My brain is terrible at remember things long term. Just terrible. I can’t even remember my license plate. You know, the one on my car, the one that hasn’t changed in 4 years? If I had a gun to my head, I couldn’t tell you the two of the letters.

You see, my brain is basically a hundred bulletin boards without any pins.

And Evernote is the only way I can really track stuff.

That’s the key. I don’t use it to generate ideas. I don’t use it to create anything. It’s my digital storage unit. It ain’t pretty, but it works. I can literally throw my all the information into it and it handles it beautifully.

I don’t have millions of tags, but probably 5. (Tags are a way to organize the articles and information you put in there.)

So here’s how I use Evernote like a boss.

Link it to IFTTT.

Using IFTTT I have this power move.

When I see something in Twitter I’m remotely interested in, I will favorite it. When I do, IFTTT ships it to Pocket (lets you read internet articles offline and organize them) and then if I favorite it there that means I dig it. So then it ships it to Evernote with a tag #readlater

All the Taxes

Anything that is remotely tax oriented, it gets put into Evernote with the tag #taxINSERTYEARHERE. This way when I’m ready to do my taxes, I just search for the taxes and bibby-bang, I’m done.

My Car Info

All my insurance, car payment info, kind of tires I have, pictures of my car, license plate, AAA number, etc. Boom. That’s in one notebook. No more searching.

Traveling Like a Master

Any itinerary for traveling—it’s in there. Any blog posts, or website info about the location I’m headed is in there. This way when I arrive at my destination, who knows the best restaurant? I do. I DO.

Checklists

If you do anything that is repetitive, you need to build a checklist. Whether it is how to clean out your car, pack for a trip, or shut down your house when you’re going to be gone for awhile, should be a checklist. Your brain hates coming up with that information time and time again. So build a checklist and put it in Evernote.

Books on Books on Books

I’ve written about how I’m on a book freeze this year. No books! None! But that doesn’t mean I’m still not interested in books. So when I’m in a bookstore and I have a hankering for a book, I simply bust out my phone, open Evernote, take a picture of the book, make a quick note and put a hashtag #books. I feel my heartbeat slow down.

PDF town.

I’m betting you have a grip of PDFs in your computer. I simply move them to Evernote and because I have a premium subscription I can simply search them if need be. Declutter that computer of yours!

Your Insurance Helper

I simply take pictures of my apartment along with the make and model of everything (this took me about 20 minutes.) I have all the serial numbers of my products there. Any theft or if my roof collapses, boom, there it is.

Design Work

If I admire a piece of art or furniture, some kind of design or poster, I simply take a picture of it for inspiration later.

Versatile in Remembering

You can put pictures, PDFs, voice recording, video, and all sorts of information in there. You don’t have to worry about compatibility or getting the right “format.” Evernote takes care of that.

Presentation Mode

Oh, man. I dig presentation mode when I want to read something and not squint. It makes the font super large and then I can digest it faster.

That Voice in My Head

I have trained myself, that when I think, “Oh, I’ll remember that” I immediately open up Evernote and record WHATEVER it is. It might be an idea for a blog post—it might be a gift idea. But I record it then and there, my brain lets it go.

The Journal of Journals

I do enjoy journal programs, Day One and such, but I find that I fall behind with entries. With Evernote, I can simply journal, clack away on the keyboard, and then tag it #journal with the date in the subject line. Later on I can merge all the notes and BEHOLD my journal is done. LOOK AT ME!

I’m still experimenting and figuring out how to use Evernote even better. (Please note: I don’t write in Evernote. I’m trying Bear and Ulysses for that. I’m really digging Ulysses because I can post to WordPress right from there and set up a word count goal. But more on that later.)

Let me know if there are any other Evernote tricks I’m missing. Boom. Go get it.

I’m also giving away 5 YEARS of Evernote Premium along with other books to help you use Evernote like the Ninja you are.

Sign up and you could win it!