Evernote to Tame the Purchasing Paperwork Beast...

I am hopeful that by scanning in my mountains of invoices and paperwork, I can create a paperless purchasing system. Supposedly, each invoice will become a searchable document and I can sort by date, vendor, purchase order number, or even keyword.  Why, you ask, would I want to do that?  I'm often asked to produce an ancient, crackling, dusty invoice.   On numerous occasions, it has actually been located in my mega-notebooks--I have a second desk in my office to hold the mega-notebooks. 

Digging though mountains of paperwork and lifting mega-notebooks is no fun when I'm wearing a super-cute new outfit with sparkly accessories.  And we don't have jeans day very often around here, when I would be appropriately dressed to dig, so I need a new dust-free, manageable system.

Nerd Alert: I ordered a new Scan Snap two-sided color scanner last week.  I got the S1300i model, in case you were wondering.  It arrived today- and I am now entering the details into the Fujitsu website to get my free year of Evernote. (you have to buy a Scan Snap scanner from a list of qualifying models).  Yes, I actually research and compare scanners in my free time, and I once attended, on my summer vacation, an actual real live informational session about scanning.  Knocked my socks off.

Intrigued and ready to shop?  When purchasing your scanner- be sure to read the fine print regarding scanning two-sided, scanning one sheet at a time or "stacking" multiple sheets, etc.  The least expensive model obviously has the fewest features.  And I am aiming for increased productivity- not something that slows me down. 

I will take great notes regarding everything I do.  One of my actual, documented, bona-fide  professional goals this year is to learn the ins and outs of Evernote, and move purchasing to a more paperless system while assisting others in doing so.  I'll be training the other media specialists soon. I really never figure a topic out until I train someone else, so please hang on while I go forth and share.

For now- you can complete step one:
Step one- go to the Fujitsu site and choose a scanner, then apply for a free year of Evernote Premium!  Offer expires November 1, 2012.  If you missed the freebie, just order Evernote on their site and pay for it- no pouting- it's worth it. 

I'll post updates as I learn more about the process....

Evernote Smart Notebook- A physical notebook that works with your Smartphone and Evernote- WAY COOL!

I have started my Christmas list!! I really want this notebook that allows me to upload digital photos of my notes with Smart Tag stickers to organize "to-dos" dates, reminders, etc.
Love this!!
http://blog.evernote.com/2012/08/24/the-new-evernote-smart-notebook-by-moleskine/

Over the past year or so, Evernote has begun to really focus on the design and experience of our apps. We’ve been inspired by a wide range of companies and products that do this right, from Apple to Uchida Yoko to Moleskine. In fact, in Moleskine, we saw more than inspiration, we saw an opportunity to do something amazing together that fully embodied our Experience First thinking.

Moleskine is the maker of beautifully designed notebooks and accessories that are the go-to choice for creative individuals of all types. While these notebooks are beloved for their quality and style, they suffer from an issue common to all physical notebooks…they’re physical.

That’s where Evernote comes in. We’ve partnered with Moleskine to develop a new, limited edition Evernote Smart Notebook that’s designed specifically for the new Evernote iOS application.

Together, we created a gorgeous notebook that includes a number of special features that allow you to take your ideas off the written page and place them right into Evernote, where they’ll be searchable, organized and available forever.

Pre-order your Evernote Smart Notebook »

New Features. Magical Pages. Smart Stickers.

Our goal was to create a notebook that met Moleskine’s aesthetic standards, while adding an entirely new level of functionality. Here’s what we did.

Special pages
The Evernote Smart Notebook comes in two page styles: ruled and squared. For each, we designed a special dotted paper pattern on the pages that was optimized for new features in Evernote…

InfoGraphics: Pictures that Teach Clearly

I have a need to learn how to make my own InfoGraphics. I am not really sure why- other than the fact that I like organized, clear diagrams. I love browsing visual.ly.

Here are some tools I plan to try out in my design quest.
Venngage: http://www.venngage.com/
Infogr.am: http://infogr.am/
Chart Chooser: http://labs.juiceanalytics.com/chartchooser.html

Many Eyes: http://www-958.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/manyeyes/

Visualize app - and a few by the same developer:

http://iphone.reallusion.com/

Makeuseof's listof Infographic Sites: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/awesome-free-tools-infographics/

Visual Loop- An interesting site to spend time reading: 

http://visualoop.com/181/30-great-presentations-for-people-interested-in-data-visualization

Visual.ly

If  you haven't already seen it,  visual.ly is a fantastic collection of info graphics and statistical data.   Visual.ly takes a concept and breaks it down into small chunks of facts.  Use the search box to find thousands of topics.  Students could research facts and check accuracy, or predict future statistics or trends using visual.ly posters.
Sample Visual.ly Posters:

by infographicdesignteam.