As part of #techweek I wanted to touch on one of my favorite apps ever Evernote.  Evernote has almost endless applications from collecting ideas, organizing recipes, or creating documents, Evernote is probably one of the best free apps ever created and it can be downloaded on your smartphone, computer or tablet and all your information will be synced across each device.

I wrote a blog post previously about advice that the PTs at the clinic I work at gave me, and one of the best pieces of advice that I received was “get a system of organization and stick with it the entire 3 years.”  With that piece of advice in mind I write this post.

Why Evernote would be a great tool for the organization in DPT school:

First off, in school we will be barraged with an inordinate amount of information across several classes across the three years.  All or most of which will have to be returned to and restudied for comprehensive exams.  The worst thing of all time is losing notes or being just plain disorganized…that’s where Evernote comes in.

In Evernote the organizational structure is from largest to smallest:  Stacks, notebooks, notes.

Stacks are made up of multiple notebooks, notebooks are made up of multiple notes and notes are made up of whatever the heck you want (audio files, pictures, videos, powerpoints, text, etc.)  

In order to help you understand the breakdown I stuck a picture of my Evernote above.  As you can see I have stacks: Business Plan, Class Spring 2013, Create|simple Clients and Notebooks within those stacks (developmental psych, ethics, etc.)  The same number to the right of the notebook is the total number of notes within that notebook.  So this is clearly a great way to organize information into categories.

In DPT school it will be important to have info like class notes organized in ways that makes them easily accessible.  Evernote gives you the option to search for keywords and any note that contains those words will be presented, something your paper notebook can’t do.  It also gives you the ability  to share notes or even notebooks with classmates, that way if your friend misses a lecture or you miss a lecture the notes can be easily shared and placed into the right notebook.

Overall, I think that its important to find what system is comfortable for you and really stick to it.  I think that Evernote can be a great option for anyone that likes technology and feels confident enough to organize their LIFE into it!  Check out Evernote in the app store.

Hope this is helpful 🙂