Gaming the Naming: The ABCs of Organizing Evernote

Hi Reader –

I want to revisit an important organizational concept I first wrote about back in 2015: why my default notebook’s name starts with a period – .In Box.

I do it because I like to organize my work in a way that supports my productivity. And, in Evernote, your notebooks and stacks are sorted alphabetically rather than dragged into a custom order. But none of us work alphabetically. We organize by priority, by project, by client, and by what we use every day versus what we rarely open.

A naming convention closes that gap. Add a deliberate character to the start of a notebook's name to put your notebooks in the order you work. It isn't hard, but it's an important skill that makes your Evernote account work the way you do.

It’s especially relevant now for two reasons. The rules behind it changed in 2024, and it's the exact skill Academy members will practice every day in the Title & File Sprint, which starts one week from today.

Why the Period

The most important notebook in any account is the default notebook. It's where email forwards, web clips, and quick captures land.

As I frequently teach, the default notebook is a capture location, not a storage location. Notes pass through it on their way to where they belong, so it's the first place I go when I sit down to Title & File my notes.

That's why I want to see it first. The period puts it at the top of my notebook list, every time.

I chose the period because it's the smallest character there is. It barely takes up any room in the sidebar, so I can still read the full name.

How Evernote Sorts Names Today

In July 2024, an Evernote update changed the sort order. Names now follow the ASCII character order, and that applies to every alphabetical sort: notebook names, stack names, tag names, and note titles.

Here's what matters for naming:

• Common punctuation sorts before numbers. The period, dash, and exclamation point all land ahead of 0 through 9.
• Numbers sort before letters. Evernote compares one character at a time, so "10" lands before "2." If you'll ever have ten or more, start with a zero: 01, 02, 03.
• Some symbols sort later than you'd expect. The @ sorts after numbers, and the underscore sorts after capital letters.
• Emoji sort after everything. A name that starts with an emoji drops to the bottom of the list. If you like emoji in your names, put them after a number: "1 🏠 Home" instead of "🏠 Home."

If you set up a naming convention years ago and your notebook list looks shuffled, this is likely why. Check the characters you lead with against the ASCII list, and adjust.

My Naming Convention

I use the same system I've used for years:

• A period for the one notebook I want on top – my .In Box
• Numbers for my primary notebooks and stacks, in the order I use them. Related stacks share a number, and the alphabet orders them from there
• "HE:" at the start of every business notebook name (for Harmon Enterprises), so they all group together
• "z" for things I rarely open anymore, so they sit at the bottom, less visible and out of my way

Notebooks and Notes Work Together

Naming conventions started as a notebook trick for me, but they’re most powerful when you use them at every level of your account.

Notebooks, Stacks, and Spaces sort alphabetically, and that’s the only order available. A naming convention is how you decide where each one lands. In the sidebar, stacks and unstacked notebooks sort together in one list, and notebooks sort within each stack. A prefix on a stack name moves the whole stack. In a shared space, everyone sees your notebook and note naming conventions, so clear ones helps the whole team find their way.

Note titles and tags work a little differently. You can sort them other ways, like by date, but when you choose an alphabetical view, a naming convention groups related items together. Sort your note list by Title, and notes that start the same way line up side by side. My project notes all begin with “Project Management:” followed by the project name. An invoice might be titled “Invoice – Rivera Design – Sept 2026,” so every invoice lines up in one place. A shared prefix does the same for related tags.

When your notebook names and note titles both follow a convention, you can glance at any list in Evernote and know where things are. That’s when an account starts to feel organized.

Where You'll Put This to Work

The Title & File Sprint starts Monday, November 9. For 14 days, Academy members commit to one Pomodoro (25 minutes) of Title & File a day.

In the kickoff training, I'll cover best practices for titling notes with naming conventions like these. Then we put them to work on our own accounts, every day, alongside fellow members doing the same.

The payoff goes well beyond titled notes. Over 14 days, participants will clear a real piece of their messy backlog, file notes where they belong, and name their notebooks and notes in a way that reflects how they work. That's a big step toward an organized Evernote account – one where things are where they expect them to be.

And because you practice it every day, the skill stays with you. Every note captured after the Sprint gets the same treatment, so accounts stay organized instead of slipping back.

🌟 Join us for the Sprint: Join the Academy for $79/month, and the Title & File Sprint is included in your first month of membership. Cancel anytime. We kick off Monday, November 9 at 12:00 PM US Central, and it's recorded. Join the Academy and the Sprint →

Start with your default notebook – add the period today, and it'll be waiting at the top of your list the next time you open Evernote.

Then look at the rest of your notebook list and ask whether its order reflects what matters most in your work. Your productivity isn't organized alphabetically, so name your notebooks in the order that works for you.

Cheers to your productivity –

Stacey