Paperless Mission #3: Email Notes to Evernote

If you haven't already completed the prior missions, be sure to do those first.

• Mission #1: Gather Your Tools
• Mission #2: Build Evernote Notebooks

Also be sure to link up at the Go Paperless! Challenge linky!

Mission #3: Email Notes to Evernote

Now that we have our notebooks built in Evernote, we need to start putting things in them. One of the best ways to do that is through email. Did you know that your Evernote account has its own email address?! 

Step 1: Find your Evernote email address.

Here's how to find it through the web platform:

In the upper right of your screen will be your username with a down arrow next to it. Click on it, and choose "Settings." This will open up your account summary.

There you'll find an email address that will have a format of your-user-name.numbers-letters@m.evernote.com.

Step 2: Add this email address to your contacts on all of your email accounts and mobile devices.
I just named my contact "Evernote" and copied and pasted it in. Make sure that you add this contact to your school email as well your personal accounts and phone. Now that I have it set up, I find that I'm using it everywhere!

Step 3: Send emails to your account.
Once you have the address, sending emails is super easy.

• Type your subject first. That will be the title of the note.
• Use the "@" symbol to put the note in a specific notebook. (Without the "@" symbol, it will just go to your default notebook.)
• Use the "#" symbol to create tags.

So for example, if I send a note that says "Informational Writing Lesson @Writer's Workshop #4W2 #lesson plans #mentor texts" it will create a note titled "Informational Writing Lesson" in my Writer's Workshop notebook with the tags "4W2," "lesson plans," and "mentor texts." It's important to write the subject in the order "note title @notebook name #tag1 #tag2" in order to get your note in the right spot.

One thing to note is that this format only works for existing notebooks and tags. It won't create new tags or notebooks at this time. Still, if the tag doesn't yet exist, the hash-tagged part will just show up at the end of your note title so you can add it to your tags later on.

If you want to add the email content to an existing note, use the format above with a "+" symbol at the end. Evernote will add it into the most recent note with the title of your subject. 

Ways this is helpful

1. Parent contacts - I'm supposed to keep a record of all of the emails that I exchange with parents, and given that my school email archives all messages after 3 months (and therefore makes it more difficult for me to access), I don't always keep up. In the past, keeping the emails meant printing each one to a .pdf file and saving it on my computer -- a tedious process that is easy to deprioritize. Now, I can just forward each email  to the appropriate student's notebook, add the tags #parent contact #email and I'm done. Easy-peasy!

2. Attachments - If you forward an email with an attachment, the attachment will be sent, too. This is helpful when my instructional coach sends me curriculum documents, rubrics, etc. 

3. Blogging - I have a blogging notebook, and I frequently have ideas or snap pictures on my iPhone or iPad for future posts. Now I can easily find those in my Evernote notebook wherever I'm at -- no more having to track down the device with the right picture or the scrap(s) of paper I wrote the idea on.

What are some other ways you can imagine emailing notes to yourself? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comment section! And if you haven't already joined the Go Paperless! Challenge, what are you waiting for?

Have a great weekend!