This blog post was recently featured at http://technology.yourway.net.
Evernote is a fantastic tech tool that can help you get a grip on all the loose ends in your life. You simply install it on your computer and smartphone and it will quickly develop into your digital file cabinet. Below I have listed 7 examples of ways I use Evernote in my everyday life.
Shot records
It is always at the most random and inconvenient times I get caught needing one of my kids shot records. With my records saved electronically their shot records are with me wherever I go.
Babysitting File
It seems that every time we have a babysitter planned it is total chaos beforehand. Keeping a babysitting file on hand with the bedtime routine and emergency information makes it simple to get out the door. I just email over the info to the babysitter. This is especially handy in the event of an emergency.
Vacation Planning
Planning a vacation for a family is no simple task. Finding a place to stay, making travel plans and keeping track of the paperwork. Not to mention the work to get everyone out the door. I keep all my lists with everything we need to get packed in Evernote. It is so easy to share notes I can send them over to my husband too.
Honey Do List
Family life is pretty busy, but it doesn’t stop those nagging tasks from needing to get done. Weekends in our house get pretty crammed. So when there is time to get things accomplished it is easiest to pull out my on-going “honey do” list. Always having this information it makes our trips to Lowes, Target and grocery store much more efficient.
Home/Property Management
Managing your home or multiple homes is a lot of work. However, there is massive amounts of time to be saved by tracking all your home information through a paperless system. You can put warranty info, appliance info, leases, paperwork, pictures, and repair contacts all in Evernote. This allows you to easily and promptly deal with any home situation that occurs.
Kids’ Artwork
I love all the awesome artwork and projects that my kids bring home from school, however I can’t stand all the clutter of the paper. I save the absolute best of the best. The rest I snap a photo of, save in Evernote and throw it away guilt free.
Kids’ Activities Schedules
Keeping up with the back and forth of all the kids is exhausting. School schedules, sports information are all saved in Evernote. That way no matter where I am I can reference these events that we need to work around.
Posted on 16 May '12 by Lauren, under Evernote, organization. 1 Comment.
Getting this edition of “The Good Stuff” out a little late this Sunday. Hope all you Moms out there had a great Mother’s Day. As one of my good friends said, “Can you believe we only get one day a year for this!” Ha ha true story. And with that I leave you with a few quotes from one of my favorite mothers, Erma Bombeck:
“When your mother asks, “Do you want a piece of advice?” it is a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.”
“Never have more children than you have car windows.”
“Do you know what you call those who use towels and never wash them, eat meals and never do the dishes, sit in rooms they never clean, and are entertained till they drop? If you have just answered, “A house guest,” you’re wrong because I have just described my kids.”
And this last one I will dedicate to my own Mom. My husband learned quickly that whatever box you open at Christmas is most definitely not what you received.
“Thanks to my mother, not a single cardboard box has found its way back into society. We receive gifts in boxes from stores that went out of business twenty years ago.”
Anyway, onto the real purpose of this post. Here is “The Good Stuff” I found around the web this week:
Creating a Language for the Web
Do you tweet? Did she friend you? Did he like your status? Ten years ago those sentences would have been the result of some bizarre language barrier issue. Today, well that is just social media jargon.
Hand Free Mama
*Sigh* I wish this post didn’t hit quite so close to home for me. I think much like other addictions deciding to go cold turkey is probably going to back fire. Consider just picking one or two rules you are going to follow to control your smartphone habit. For example, I will not be on the phone when I drop off or pick up my kids from school. You know I want to be totally available when they give me one word answers to my questions about their day 
On the Vaunted City Subway Map, Mistakes and Phantom Blocks
This is just interesting, random knowledge.
10 Tips on Writing from David Ogilvy
Oh David Ogilvy, the original Mad Man. I never get tired of reading his guidance on writing, marketing and advertising. You know someone truly understood and shaped their industry when their words still ring true not only decades later, but through a information revolution. My favorite is number nine.
How To Make Money Online
Speaking of the information revolution, few people understand it as well as Seth Godin. There are few that understand the modern marketing industry at the level that Seth Godin does. You may not always agree with him, but not only can he make a solid argument to his points, he continues to prove them.
The Creative Benefits of Exploring the Uncomfortable
How often do you go out of your comfort zone?
Every week there is so much new, exciting and eye opening information being pumped into the world. This is “The Good Stuff” that I found this week:
IOSafe
People often ask me about backing up their computer. While I most definitely recommend backing up to a local hard drive, I always warn people that this is only as safe as your house. Hard drives are not safe from fire or flooding, well until now. The IOSafe seems to solve that problem. This is a great option, just keep in mind you still have to have it plugged into your computer so you can update nightly. Another option is using a third-party back up like Mozy.com.
Ana White and Design Confidential
Wow where have I been! The fact that I am not at Lowes right now is amazing. I have always been interested in building and woodworking, but these sites make it seem so attainable. I really just can’t decide what my first project is going to be.
The Story of Telling
In my quest to improve my writing and overall “storytelling” I came across this site http://thestoryoftelling.com and I absolutely love it. I encourage everyone to check it out. It doesn’t really matter what you do in life, all your communication is important most likely you have room to improve.
Reinventing Education To Teach Creativity And Entrepreneurship
Education is always a hot topic, but certainly as the world around us is revolutionizing the way in which we bring our children into this world needs to revolutionize as well. This article in Fast Company this week is just another look at how our approach needs to change.
And just a quote to remember to never stop learning:
“Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; the cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.”
- Mark Twain
Posted on 6 May '12 by Lauren, under the good stuff. No Comments.
Up and Running is a multi-post series about going from great idea to online business and what steps you need to take. Over the years I have had many people contact me because they have a business idea they want to launch, but have no idea where to start. It is completely overwhelming. This series is going to take you through that entire process.
1. Website Plan: Determine what type of website your business needs.
2. Content: It is pretty cliche to say, but “content is king,” so why is it so often created last? Content should not be an afterthought.
3. Install Your Site: Now is the time to get site built using the content you laid out in step 2.
4. Look and Feel: Now your site up and running with content ready. Now you can start branding by applying a theme to your site!
5. Marketing: You have put hours of your time and hard work into your site, now it is time to show the world!
Lets get started with step one, website plan. When you go to build a house you can’t just hand a builder a drawing that looks like this: 
and tell him to get started building. Sure that may be what you want the front of your house to look like, but that is only one dimension.
You start with a floor plan. Perfect that layout, think about where every sink, outlet, door and load bearing wall will be. The “look and feel” (shutters, paint, tile color etc…) of the house is many steps away. Building an online business is very similar to this. First off you need to determine how you are going to use this site before you take any further steps.
A decade ago if you wanted a website, even a simple one, you had to hire a web developer to hand code one. Today there are many ways to avoid this. I am going to help guide you to the simplest and least expensive way to get you up and running, but first we need to do a little mind-mapping.
Let’s start by answering these questions:
1. What do you want to do with this website (e.g. are you going to sell a product, a service or neither)?
2. If you are selling something, is it a physical product that you need to ship? Or is it a digital product (ebook) or a service (legal work)?
Note: If your product is the website you may need to hire a developer. For example, if you are planning to build the next, Flickr or Ebay this is going to require custom work.
Fortunately for you, putting together a website on your own, with little to no web experience is completely attainable. You just need the right road map. There are several business now that give you all the pieces you need to build a website without knowing any code at all. Just like the house I mentioned earlier it is like a builder giving you a home that is ready to paint, decorate and arrange your furniture in. In the web world we call that decorating a “theme.” You will need to determine the correct system (house) and then pick a theme (look and feel).
I am going to introduce my two favorite paths to web building and explore them with you.
If you need a site for a physical business, or to sell a service or digital product you can almost always cover your needs with a WordPress site. WordPress is one of the many blogging tools out there, but can easily become a full on content management tool. It is far more flexible and manageable than other blogging tools. More to follow on that in this blog series.
*Important Note: There is a difference between wordpress.com and using WordPress on your own hosted server. For many reasons wordpress.com is not right for a business. You can not have your own domain name and offers very little flexibility. Using WordPress on your own hosted server is much more professional. This may sounds overwhelming and complicated, but it isn’t. I highly recommend Media Temple (although there are many other good options out there) to host your WordPress blog. They are a hosting company you can really grow with and offer one-click installation of WordPress meaning it is very simple to set up.
If you answered yes to question number two Shopify is great option. Again this is a system that is already built, you just adjust and design for your look and feel. The hosting is included in the cost and has a very simple walk through process to get everything up and running. It allows for huge growth too. For example, you can integrate your site with many warehouses around the country if you determined you needed to go to a drop shipping model.
Now stop! Don’t go set one of these sites up and dive in quite yet. We have determined your path, but now we need to work on content.
I realize some of you don’t even want to do this. You just want to pay someone to get it up and running. You can expect to pay a few thousand dollars for this. Time is money and these sites to take time to put together even with all the moving parts. Especially if you want a more custom theme. It is time to ask yourself the question, do you have more time or more money? What is best for you to leverage.
Stay tuned for the next part in the “Up and Running” series.
Disclosure: Some links in this blog post may be affiliate links. I never recommend a product I don’t truly stand behind.
Posted on 25 April '12 by Lauren, under website. No Comments.
The dreaded tax day is almost here. Whether you are getting a refund or owe taxes, it seems to cause anxiety for everyone! I think the root of this anxiety is getting everything in order to file. Whether you do your taxes yourself or send them to an accountant you are the one responsible for making sure all the right information is provided to the IRS. I truly believe that the key to all of this is organization over the year, esp when the tax information start rolling in.
I use Evernote to organize my taxes and it makes life so much easier.
Step 1: Make a Notebook for Taxes 2011
Step 2: Make a note within this notebook called “Documents.” List everyone you should receive a tax document from. Example, employers, banks, investment firm, mortgage company, property manager etc…
Step 3: Make a separate note with important receipts for 2011 (ideally you do this at the beginning of 2011 and place them in there all year long) Also create a note to document charity donations.
Step 4: As the W2s, 1099, and other tax documents start rolling in, scan in (or snap a picture via smartphone) the document and place it in that note titled “Documents”, filling in the list of places you should have received from.
Step 5: Create a new note “Expenses” chart with any expenses you want to make sure you include when doing your deductions.
Step 6: I use and LOVE turbo tax. I find that having everything organized in advance makes it easy to go though and just fill out the information. I do it once and then review with my husband. Having everything electronically saves time of shuffling through papers in our review. Bonus idea: if you use an accountant simply share your Evernote notebook with them for easy access to everything they need.
Not an Evernote user? Not sure how to get started? http://www.getmegeeky.com/evernote/evernote_for_moms.html
If you own a business be sure to read post from Mixergy about business tax tips. These can really put money back in your pocket!
Posted on 13 April '12 by Lauren, under Evernote, organization. No Comments.
If you have not converted your life to a paperless one I am worried about you. I am afraid you may drown in paper. Obviously, you’re not actually going to drown in a bunch of paper, but mentally and emotionally may sink in a sea of bills, important documents, receipts, fliers, handouts, tax information, shot records, kids artwork, magazines, sports schedules, etc… Do I need to go on? This is only the actual paper in your life. That doesn’t even cover the information you already have digitally scattered across computers and smartphones.
A majority of you probably receive your bills digitally (paperless). How nice is that? Wouldn’t it be great to apply that across your whole life? In 2008 I went paperless and it changed my life.
Make your paper digital. You can use a program like Evernote. When paper is digital it can “live” in more than just your computer. Your documents can be available to you no matter where you are.
Here are 5 things you will gain by taking your life paperless:
Cleaner:
You can be a hoarder if you must. But please be a DIGITAL HOARDER. When someone walks in your home, office, kitchen, etc… your hoarding is a well hidden secret. All those piles of paper, magazines, and clutter will be living in their new digital mansion.
Organization:
Most of us crave organization. If you are anything like me you flip through your container store catalog dreaming of the day your home would actually look that put together. While I don’t have the Martha Stewart solution to storing 50 spice containers, I do know that by putting the paper, and anything else digital, in one digital location you will automatically feel so much more organized!
Accessibility:
Once your life information and clutter is digital it is always accessible. What does that mean and why should you care? Now you can retrieve this data anytime from any computer or smartphone. Let me give you a couple examples. You go to sign up your son John for Little League. Of course they want his shot record and up-to-date physical. In the past this is something that could easily be forgotten at home. But not to worry, now you can pull this information up right on your phone and email it to the league right then. After that you head to Lowes to return some blinds that just didn’t work in your house. Instead of digging around your purse for the receipt you simply pull it up on your phone and the customer service rep puts in the receipt code. After that, you pull up a couple photos you took of some blinds you saw in a magazine and ask if they have anything like these.
Time:
We obviously can’t put more hours in the day, but we can be more efficient with the time we have. Believe it or not, going paperless with your life will give you more time. It is the small bits of time saved here and there that add up to big chunks. Let’s say you go to register a new car. You show up with all the paperwork that you think you need, wait in line, and get to the counter just to find out that now you have to have both your birth certificate and your spouses as well! Instead of having to drive all the way home, only to come back and wait in line again, just pull them up on your smartphone. Problem solved and time saved. Let me give you another example. You are painting a room in your house and need to swing into the store to pick up another gallon of paint. Now normally you would have to run home to get the information off the can, but you took a snapshot of the paint information with your phone and already have it with you.
Share:
The last big benefit of becoming a paperless convert is the ability to easily share digital information. You have access to all of your information at your finger tips, so its simple to email to someone. Or use Evernote share an entire notebook. Planning a vacation with your extended family? Put the information in a notebook and share it. Have a new baby-sitter coming to the house? Put all the important information a baby-sitter needs to know and email it to her on the spot. This example could be a real life saver in an emergency.
Going paperless is a breath of fresh air. There is a little bit of start-up time, but once you get started it is easy to keep up with and will change your life. If you are sold on paperless, but not sure how to get from where you are now to this magical end-state, consider my book “Evernote for Moms“. “Evernote for Moms” is a simple, quick read that will take you from start to finish of getting up and running with a paperless life.
Posted on 9 April '12 by Lauren, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Pinterest is the first social media tool that allows us to really look at what customers LIKE. Sure Facebook has the like button and I can show my love for my friend’s new puppy, but not exactly useful for marketers. At this point a lot of businesses are using Pinterest to promote their existing products, but I believe there is a slightly different twist to Pinterest’s value. Through crowdsourcing, Pinterest can become a powerful MARKET RESEARCH TOOL. We typically think of crowdsourcing as asking a group of people to provide ideas from which to choose. However, Pinterest has taken a step out of crowdsourcing. Now we don’t have to ask, people’s choices are right in front of you. Before you buy inventory or go to print think of what market information could be right at your finger-tips.
Let me give you three quick examples:
1. I had a recent client that used the Pinterest for market research for her boutique clothing store. She would use her personal Pinterest account (not her business one) and pin clothing she considered purchasing for the store. Then based off the re-pins for those items she purchased her inventory. How exciting to be able to gauge your customers enthusiasm without spending a dime on the product!
2. A different client is jumping into the tee-shirt business. Not knowing what tee shirt slogans would sell the best, we made a board with a lot of different slogan ideas. Clearly the items with the most re-pins are the ones worth taking to print.
3. One of the most popular things pinned right now are famous or inspirational quotes. Do a search for boards pertinent to your industry and see what people have pinned with quotes. See if you can incorporate these into any of your products or marketing campaign. I am not suggesting stealing someone else’s work. But there is plenty to be found that has either has no ownership or can easily be attributed to that person.
It is important to stay innovative try and apply new tools and tactics when you can. But always remain ethical and be careful not to violate any of Pinterest’s terms of use.
Have any of you used Pinterest in this way?
When I launched my e-book a couple of people asked me if Evernote is part of iCloud or if iCloud replaces Evernote. The short answer to this is NO to both.
The concept of cloud computing is difficult to grasp and for good reason, it is very abstract. Hopefully this will help. Cloud computing is a general term that refers to data being kept in a location outside of your computer. Because the data lives outside of your computer it means it is more easily accessed by your computer, your tablet, or your smartphone. To give you an example most of your will be familiar with, if you use Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL for your email, you have been cloud computing for a long time. Look at you, cutting edge and you didn’t even know it! Since that email is kept on a server you can sign into your webmail account and access your email from any computer. Convenient huh?
Apple took cloud computing concept more mainstream with iCloud. iCloud is great, but is limited to your iTunes account of music, movies, tv shows, documents (only using keynote, pages) and your photos from your photostream. So as you can see this does not include many other items both digital and things that may originally start as paper. iCloud is intended to ensure that your media is accessible to you from any of your devices.
Evernote, on the other hand, is another cloud computing tool with a very different purpose. You can put basically any type of file you like into your Evernote account. That account can then be reached through your computer, tablet or smartphone. You can organize all this information into clever little notebooks. Think of having a file cabinet in your office, but instead of you only being able to look in that cabinet while at home, you can look from anywhere. Sounds like magic right? Well that magic is called Evernote.
I use both iCloud and Evernote everyday of my life. So far there is very little overlap and I consider both of them absolutely necessary. Hope that helps clear the air on some of the cloud confusion.
Posted on 5 April '12 by Lauren, under Evernote. No Comments.
In 2008 I decided to take my office paperless. I was really sick of the clutter. Then I only had one baby, now I have three and things are CRAZY. We are just scratching the surface on all the additional clutter children bring, artwork, school calendars, activities schedules, just to name a few. That added with the normal life paperwork (office and home) can be completely overwhelming.
I decided to write this e-book because using Evernote to manage this mess has truly changed my life, and I really want to change yours. Many of you have never heard of Evernote or if you have, you may not be clear on how to apply it to your everyday life.
This e-book covers these topics:
Go paperless in your home, office and the rest of your life.
Did you download Evernote, but still have no idea what it is really for? You will find all the answers in this e-book.
In a short time you will learn how to install, launch and add items to Evernote through your smartphone or computer.
This book is simple, quick and easy to read. You only need a quiet nap time or soccer practice to get through it.
Get started today using my Quickstart Guide and simple template files.
Get started today! Evernote for Moms
Posted on 5 April '12 by Lauren, under Evernote. No Comments.
Anyone who has ever started a blog knows how difficult the first post is. You can’t fill it with really important information or a fabulous blog post because most likely no one will ever read it. So instead I think it is more of a post to place intentions. What would I like to see out of this blog?
I plan on this blog being a resource to accompany my e-book Evernote for Moms. I will offer tips to extend on the information given in the book. In addition, I intend to blog on technology and social media topics geared at small and very small businesses.
Basically I hope this becomes a landing spot for things I want to share online. Now I have this post to try and keep me accountable. Hopefully the next post will be more interesting
Posted on 4 April '12 by Lauren, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
