For the past few years, I’ve been using three note taking apps side by side. Two of the three apps have stayed the same over the years, while the third has changed a couple of times. Why three apps? It’s partially a function of the strengths and weaknesses of the apps I use, but it’s largely a function of my brain liking to keep different types of data segregated into different apps. In my system, each app serves a different purpose:
1) THE FILING CABINET FOR NON-SENSITIVE DATA
Evernote has been my digital filing cabinet for many years, as readers of this site know. A couple of years ago, though, I stopped using Evernote for any sensitive data, such as storing copies of my bills. I still use Evernote for non-sensitive data and web clippings.
Examples of what ends up in Evernote: manuals, web clippings, books, legal research, menus, newsletters
2) THE FILING CABINET FOR SENSITIVE DATA
I stopped using Evernote for sensitive data because I didn’t feel comfortable keeping such data in the cloud, on an unencrypted server. As a result, I switched to DEVONthink Pro Office, and now store my sensitive data locally in an encrypted disc image (with redundant backups). Anything that would have gone into a physical filing cabinet years ago, goes into DEVONthink
Why not just use DEVONTHINK for both senstive and non-senstivie data? DEVONthink’s Achilles’ heel is its lackluster iOS app, and it has no web app. Evernote, on the other hand, is everywhere. The ability to capture information into Evernote from almost anywhere is also hard to beat. If DEVONthink could overcome those limitations, I might use it for all of my data. Of course, if Evernote introduced encryption at rest on its servers, I might use Evernote for all of my data.
Examples of what ends up in DEVONthink Pro Office: bills, receipts, tax documents, medical records
3) AN APP FOR NOTES
Last but not least, I use a separate app for actually taking text notes. I’ve probably tried them all. For note taking, I wanted an app that didn’t feel too “heavy,” but still had more than a single level of organization to it. I’ve used nvAlt, Simplenote, and OneNote for periods of time, and have recenlty moved on to Notebooks. I don’t use Evernote and DEVONthink for this, because neither ever felt right for me as just a note taking app.
I primarily use plain text with Notebooks, and love how plain text really frees my content to be used elsewhere, if I so choose. The app almost feels like just a very clever user interface wrapped around a file and folder structure. You can drop a text file into a folder from outside the app, and Notebooks will then include it within your documents (assuming the file is located within your Notebooks folder structure). Notebooks is cross platform, with apps for iOS, Mac, and Windows. The Mac and Windows versions, though, really lag behind the iOS version.
Examples of what ends up in Notebooks: notes; the occasional PDF
Am I crazy to use three different apps, instead of consolidating into one? Perhaps, but it works for me. And don’t get me started on iOS, where I juggle a multitude of note taking apps.
MpPierce says:
Thanks for your thoughts around this. I’ve recently been considering starting a journal and have been looking at apps other than Evernote. Although I could use Evernote, as you say, it just doesn’t feel right. So, I’m trying Day One for the journaling and Evernote for everything else.
The interesting side benefit has been thinking through the question: What do I want to use *this* app for, and how is it different/better than this other app.
I haven’t made the jump to storing sensitive information in Evernote, but when I do, I’ll have to give DEVONthink a look…
March 17, 2015 — 6:24 pm
Evan Kline says:
Thanks for the reminder about Day One. That’s one of those apps that I forget about, and then use it and ask myself “why am I not using this more?” I then proceed to forget about it for weeks on end again . . .
I only use Day One for the occasional journal entry – usually family stuff – but I’ve heard of others using it for much more, such as to track time.
March 18, 2015 — 9:25 pm
Rafael Morales_Gamboa says:
I use Evernote for note taking, and I like it pretty much, so I am wondering what you feel missing in it, that makes it not to feel right.
March 20, 2015 — 2:23 pm
Evan Kline says:
Mostly it is the lack of encryption at rest. Evernote already had one suspected security breach a couple years back, so I don’t feel very comfortable putting personal stuff there.
http://www.darkreading.com/attacks-and-breaches/evernote-breach-7-security-lessons/d/d-id/1108909?
Also, Evernote is a bit “big” for just taking notes, which is why I use Notebooks. That’s partially my own doing – I keep so much stuff in Evernote, that finding my way around can be a bit daunting.
March 29, 2015 — 10:33 am
Prose Foundry says:
Why is Evernote a problem for sensitive material? Is it just the whole cloud idea that keeps you from using it? I have been sharing recipes with family members and storing writing ideas, but I had thought I should store passwords to various websites there and share it with my husband of 30 years. I haven’t gotten around to it yet but have been considering doing this a while now. Why do you feel the cloud is vulnerable?
March 24, 2015 — 12:09 pm
Evan Kline says:
I would never store sensitive data like passwords there. Evernote is a great service, but doesn’t encrypt your data on their servers, unless that has changed in the past couple of years. I think Evernote takes security seriously, but I’ve never gotten the feeling that it is their highest priority. They also have had at least one security breach:
http://www.darkreading.com/attacks-and-breaches/evernote-breach-7-security-lessons/d/d-id/1108909?
If you’re going to share passwords, I’d recommend a tool like 1Password or LastPass. They encrypt your passwords, so even if you were hacked, it would be very difficult (possibly impossible) for any harm to come of the intrusion. The developers of 1Password have a tutorial about how to share groups of passwords:
https://learn2.agilebits.com/1Password4/Mac/en/Tutorials/share-vault.html
March 29, 2015 — 10:38 am
Marc García Martí says:
Evan, I hear you!! I’ve been reading several articles and finally I’ve come across yours.
I do use Evernote a lot but over the years I have got tired of some limitations -like the lack of implementation of a proper organisation hierarchy other than Notebooks and Stacks-, and specially the lack of server-side encryption.
While I have not yet started to use DT on a daily basis (just downloaded a copy today), I honestly think I have an opinion on what it feels like using two different platforms for storing data, as I have been using Evernote’s Local Folders for years (for the data I considered sensitive).
So, my question for you is: how do you chose what goes where?
For example: what do you do when you have just purchased an online item like for example a pair of shoes on Amazon? where does this go? it is a web clipping but it may contain your address… what about a manual that contains some sensitive code, or even worse, a manual that could, but you aren’t sure at the time of your archiving, contain something sensitive among its 1.000 pages? It’s kind of hard to describe what I mean but I hope I’ve managed to make my point…
Thanks in advance,
May 25, 2015 — 8:43 pm
Evan Kline says:
Hey Marc. Evernote for me is pretty much just generic research and stuff I find on the web. Anything personal at all ends up in DT. The one thing I’ve been on the fence over are seminar materials and notes from CLE courses. I like how DT can display OmniOutliner outliners, but ultimately I think Evernote’s availability everywhere will win out.
The short answer is anything pertaining to me (like your Amazon example) goes in DT. Anything else goes in Evernote. Stuff in the middle, I lean toward Evernote.
May 30, 2015 — 9:23 am
Grace Suarez says:
I keep my journal, to do’s, reference documents, travel information, just about everything in Notebooks. I love being able to create ePub books from my travel journals.
May 14, 2016 — 3:57 pm
Evan Kline says:
I remember the sample you posted on MILO a while back, Grace. That really showed off the features of the app nicely.
May 14, 2016 — 5:02 pm