Templates
Evernote Templates are broken and driving me crazy. But there's a solution!
I believe that the Bending Spoons deal was the best thing that ever happened to Evernote, but some new features may be adding even more confusion to old problems. For example, I would love Federico’s team to tackle the huge mess Templates is already making before it turns into an uncontrollable snowball.
I have more thoughts on the latest Evernote update.
A couple of days ago, I shared my initial thoughts on the new features in version 10.85.4, but there’s more to show you.
Let’s start with the first topic I talked about in video, the calendar. I was so focused on demonstrating the creation of events not connected to Outlook or Google that I missed a subtle new aspect of the Evernote Calendar.
In a recent conversation with Federico Simionato, I told him that I believed everything with dates on Evernote should be in the calendar. Have you watched that video? Do you recall him telling me he was already discussing that with the team? I think the new calendar may be setting the stage for that.
If you go to the Evernote Calendar and take a close look at the My Calendars section, you’ll see that there is a sub-menu under Evernote Calendar (image below). For now, the only item there is Events, but because My Calendars is in the plural, I think we’ll soon see other items there. Maybe Tasks? You never know.
Another addition related to the calendar is the Events item in the three-dots menu next to New Task (image below). It’s great to see that menu getting attention. Let’s hope they keep making it more useful. For example, one other option I would like them to add in the future is the creation of a new note from one of our templates.
Finally, there’s the new full-page Tasks. I haven’t covered this in the video because I’ll be using it for the next few days before sharing my thoughts. But there’s one new detail I’m pleased to see there.
You are already aware of my stance regarding Tasks as an integral part of the fundamental building blocks of Evernote, namely notes and notebooks. So, I believe it is evident that I am delighted to see the addition of the Notebooks filter.
What about are you? Anything in particular you liked or that you are still missing? I’d love to hear your thoughts about this update.
Is Evernote becoming an everything app?
There are many changes coming to Evernote. I don’t see any problem with the app becoming more feature-rich, but I do have concerns about how it is done.
Two recent tweets from Federico Simionato, the product lead at Evernote, have led me to believe that the app is on track to become something different. There is currently a space for files being built, and many new features for Tasks are being discussed. Additionally, he told me in a recent conversation that he sees potential for Evernote to become a personal hub.
I don’t see any problem with the app becoming more feature-rich, but I do have concerns about how it is done. Evernote has a very intuitive structure. Notes, inside notebooks and tags to filter notes in a notebook or across many notebooks. That’s how simple it is to understand and use.
Thus far, each new feature that has been incorporated is layered upon this framework. Here’s an example: tasks and calendar entries are always connected to notes. And thankfully, it doesn’t look like the proposed Files feature is trying to compete with Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. It seems to be just another way to interact with the files we already have in our notes.
Out of Place
But based on the recent image shared on Twitter, it seems like the ‘new Tasks’ will not be aligned with Evernote’s framework anymore. It feels to me that it doesn’t belong there, as if an existing task management app has been implanted in Evernote. If this is the case, it may create some problems.
Some of the new ideas, such as ‘Projects,’ may introduce a new layer of classification and categorization of information, which may break the simple structure that makes the app so intuitive.
The Spaces feature on Evernote Teams is a great example of what I’m trying to convey. Just like a Stack, a Space is a group of notebooks. So when should one use one or another? To further complicate the understanding of how things work there, a note can be created outside a notebook in Evernote Teams. If you are an Evernote user, please tell me if this doesn’t feel like a crime.
To be honest, Stacks and Spaces exist for different purposes and are intended for different uses. But they look the same. So much so that it takes me some time to help my clients understand and assimilate the differences between a Stack and a Space.
There’s no other way to say it: Evernote Teams is not intuitive at all. If you have never used it, I suggest you watch the video below to see how confusing things can get.
Another Tasks App
Evernote was never a task management app. Tasks were elegantly incorporated, respecting the note-notebook system, and that’s what makes Evernote Tasks unique.
To be clear, I’m not questioning the need for or use of “Projects” or any other possible new feature like “Priority”. However, adding them has the potential to create distraction, since Evernote will have to compete with well-established task apps. Think about it: how many new features or variations of a feature are enough? How many colors of Flags do you need? How many types of Priorities? What about “Subprojects” or other ideas people have in the future?
Users will never be fully satisfied because there are too many ways to do things. They’ll start to compare Evernote Tasks to dedicated apps like Things, Todoist, etc. In other words, this will constantly create pressure on the development team to catch up.
Evernote is already lacking basic options and settings for features like Templates, Calendar, and even the editor. The situation is the same when we look at other apps that try to do everything. It’s like the old saying: try to do everything, and you won’t be good at anything.
I believe that using the simple, yet powerful framework of the app would allow people to create whatever innovative tasks system they come up with without having to wait for Bending Spoons to release the desired features.
Notebooks names could be used as a filter for grouping tasks inside a notebook, instead of introducing the new “Projects” layer. And if tags could be added to tasks, it would mean another filter option allowing each person to create their own priorities, flags, and anything else they want. This would make Evernote Tasks a space for users to create their own systems instead of complaining about Bending Spoons not working on new features.
Unfortunately, I believe the short-term easy option will prevail. They’ll just give the users another Tasks app like so many out there and hope for the best. Which seems to me like opening a can of worms. I can even imagine it leading to a dedicated task app. After all, there’s no way to compete on equal terms if your tasks are inside a notes app. It takes far too many steps to create a task.
Can you see how this can lead to an uncontrollable situation?
Loosing Focus
The current simplicity of Evernote results in limitations that serve as boundaries, and as a result, numerous non-tech-savvy individuals can efficiently organize their lives. People frequently tell me Evernote’s simple framework helps them with focus. This is not a small group of people, but they are silent on social media. So, I am trying to be as loud as possible for them.
However, I’m just one voice, and we may be already witnessing the birth of an entirely new experience with many new features and layers upon layers of configurations and categorizations. An Evernote that unfortunately has the potential to make many people’s lives much harder.