by Shawn | Mar 30, 2021 | Podcast
How Can You Better Organize Your Work?
On today’s Tech Tuesday episode, we’re going to talk about one of my favorite tools.
Evernote.
If you’ve never used Evernote I don’t think we can be friends. OK, totally not true… as long as you give it a try.
Evernote is a cross platform app (meaning you can access it on your phone, computer, tablet and lawn mower — I think they’re still working on this one).
I love that, first and foremost because I use it in different ways on each of those… except the lawn mower.
At it’s heart, it’s a place to store notes electronically. But it’s so much more.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the ways you can use it and how I use it from different platforms.
OK, so, let’s start with my phone.
Generally, with the phone version, I mostly use it for searching for and retrieving notes I’ve previously created.
But I sometimes will use it to auto dictate notes into Evernote from my phone as well.
From your phone, you can create a text note, scan something into a note with your phone’s camera, hand write, attach, record audio and more. It really has a lot of functionality.
And as an aside, the structure of Evernote’s system is pretty cool too. Each note has a title that you give it. And then you can assign an unlimited number of tags to a note (for different categories you created) or place notes into folders as well.
The searchability is one of my favorite aspects of the whole thing.
Now, on to the other way I use it. On my laptop. On a laptop, you can use the native app by itself or also install a Chrome Browser plugin.
The nice thing about the plugin is that it creates a little button that lets you quickly save a whole web page, just an article on a page, bookmark the page, take a screen shot and more. And it comes with a lot of editing tools to go along with that.
Even if you just use the regular desktop app version, it’s still a great way to capture or type things out.
If you’re already an Evernote user, I’m sure you’re just sitting there nodding your head, resonating with the awesomeness that is, in fact, Evernote.
If you haven’t tried it, just search for Evernote just about anywhere and you’ll find the app.
Then, search for “how to use Evernote” and you’ll also find some great tips and techniques people have developed to help you make the most out of it.
I’d love to hear from you about how you like to use Evernote. You can email me at shawn@shawnwashburn.com. I read every one and would love to hear from you.
You could share a screenshot from your podcast player or just send them to shawnwashburn.com. Thank you so much.
by Shawn | Mar 9, 2021 | Podcast
Excel and Google Sheets are one of the most used tools at most companies… and yet are often the most underutilized. I’ve been customizing, teaching and helping businesses get the most out of Excel for the last 25 years and I’d love to help you as well. Get some great tips and tools out at shawnwashburn.com/excel and let me know how I can help!
It’s time to talk some Sheet about your business. See what I did there.
I’ve got some things to get off my chest. About you, your business… and how you use spreadsheets.
I know, I know. “Oh awesome, that sounds like riveting conversation”
Don’t worry, I’m not going to get into all the mind-numbing details… unless you like that kind of thing (in which case you can head to shawnwashburn.com/excel for some great Excel lessons).
But here’s the deal. You and your team have so much untapped potential just sitting there on your desktops. Whether you use Excel or Google Sheets, every time one of your team member touches a spreadsheet you are losing out on time that could be saved, processes that could be automated or communication that could be clarified.
How do I know this? Because I have secret cameras hidden in your office. Creepy, I know.
No, seriously. Because for 25 years I’ve been learning and customizing Excel (and more recently Google Sheets), as well as teaching coworkers, friends and businesses how they can do so much more with this tool that they use every day.
Picture this with me.
We meet up for coffee and you are super excited to show me this new device you got. It’s called an iPhone.
I look on as you pull it out of your pocket and prepare to show me what you can do with it.
You proceed to open up the calculator and show me some calculations, followed by the flashlight.
“Isn’t that awesome?” You ask. “Have you ever seen a flashlight with a calculator before?”
“Um, no” I respond. “Can… can I show you something?”
“Sure,” you reply.
I reach over, take the phone and proceed to find the nearest Panera while also answering the question of who was the 20th president of the United States (it’s James Garfield in case you needed to know). Then I call your mom, play some music, send out a tweet (you might want to delete that one), record my pulse and play a game of Candy Crush.
“I didn’t know it could do all of that…” you say, slowly pulling the phone back into your hand.
While Excel can’t do most of THAT, the parallel is real. In fact, if you’re using the Desktop version of Excel, you’d be blown away by all that it can do. Online Excel and Google Sheets are also super powerful, but Desktop Excel is where the real magic happens.
I guess, sort of like how someone with OCD can’t just leave that picture alone that’s hanging slightly off to one side, I’m the same way with Excel. When I sit in a meeting where a file is shared or someone sends me a file to work on, I find it impossible to not just want to “tweak” it.
When you know the potential of something, you want to help it reach that potential.
I know you feel the same way. It’s how you look at your people. And it’s how you look at your processes as well.
But somewhere along the line, spreadsheets became that super-charged Ferrari that only gets taken on 25 mile per hour side streets. It’s meant to see the open road, to hit the high end of that speedometer.
I’ve worked with tons of individuals and businesses over the years to help them see what’s possible with Excel. And I’d love to help you as well.
If you head over to shawnwashburn.com/excel, you’ll find 30 free Excel tutorial videos that will give you a great foundation. I designed them to do one a day for a month, but you can use them however you’d like. They cover beginner, intermediate and advanced tools and tips.
While you’re there, if you’d like more info or want to chat just head to the contact area and shoot me a message.
I’d love to help you get your Sheet in order.
