Evernote: Helping Caregivers in their Writing
As a member of the Sandwich Generation, caring for the elderly parents in my family and babysitting grandchildren, I am constantly interrupted. As I always tell my senior mom when we are making plans, “Everything is subject to change with little or no notice.”
As you can imagine, all those interruptions can make it very hard to keep track of various writing projects, work assignments, etc. I’ve just started using a great new tool called Evernote.
Basically, Evernote is a free program that allows you to add any and all notes to it, sync it, and have them immediately available on any of your computers at any time. That means, you can put your article ideas, keywords, to do lists, emergency contact information, important articles you need to read, and so much more on it at home. Later in the day, when you’ve been babysitting for grandchildren, and have stopped at McDonald’s for a quick bite to eat, you can use their wifi and your netbook to spend some quality time writing your newest article, with Evernote to remind you what pictures you wanted to add, and what the links were that go with it.
A day later, when your senior parent unexpectedly has to go to the hospital for a test, you can check your to do list on your iPhone using the Evernote app. When the doctor asks you when your mom’s last tetanus appointment was, you can check the list of shots and medications in Evernote, and can give him the answer in just a couple of minutes. And, as you sit waiting for their tests to be run, you can keep working on your iPhone to type in article ideas and plot plans to Evernote.
Evernote is available for the PC and Mac, as well as the iPhone and the Android. This is perfect for those writers who use a large computer at home, a netbook of some type while out and about, and a Smartphone as well.
I highly recommend this useful program for all of us who are busy caring for others as well as working hard towards our goal of growing as writers and often…interrupted.
