Yes, I can scribble faster, too. With Evernote, I tried to digest things and make fewer, higher-level notes – more of a summary than a transcript.

My main problem using Evernote or any of its ilk is that it’s impossible for me to type my notes on a mobile device fast enough to keep up with the meeting. Scribbling on a piece of paper is still more a second nature to me in that I can write and listen at the same time. Do you have that problem and how do you overcome it?

To be honest, no. In the past I’d write copious notes and then leave them disorganized all over the place. I now have a strict policy to not keep paper copies of anything. It all gets digitized, usually into Evernote. It’s not that I go back and review them all but it’s there if I need to refer to them. The one thing I don’t use it for is to-do list items or tasks. They’ll get lost. Better to use GTD type software (I use Things for Mac and iOS).

For instance, I use Evernote to document every meeting I’m in. If there is a task to be done out of that it goes into Things but I can at least refer back to my notes when the subject of the meeting comes up or the next meeting occurs.

Essentially Evernote does what their elephant icon suggests. It simply helps me to remember.

Thanks for the comment, Michael. I’m guessing that, in the past, paper-based note taking also worked well for you, so Evernote just helped automate an already-successful process. My mistake was thinking that technology could fix what has been (for me) an unsuccessful process. I’m very good at organising things (and enjoy doing so) — in fact, the one thing I did in Evernote was carefully organise the notes that I never bothered rereading.

Being organized is a joy when it happens but having to wait for Evernote to catch up means I’m using it less and less. Hopefully they address this but it’s never seemed to be a priority.

Finally, any good note taking system be it paper based or digital needs to have a good methodology for organization and cleanup. Evernote just provides the tools.