my Evernote notes to pages of a website or blog posts. Sadly, the service never worked properly, and I ended up going back to a conventional website hosting service. Obsidian Publish seemed like the perfect opportunity to try that again, but although it is a very reliable service, it came with its own set of problems. As you already know, I went back to a traditional website hosting service. But this is a story for another day.
For the moment, I will leave you with this. It’s more likely than not that 2024 will be the year I switch from Evernote to Obsidian.
Happy New Year!
Technology is neither good nor bad...
It’s all about how we use it
The year is 2012, and I brought a real camera to the Evernote Conference to make sure I would end up with good pictures. It was a wise move, but there was a problem with this one picture.
The small display of the camera might have made me believe everything was okay, but the picture I asked someone passing by to take of Phil Libin and me ended up being blurry. I think you can imagine my disappointment when I transferred the pictures to my computer later that day. It was the only one I had with him, so I kept it.
Fast-forward to the era of AI…
The other day, I was searching for a picture to test the Google Photos unblur feature, and I thought of the one with Phil Libin. Google Photos fixed it in seconds with a single click. I’m impressed. That’s so cool.
Before and after pictures
Original picture from 2012
Picture fixed by AI in 2023
