On choosing Microsoft OneNote instead of Evernote
Since my new year’s resolutions is to work on finding the right tool for the job, I spent some time on the holidays to organize my notes; as everything in life, it is very hard to find one size that fits all.
I’ve been a user of Microsoft OneNote since 2012 when I was trying to find a tool that could help me out to organize my way of thinking at the same time it allowed me to set my personal and profesional goals. However, I probably did not spent too much time learning about the tool.
During the last couple of days I’ve learned how important is to spend time on learning the tools you use in order to maximize productivity by taking advantage of “hidden” or advanced features (aka hacks :)) of the tools. So it is worth to spend that time learning about the tooling.
In the other hand, I have been using Evernote for long time; I have even paid the subscription to take advantage of all the features. However, the more I learn about OneNote, all the features Microsoft folks have put together, made me to rethink on how I could use it more effectively.
To this extend, as I was learning on how to use OneNote more effectively, I came across this great video named “Lifehack: How to get OneNote to work for you” from Ståle Hansen and certainly I bought most of his ideas.
Check out the video:
This is very interesting video that motivated me to work on organizing and set my OneNote books.
Another important element I’ve learnt this days is how good it works Microsoft OneNote and Office Lens , which allows you to export your screenshots into a specific OneNote book or section which is a great feature.
Additionally, as learning faster has become a must skill this days, organizing bookmarks poses a lot of challenges as well. Fortunately OneNote Web Clipper for Chrome does an amazing job allowing you to capture not only documents but also to manage your bookmarks.
In summary, I still appreciate all the benefits from Evernote and probably I did not invest too much time learning on how to use it effectively so I can do a fair comparison with OneNote, however, when I think in terms of integration and be able to capture my ideas, ramblings, goals, emotions or whatever I want to capture, OneNote seems to be the tool that will help me out to change some habits and be more productive.
