Organize Your Busy Art Career with Evernote

I am writing this draft in Evernote on my iPad while taking the light rail train into Denver to see a few art shows.

When I want a document that I will reuse and share with students, clients, or my team, I create it in Word, Pages, or Google Docs.

When I want to save drafts of documents or to store something to remember, it goes straight to Evernote where I can access it across devices.

Evernote is an app that organizes information into digital notes and notebooks. It would be impossible for me to keep track of all the information I need to without it.

Here’s a peek at how I use Evernote in my life and business along with suggestions for how you might use it in your art career.

Keep Your Travel Information in One Place

This might be my favorite use of Evernote. In your Travel notebook you might store:

• Hotel arrangements
• Flight details
• Car rentals
• Contact names and information
• Directions
• Things you want to do and see when you arrive
• Local restaurants

You might also store travel information for your family or for friends who are visiting.

Capture Content Ideas

One of the problems I hear most often from artists is that they don’t have anything to say. And this is a problem when so much of your marketing is based on the written word.

No more worries! The minute you have a bright idea, you can start a note in Evernote. Save drafts for:

• Social media posts
• Blog posts
• Video scripts
• Newsletters
• Bio updates
• Artist statement revisions

Maintain an Operations Manual

Your operations manual is a record of step-by-step procedures for regular tasks.

It saves time because you don’t have to recreate the procedures every time you begin the task. It will also be the go-to guide for any assistants you may hire.

Use this for:

• Assistants and employee info
• Steps for sending a newsletter
• Checklist for art openings
• Exhibitions checklist
• Packing and shipping instructions
• Promotions checklist
• Any text that you might use repeatedly, such as quick links, responses to donation requests, or directions to your studio

Systematize Your Art Making

Evernote is an ideal place to keep notes for:

• Commissions details
• Glaze recipes
• Shopping resources for materials
• Tracking studio hours
• Tracking progress on artwork

Manage Your Finances

Consider using Evernote to organize your finances:

• Receipts
• Invoices
• Tax schedule
• Sales tax procedures
• Budgets
• List of people and businesses you need tax forms from
• List of people and businesses you need to send tax forms

Personalize Your Relationships

Create an Evernote notebook for people who you want to know about you and your art so that you can personalize your relationships.

Who are they? Where do they work? What are they known for? Who do they know that you know?

These people might include:

• Individual collectors
• Curators on your radar
• Gallerists
• Interior designers
• Architects
• Heads of granting agencies
• Writers and critics

Structure Your Teaching

There is so much to juggle when you teach:

• Enrollment procedures
• Notes about individual students
• Lesson plans
• Teaching checklist
• Inspiration from other instructors
• Ideas for improving your next class
• Procedures for following up with students
• Teaching proposal drafts (these are probably documents in their final form)

Remember What You Want to Learn

Artists are perpetual students. There is so much to take in! Keep track of all you want to take, see, watch, and read:

• Classes
• Workshops
• Podcasts
• Artist talks and seminars
• Books
• Films and videos
• Bucket list for travel

Your Turn

There are hundreds of other ways that Evernote can help you organize your art career and business.

How do you use Evernote?