A top tip for managing projects in Evernote
May 19 2025 | Issue 44 | Link to this issue | Subscribe
Hi Reader –
There's a key difference between using Evernote as a digital filing cabinet and using it as a true productivity system.
When you're just storing information, Evernote is already fantastic – the best tool on the market for capturing and finding things later. But when you start actively managing projects in Evernote, that's when you truly unlock its potential as a productivity powerhouse.
Today, I want to share one of the most important organizational habits I've developed in my years as an Evernote expert – one that Academy members hear me recommend constantly — the Project Management Note.
Meet Your New Project Command Center
For every project you manage, create a dedicated Project Management Note that acts as a dashboard for that project.
This note is the central hub designed to provide a home base for your project. Populate the note with whatever you need to see at a glance for your project. Common details include:
A summary of key project information
Links to related notes and resources, including meeting notes, decisions, project timelines, and milestones
Current tasks and next actions
Project phases
By creating this project dashboard as the first note in every project notebook, you build a consistent framework that makes any project easier to track and manage.
Pin for Quick Access
Once you've created your Project Management Note, pin it to the top of your project notebook so it's always visible and accessible – no searching required.
Project Management Note Pinned to the top of the notebook
The pinned note stays at the top regardless of how you sort your notebook, making it your go-to starting point whenever you return to the project.
🧠 Academy Members: Master this approach completely in our Masterclass: “Pinning” Key Notes with the “Pin to Notebook” Feature, where we cover pinning and other techniques for keeping important notes front and center.
How to Structure Your Project Dashboard
Academy member Sandra recently shared how she's organized her project dashboards using Evernote's collapsible headers feature:
"I'm moving collapsible headers into my top 5 Evernote features. My Project Management Notes for large projects previously spread out over several screen pages. Now I'm streamlined and can launch the exact section that requires my focus."
Sandra organizes different project components under collapsible headers (like overview, results, and resources), making it easy to focus on exactly what she needs at any moment. Here’s an example:
🧠 Academy Members: Learn all about creating and using internal note links in our Masterclass: Internal Note Links or go beyond the basics with the advanced options covered in Masterclass: Note Links 2.0.
Why This System Works So Well
This approach solves several common project management challenges:
It creates a single starting point for any project.
It prevents information from getting buried or forgotten.
It provides context for all the related notes you create.
It gives you an at-a-glance view of project status.
It scales beautifully for both simple and complex projects.
The beauty of this system is its simplicity. You can start implementing it immediately by creating a Project Management Note for a current project you’re working on. Pin it to the top of your project notebook and add note links to related materials.
Cheers to your productivity –
Stacey
Subscribe to the newsletter
Do more with Evernote. Get expert tips, discover new features, and boost your productivity. Join 14K+ readers learning ways to organize their digital lives with Evernote.