For me, I know that 2016 will be a year of change. I realise that for me to achieve more, I have to put processes in place to automate my life and “outsource” certain sections of my brain to fully maximise my energy for the things that matter.

As much as I want to be the “mom who has it all”, I know that juggling a full-time creative job, family, fitness and my aspirations by myself is next to impossible. Yet, hiring a personal assistant seems a little too much of a luxury at this point in time.

Or is it?

I discovered Evernote in May 2008 but I never really appreciated its usefulness – until now. If you don’t know what Evernote is and have never used it, welcome to your “second brain”.

What Is Evernote?

Evernote has tons of cool features, which would take me a really long time to get through. So, to cut a very long story short, it:

• Reduces paper clutter (no more wrangling with name-cards, manuals and random pieces of paper)
• Lets you dictate the way you want to save things
• Uses a powerful search engine that can recognise your handwriting, so you’ll never lose anything again!
• Includes a Web Clipper that has superseded any other app I use for bookmarking.

Available on the PC/Mac/Web, iPhone/iPad/Android, Evernote seamlessly auto-saves and auto-syncs across all your devices. You can now type out your grocery list on your computer and, even if you forget to save, you can still scroll through your entire grocery list on your phone while in the store! No more lost data or not knowing which folder you saved it into. This is the big file folder I’ve been dreaming of and, better still, it’s available anywhere at anytime.

It has seriously changed the productivity game for me, so, if productivity is on your list of resolutions for 2016, and in the spirit of giving and sharing, here are 53 ways to make your life more productive with Evernote … for free!

Some of your information may be highly sensitive. Base your actions on discretion and comfort level. You can either protect your information with a password or choose NOT to put it on Evernote at all. These are merely suggestions on how you can use Evernote more effectively.

Keep Emergency Information Easily Accessible

1. Record emergency phone numbers (next-of-kin, attending doctor), so that someone can call for help.
2. Make a copy of your insurance information on Evernote, so you can make informed financial decisions whenever you need to.
3. Capture your medical history (allergies, life-threatening conditions). Do the same for your family members and tag the notes so you can pull them out in a hurry.

De-Clutter Your Home/Office

4. Scan all your business cards and Evernote will automatically convert the info into a contact note.
5. Scan post-it notes and retrieve them with handwriting recognition.
6. As you’re spring cleaning, document things you want to sell or give away with photos and notes.
7. If you sell items on Facebook or Craigslist, track their current status by bookmarking their locations.
8. Take a photo or simply attach the PDF version of your kitchen appliance manuals to Evernote. Throw them away if you don’t need to return the items.
9. Digitise articles from your favourite magazines on Evernote, instead of keeping stacks of magazines at home.
10. Don’t lose favourite recipes from packaged food boxes/labels by taking photos of them.

Have Fun Shopping

11. Keep a list of your favourite online blog shops and e-commerce sites.
12. Email discount codes you get to Evernote so you won’t have to dig through your inbox to find that email.

Maximise Doctor Visits

13. Record your doctor’s recommendations (use notes or audio memo) so that you don’t forget what to do.
14. Keep your selected clinics’ opening times and phone numbers handy.
15. Retain an e-record of medical reports on Evernote so that you can refer to them easily if you are seeking a second opinion.

Manage Your Expenditure

16. Email your electronic receipts to Evernote and take photos of paper receipts so that it is easy for you to manage your budget.
17. Take photos of your car’s mileage for reimbursement purposes.
18. Scan your electricity and mobile phone bills so that you can track your household usage.

Stay On Top Of Gift-Giving On Birthdays And The Holidays

19. Make it easy to share birthday/Christmas wish-lists with friends and family.
20. Remind yourself of upcoming birthdays and keep a record of whether you’ve bought the gift, what it is and if you’ve written a card.

Keep Track Of Your Kids

21. Capture the first time your child says “Mama” and other milestones with photos, notes and audio.
22. Always have opening times and admission rates of your kids’ favourite hangout spots on hand.
23. Keep abreast with your children’s friends and their parents. Make it easy to invite the kids for birthday parties with all their parents’ contacts in one place.
24. Track their progress with a visual record of your child’s report book.
25. Research enrichment classes/schools/playgroups you want to sign your child up for.
26. Have the contact info of your children’s school teachers in one place.
27. Remind yourself when your child needs to submit something to school.


Enjoy Cooking/Eating Out

28. Record recipes you create so that you can share with others.
29. Have your grocery list always on hand. Check off what you’ve purchased. 
30. Keep track of the prices of food/household items so you can find the best deal.
31. Keep a log of all the restaurants/cafés you’ve visited.
32. Write reviews of restaurants, including photos, and share them with your friends.
33. Have a virtual menu library of your favourite restaurants/delivery places.

Improve Your Home

34. List household chores for your domestic helper (take photos, too!) and share it with her.
35. Research and save essential oil recipes for healthier cleaning methods.
36. Use Evernote as an inspiration board when you want to redecorate your home.
37. Take photos of areas in the house that need repairing/updating.

Look Your Best

38. Take down the name of that gorgeous nail polish colour your nail tech tried on you so that you can have it every time you get a manicure.
39. If you’ve had an amazing haircut, take photos of the front/side/back and save it in a note so that your hairstylist can replicate it the next time around.
40. Create a fashion inspiration board based on your favourite style icon.
41. Put outfits together ahead of time and keep track of them so you don’t waste precious minutes in the morning.

Become Fitter And Healthier

42. Log your favourite YouTube fitness videos.
43. Keep track of your fitness and physical improvements.
44. Keep a visual diary of what you eat (with Evernote Food) so that you can make any necessary adjustments.

Make Trips Memorable

45. Plan a memorable trip by collating your research, then sharing and inviting input from your travel partners.
46. Keep a travel diary, complete with video, audio and pictures.
47. Back up your tickets and passes so you’ll always have an e-version, should you lose the hardcopies.

Develop A Reading Habit

48. Keep a running list of books you need to read before you die.
49. Capture and annotate book pages (without physically destroying library books) and keep your memories forever.
50. Remind yourself when your library books are due.
51. Clip links of interesting websites/articles to read later.
52. Back up your Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn memories.
53. Get articles from your favourite blog/website automatically pushed to your Evernote.

Creating an account is easy, fuss-free and it will cost you nothing. You get 60MB of upload space monthly, which renews every month. If you don’t clip a lot of movies/voice or massive images, the basic free account will work fine. If you save a lot of websites, like I do, here’s where Premium comes in handy (USD$31.98 – $57.98/year).

Have an awesomely productive 2016!

_{This article was first published on Ruth Song blog and has been reposted on Executive Lifestyle with the permission of the author.
Edited by Nedda Chaplin}

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