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My dear friend and business partner at the Paperless Movement®, Tom Solid, recently posed a crucial question in our last YouTube video: would Evernote be no more by 2023?
Though I don’t have the answer, I can say that, years ago, my decision to part ways with this note-taking platform was already made.
Here’s what drove me away and could possibly help spark ideas for others (maybe you), considering if they should follow in similar footsteps.
The Beginning of My Story with Evernote
My life was forever changed when I purchased my iPad2 (March 2nd, 2011) and combined it with Evernote.
For over a decade, the app has enabled me to become 100% paperless, improving my organization and productivity in ways that remain unparalleled today.
Without Evernote’s help, who knows what state I’d be in…?
All I know is this: I’m thankful for its existence!
The End of My Story with Evernote
In September 2020, the game changed.
We bid farewell to our rigid hierarchies and welcomed the new age of Roam Research and backlinking, no more librarian-style organization but rather dynamic networks connecting thoughts in ways we never thought possible!
Evernote failed to keep up with this revolution. But, that was only the beginning. For me, there were so many reasons still yet to be discovered.
My 3 Main Reasons to Leave Evernote
1. Lack of Features
Tom’s video revealed what Evernote’s CEO had to say about tags.
The inability to have the same object in two places due to folder friction has frustrated many users (me included).
Even backlinking capabilities are difficult to use with their current implementation.
My approach was this (and still is).
Rather than manually creating folders and tags or struggling with ineffective backlinks, why not invest in an AI-driven application like Mem?
Mem was the first note-taking app that really took seriously and bet on AI, even before all this current GPTChat trend.
This trendsetting approach represents an important step forward towards what you ultimately desire: being able to effortlessly access any piece of data at your fingertips!
2. Performance
Evernote was a reliable companion for me, as I relied on it day in and day out to write, think critically, organize my thoughts, and plan how to execute my work.
Unfortunately, Evernote’s performance became abominably slow, which was extremely frustrating when making searches or attempting other daily essential operations.
3. Direction
But, for me, the main reason to leave Evernote was the lack of direction.
Their attempt to become an all-in-one workspace no longer aligned with what I believed was a practical approach.
Splitting focus across many disparate objectives often proved just too challenging, leading inevitably towards inevitable failure.
For me, success lies in having specific tools tailored precisely for the given needs you have, not trying to spread itself over different areas simultaneously and ending up sinking under its own ambition.
Only then can we gain clarity of purpose, direction, and, ultimately, how best to satisfy users’ expectations without fail.
Takeaways
As an experienced entrepreneur of 20 years, I understand the struggles that come with starting and maintaining successful businesses.
It takes hard work to keep up in this competitive atmosphere. Companies strive to offer outstanding services while remaining profitable enough for survival.
However, you should always bet on designing and implementing a tool stack aligned with the way you think.
It’ll save you a lot of headaches and potential productivity loss in the long run.
