PTPL 061: How to Leave Evernote and Become a Future-Proof Note Taker (Obsidian Optional)

PLUS A short note of appreciation to my sweet, patient little paper notebook

Jul 17, 2023

Plain text, Paper, Less Productivity Digest text-based image by Author

Welcome to a once-a-week taster of things that I’ve found helpful in my quest to create a simple, future proof, digital-analog workflow.

Evernote to Markdown

It feels like Evernote has been around forever; it’s where I began my note taking journey, and created my first web clipping graveyard. However, the news of recent staff layoffs that have preceded the company moving its base to Europe, along with skyrocketing subscription prices, have caused many diehard Evernote users to wonder (finally) if their notes are safe.

Friend, there’s no safety in notes that can only be accessed with someone else’s key. Whether or not you stick with Evernote isn’t the issue; the long-term accessibility of your notes in a format and location you control, is.

I recommend exporting your notes from Evernote to Markdown, at the very least as a backup. There are a number of options for this, including —

Obsidian’s own open source plugin for converting Evernote data to Markdown files
This git tool
The Joplin app’s Evernote database importer
This article from Ness Labs, that suggests importing from Evernote to Notion, then from Notion to Markdown

Dan York, on Markdown files, after walking away from a 15-year relationship with Evernote:

You can edit them with ANY appropriate editor! You don’t need to use the actual Obsidian app. You can open them with other editors. You can move them around and re-organize them simply in Finder on a Mac.

Warner Crocker, a stage director with a cool life motto (“Every day I learn something new is a good day”):

Always remember to never forget that everything changes, dies or fades away. Especially if it holds your data.
— Warner Crocker

Existentially, I don’t hold with that sentiment, but digitally, terrestrially— absolutely.
Ignore it at the peril of your data!

While Obsidian is amazing, the best thing in my opinion is how transportable — and, in many cases, beautifully usable — your Markdown files can be in other apps. With over 1000 plugins there’s a lot of potential bloat in Obsidian, but I LOVE how it’s completely optional!

Vanilla, or rainbow sundae with choccy bits, it’s up to you.

My sweet little paper notebook — a quiet, patient companion

My dear little Paper Saver notebook still goes with me everywhere, even when I don’t use it daily. The other day I grabbed it to quickly jot down a few numbers needed for a meeting, knowing it was the perfect tool for the job.

Photograph of an open notebook viewed with the spine almost at eye level. There’s a Zebra retractable pen in the gutter of the book, lining up with a magnificent gum tree that can be seen in front of the distant hills. Just another glorious winter’s day in Australia! — Photo by Author

The monthly calendar pages in the middle of the book continue to guide my sense of what’s on my plate. Now that we’re in July, it’s almost time to print out the first few months of 2024 for forward planning — but there’s no sense of urgency. Come October, I’ll move on this if it doesn’t happen beforehand.

How many tools do you have in your gotta-write-it-fast, fleeting note arsenal? If you’re fully digital or fully analog, how’s that going?

I’ve learned there’s no need for dogmatism. When you’re paying attention to changes in the flow, you might find that using a different tool for a time helps get things moving again.

FYI, use the code ELLANE10 for a 10% discount on any Paper Saver product.

The Plain Text, Paper-Less Productivity Digest explores productivity through a future-proof, plain text mindset, with a soft spot for the paper that counts.

Download some free productivity goodies (including an Obsidian Planner demo vault) here.