All good things must come to an end. And after 2-1/2 years and more than 120 posts, this regular column has come to the end of its regular run. I stress the word “regular” because I’m sure that I will still write Going Paperless posts. They just won’t be on a regular schedule anymore, and will likely be much less frequent than they have been.
There are a few reasons I’m bringing the regularly scheduled program to an end now:
1. It’s becoming harder to come up with interesting topics each week. Doing this weekly means I’m coming up with about 50 new topics a year. It gets tough, coming up with interesting new topics each week. I try hard to only write about things that I actually do with Evernote and with Going Paperless. While there are plenty of other topics I could write about, my lack of experience with them would be somewhat disingenuous.
2. Readership has been steadily declining. Peak readership for these Tuesday posts used to come in at around 6,000 – 7,000 visits per day. This has been on a steady decline since the beginning of 2014. These days, a Going Paperless post probably sees 4,000 – 5,000 visits per day on a good day. I think part of the reason for the decline is #1 above. I’m stretching it in the topics that I cover. But part of it is natural attrition and interest moving away. It tells me it is time to move on to other topics.
3. I want to dedicate my limited time to other writing. While the Going Paperless posts have been waning, my freelancing writing has been picking up, and I want to be able to spend more time doing that, without the stress of coming up with a new topic each week. Lately, I’ve been struggling to keep to my schedule of posts every Tuesday. I’ve had a few more skipped weeks than usual, and more delayed posts as well. This is a sign that I’ve got too many irons in the fire at the moment.
So where does that leave things?
1. I will continue to blog here regularly. The blog isn’t coming to an end, just the regular Tuesday Going Paperless posts. If you like the other stuff I write here, stick around.
2. I will write new Going Paperless posts from time-to-time. I have no set schedule for this, but when I feel like I have a useful tip to share, I will share it here.
3. The Going Paperless posts are not going away. They will remain here for folks to read through and use, as will the shared notebook in Evernote.
Finally, a thank you
I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has read these Going Paperless posts, everyone who has left a comment, provided feedback, made suggestions, and offered opinions. You have made this column what it is: a place where people can come to see how one person is trying to go paperless, and a place where the tips and tricks can be shared and discussed in a friendly atmosphere. I am grateful to all of my readers here, and while the regular Going Paperless posts are coming to an end, I hope that you’ll consider sticking around for some of the other posts I write here, and offering the same insights that you have over the last 2-1/2 years.
As always, this post and all of my Going Paperless posts is also available on Pinterest.
Last week’s post: 5 Tips for Creating Digital Baby Books in Evernote.
Enjoy these posts? – Tell a friend
Recommending readers is one of the highest compliments you can pay to a writer. If you enjoy what you read here, or you find the posts useful, tell a friend! Find me online here:
Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Reddit | Blog | RSS
Or use one of the share buttons below. Thanks for reading!
RSS - Posts
Thank *you*, Jamie,for doing these posts. Your passion and interest in a digital and less paper and its associated clutter in your life is obvious in every post.
Thanks, Jamie. I began reading your posts last summer and have since become an Evernote power user. It has changed my entire workflow and I have integrated many of your tips into my use of Evernote.
Ran across your blog originally because of my use of Evernote and interest in using it more effectively. And, while I really valued many of your posts on that subject, I also found a lot of your other material — on writing and on reading in particular — equally interesting. You reminded me why Churchill is such a fascinating figure in history; I might even try digging into one of those heavy, heavy volumes 🙂
So, thanks tons for years of sharing, and hope you keep finding some time to do so!
I only came across your blog recently whilst attempting to move to a paperless life and I’ve still not read most of the posts but what I have read has been invaluable and your blog is pretty much my first “go-to” when I have a specific question about the best way to do something in Evernote.
So in short, thank YOU and I’m glad to hear you aren’t giving it up all together!
Hi Jamie,
Thank you for all of your posts. They help me to begin a paperless lifestyle. I did review some posts more than once in order to enhance the efficiency of organizing and searching the notes.
I’ll keep visiting this blog & explore others.
Iris
Hi, Jamie. First of all, thank you for all the great Going Paperless content you’ve produced! I’ve found it very useful and inspiring.
Secondly, I have a question. Did you by any chance time your decision, in part, to coincide with the apparent erosion of Evernote’s functionality? Their new web client went live today for beta testing, and it features a total lack of reminder functionality along with removal of the ability to organize your tags any way other than alphabetically (i.e. no subtags). It looks like they’re going for trendy “white space” minimalism over actual useful features. I’m just so utterly disappointed in Evernote over these changes and wondering if there’s any way to use OneNote or similar as a substitute. (The prospect of porting over 3000+ notes is giving me indigestion, ugh.)
Erin, thanks for the kind words. I haven’t had the need to use the web client for a while now. The vast majority of my work in Evernote happens on either my Macbook Air or iMac and the new clients there seem perfectly fine. I do know that sometimes, beta versions temporarily strip out functionality for a variety of possible reasons (scheduling, integration, etc.) and that may be why stuff is missing. But I can’t say for sure because it’s been a while since I’ve used the web version. So no, that didn’t play a role in my decision. It was based solely on the reasons given.
Hi Erin,
Don’t write Evernote off yet 🙂 It’s a beta, and that means it’s likely to change a bit as real users provide feedback. Lots of people in the support forums already echoing some of the issues you raised.
In the meantime, if you don’t like the new layout, I read in the support forums that you can switch back (gear at bottom of the page > Account Summary > Beta section > switch back to original form)
@Erin – thought you’d like to hear this:
Initial tweet: @evernote Where are the Reminders in the beta web client? Couldn’t find them anywhere, and that is terrible!
Response: Currently not enabled but will be supported and will roll out in subsequent beta releases. (from @evernotehelps)
and
this post from an Evernote forum staff: Keyword is beta. Your feedback and suggestions are helpful for working out kinks!
Especially if you’re a paying Premium users, now would be a good time to post your comments where Evernote can see them.
That tweet about the missing reminders was from me, actually. So, yes, very much relieved to hear that the web client basically isn’t done yet. I’m most familiar with game industry “beta” testing where the beta client is essentially the launch client, and any actionable feedback isn’t going to be acted on for weeks or months after it goes live. This is more like open alpha testing, where the product isn’t complete yet.
Hi Jaime,
In 3 short months since I discovered your posts, I’ve come to look forward to them weekly. In truth, your posts were the reason I finally became a user. I’ve had the app installed for 2 years on my iPad but never used it (I never really understood Evernote), until your posts. I’ve got many of your posts in Evernote with ideas tagged for me to try as I get better with Evernote.
Thank you for the time you took to share your ideas and experience. Best wishes with your present and future endeavors.
Hi Jamie.
Thank you very much for your wounderful work.
Been reading on and off for almost two year
Wish you all the best and still hoping to see more great post
in the future.
Sharon
Jamie: I’ve only been using Evernote for about two months, and it has changed my life! I discovered your list of Going Paperless blogs shortly after installing Evernote, and have been devouring them backwards, reading from the bottom of the list to newer posts. Was sad to just learn that the series has ended, but just wanted to say Thank You for all the info you have provided and taught us on this blog. Your blog has speeded up my learning curve considerably.
Thanks for all your work on this Jamie – it is really incredible! Your posts have been invaluable in the development of my “peripheral brain”. Since you are a Evernote Ambassador – I have a question that never really seems to have a good answer. I have Evernote installed on my home Mac, my iPhone, my iPad and my work PC. My concern is that there is not a “lock screen” function for the desktop version. I spend 10 hours daily at work and keep Evernote up to clip articles and pull up data. Since it is a “work” PC and I have sensitive data in Evernote – passport etc, I worry about that data being accessed without a lock on it. I know that this is a feature that has been asked for by others. Any thoughts? I know that some data can be encrypted, but it would be much easier to have an optional passcode lock. I use a passcode system called mSecure that has a similar feature.