Palm
Evernote: The Aha! Moment That Ended My Lifelong Organizing Struggle.
I spent years searching for a solution! Here’s how Evernote finally helped me conquer information overload and organize everything.
While enjoying some old pictures yesterday, I noticed something that brought back a very specific memory.
Some of them, which date back to my childhood, have a code on the back. I can’t remember exactly what it means, but I know that the comma separates two types of information.
One is related to the order of that picture in a sequence. The other indicates the group, which would translate into something like the digital albums some people create nowadays.
In the example below, it would mean something like the second picture of a group (album) with the number 13. It may also be the other way around. I don’t know which one it was. The codes would be written in a paper notebook with additional information, such as descriptions of the album and pictures.
I used a variation of this system for many yeas. For example, when I started using a computer to write my letters, I had a two-digit code associated to the name of each person and the date in reverse order. Something like AC19930429. Similar to the pictures, the codes had a description associated with them, but at that point I was using a spreadsheet on my computer to log everything.
When I learned how to use databases, the system further evolved. In addition to storing the codes, the database had keywords from letters, documents, books, and articles from printed magazines.
I spent too many years perfecting this system, but the reality is that it was horrible. Probably because the digital database was only capable of cross-referencing the keywords I added to it. All the related information was still in physical media, and archiving and retrieving it was never a pleasant or efficient experience.
Time to simplify things
I eventually gave up. In addition to being a terrible system, this happened during the 1980s and 90s, a period known for rapid development of computers and the lack of cheap and reliable backup solutions.
However, I was not abandoning the idea of creating a system for my memories. As an early user of the Palm Pilot at the end of the 90s, I created a basic version of my system that I could carry with me everywhere.
Years latter, when Apple released Spotlight, it blew my mind. I understood that I would no longer need to organize information. At some point in the future, I would be able to simply ask for it and the computer would show me the related documents.
Little did I know that that dream would take many years to come true. Furthermore, there was a practical issue to consider. Spotlight was a Mac-only feature, and I needed something that would also run on my Palm Pilot, or simply Palm, as it was known at this point.
Despite there being no apparent solution, I kept adding my personal and professional stuff to that remarkable little computer, which I carried with me everywhere. I was so passionate about it that a website dedicated entirely to it ended up being my first online venture. And in October 2000, I was even asked to write a piece about how the Palm was going to change the world.
In the end, the smartphone did what I thought Palm would do. That’s okay. But one thing that saddens me is that I always thought that shared knowledge would make us a better civilization. I was probably too naive, since I never thought we would become so divided as a society. But that’s a topic for another moment.
16 years ago
I officially began using Evernote exactly 16 years ago today. I know this because I saved the welcome email using Web Clipper. However, it took me many months to fully commit to it.
That was the first time I had to deal with a chronological system to organize notes, with only one level of folders (notebooks). Back then, stacks didn’t even exist. As someone who had only used folders, a complicated coding system, and databases, I guess my perception of Evernote was destined to be the most negative possible.
I stopped using it several times in the first few months. The only thing that kept me coming back was being able to synchronize my notes across multiple platforms. Remember that back then, even the Apple ecosystem would not allow us to synchronize Mac notes with the iPhone.
But what ultimately made me stay was the fact that I decided to fully embrace the simple structure of notes inside a notebook and the chronological order of the notes, which I stand for until these days.
Like magic
I couldn’t see it at first, but Evernote instantly merged the two parts of my unusable childhood system. I could finally have the information and the database in the same place. Even better, I didn’t even have to build the database. It was finally just a matter of searching and finding.
Other times it was just a matter of looking at Evernote and finding. The way it arranges and presents our notes evokes a sense of clairvoyance. But it’s simply the way our brains work.
If I just used a note, it is highly possible that I’ll need it again shortly. Evernote has many features, such as Recent Notes, Switch To, and even the Notes Widget, which displays notes ordered by recently used. If you need to find something, visiting one of these places can be magical.
Even though I graduated as an economist, I always liked reading psychology books about memory. They helped me see how chronology plays a big part in how we remember things. The more I studied and learned, the more I realized how bad of an idea it was to keep excessively categorizing things.
However, it was the book Algorithms to Live By, which I read in 2016, that really connected all the dots. I consider that book to be my manual for organizing everything in both the real and digital worlds.
Old habits die hard
Thanks to a simple 2,13 code on the back of a black and white picture, I now understand that the system I’m currently building is the culmination of something I started many decades ago. I could not accomplish it back then because technology was not there yet.
We now have access to advancements well ahead of anything I could ever imagine. Not only is Evernote finding and showing me related notes, but it is also giving me answers based on my notes.
You’ve been watching me dismantle my entire collection of notebooks in Evernote and letting the tags and chronology help me find related information. What you probably don’t know is that I started sharing some of these ideas many years ago in my workshops, podcasts, and blogs, but I never fully embraced it until very recently.
I’m finally letting it go and trusting Evernote like never before to find what I need. As you know, the few notebooks I still have are there to help me do my work, not to be a knowledge or storage category. I’m still using tags, though. But I hope to also let that go as the search results start serving me the correct information.
2,13 is long outdated and has to go.
To celebrate my 16 years using Evernote, I released a video for supporters on Patreon and YouTube showing and talking about (almost 🫣) all the items I have in my big collection.
