Mastering Evernote by Casey Lightbody, Book Review
If you are brand new to Evernote, your digital notebook and filing cabinet, then Mastering Evernote: A Busy Woman's Guide To Working Smarter And Getting Things Done
by Casey Lightbody is the perfect book for you because it is easy to read, takes about an hour or so to read, and lays the foundation for you to get started. I have often talked about having a strong foundation on which to build knowledge on this blog, but after reading this book, I realized that I didn’t know some of the basics about Evernote and how to get the most out of it.
Further Reading
SummaReview of Work Smarter with Evernote by Alexandra Samuel
The Evernote Bible by Brandon Collins, a Book Review
How I Organize Evernote: A Peek Inside My Personal System
12 Surprising Ways to Use Evernote You Might Not Have Considered
The Fastest, Cheapest Way to Learn Evernote
I have read and reviewed two other books about Evernote on this blog, and both of them are very good books, which I learned a lot from. The issue is that you don’t know what you don’t know. I have had Evernote for a long time, but for most of the time, I didn’t use it until I read the first book. Today, I find that I cannot do without it, but I still do not use most of the functionalities. I mostly save articles that I find online in my digital notebooks and I use the search function a lot. I do ghost blogging for corporate clients so when I find article/ideas I save them in Evernote. Because I use the search feature so much, I am very thoughtful when creating tags. I also save articles that relate to books that I plan to write so Evernote is good for research.
What I have learned from Mastering Evernote by Casey Lightbody, is that after I have saved a note to Evernote, I can then write notes, attach links, photos and so on. I never knew that. This is important because when I read an article, I often have thoughts and reactions to what I am reading, and I would save that information in another place, perhaps a physical notebook, or in Diaro, an online diary.
Mastering Evernote by Casey Lightbody is not for sophisticated Evernote users, because there are many, including people like Michael Hyatt and Alexandra Samuel, but it is more for people who have heard about Evernote, but not sure what all the hype is about, or people who are trying it out, but don’t really know much. What I like about the book, is that it virtually holds your hand by telling you how to create an account, create your first note, how to sync the service across all platforms – the basics that many of us take for granted. Casey Lightbody does an excellent job explaining how to use the software, and she also provides screenshots which are helpful. And she explains the difference between the free and paid service, how to share notebooks and collaborate with others.
I have the Evernote app on my computer and smartphone, and I have the Evernote Clipper that’s a browser extension, which I use daily to clip and save articles of interest. I make sure that from time-to-time I login to the Evernote website and make sure that I sync with all my other devices. I used Feedly as my RSS reader, and I learned from Mastering Evernote that I can actually clip articles directly from Feedly and save into your Evernote notebook. Before I would click on the article to open in a browser and then I would use the Evernote Clipper to save, which adds another step.
The author recommends ways to use Evernote, including scanning and saving important documents and receipts for tax purposes. For my receipts, I use Gingerly, an app on my phone, but using Evernote is also worth considering. After you have finished reading Mastering Evernote: A Busy Woman's Guide To Working Smarter And Getting Things Done by Casey Lightbody, you will have the fundamentals needed to use the resource, then you are ready to move on to learn more about the advanced features.
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Author Bio: Avil Beckford, an expert interviewer, entrepreneur and published author is passionate about books and professional development, and that's why she founded The Invisible Mentor and the Virtual Literary World Tour to give you your ideal mentors virtually in the palm of your hands by offering book reviews and book summaries, biographies of wise people and interviews of successful people. Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.
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