I have been writing for a while now about Evernote, the software that turns your computer into a digital brain. It allows you to remember everything. Literally.

Yesterday, someone asked me if I had a list of all my blog posts I’d written on this topic. Sadly, I had to admit that I didn’t. The best I could do was point them to my blog’s search engine.

When I read anything, I mark it up. Margin notes, circles, and, most of all, highlights. In fact, I buy highlighters by the box. Or at least I did, until I started reading so much on my Kindle.

Now I use the Highlighter feature of the Kindle to mark passages. I also occasionally use the Notes feature to record my thoughts about a passage. (This is actually pretty cumbersome on the Kindle itself. I usually only do this if I am reading on my Mac. Then I can use my keyboard.)

When it comes to Evernote, I am a hopeless fanboy. It has become an indispensable part of my productivity tool box. I use it as much as I use email or my calendar.

While it is easy enough to get started with Evernote, it is a program that is incredibly deep and rich. Just when I think I have mastered it, I discover a new tip or trick. In addition, the company regularly issues new updates with additional features.

I have written previously on how to get your stuff into Evernote. In fact, I have expounded on ten different tools, including my two favorites: emailing and scanning. This is all well and good. But how do you find your stuff when you need it?

In this post, I want to share four different techniques for finding your stuff in Evernote. Honestly, it is so simple to get started, that Evernote doesn’t even include a section on this in their Getting Started Guide. However, don’t let this fool you. Evernote provides a robust set of tools for finding almost anything—easily and on-demand.

A few weeks ago, I started using Evernote as my primary “blogging workbench.” It is where I store blog post ideas, collect various post components, and then write the post itself. This has proven to be a robust solution that enables me to be working on several posts simultaneously.

I thought I would share my workflow with you. Yours will be different, I’m sure. But, hopefully, this will provide you with a few ideas.

In the last few months, Evernote has become my digital filing cabinet. It has enabled me to go completely paperless. Once I scan the paper into Evernote, I toss it into the recycling bin. Simple. Clean. Efficient.

However, as I have shared my enthusiasm for Evernote, several readers have expressed their concern for the safety of their data. Some have asked:

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Evernote. It is one of those amazing tools that can radically boost your productivity. I use it probably more than any other program other than Mac Mail. It has enabled me to realize my dream of a paperless office.

But Evernote can also be initially intimidating. The program is so deep and feature-rich that new users hardly know where to start. It is like buying a Swiss Army Knife. I personally used it for two years for little more than typing meeting notes into it.

I have used a paper journal for years to take meeting notes and jot down random thoughts. (I detailed my system here.) Yes, I tried the first generation iPad for this, but I ended up passing it on to a colleague. I just couldn’t quite fit it into my workflow—especially after I got a MacBook Air.

For years, my journal of choice has been the Moleskine. In fact, I have an entire shelf in my office set aside for storing my old copies. I have loved the simplicity, usability, and low profile of this notebook.

Thanks to Evernote, I have been able to go completely paperless in my new home office. For years this was a dream of mine; now it is a reality.

In this post, I want to explain how to use a scanner with Evernote. This has been the single biggest clutter-buster for me. No more stacks of paper sitting on my desk or credenza. Those days are history!

Since making the decision to go paperless, I have gained a lot of experience with Evernote. It has become my digital filing cabinet for literally everything. As a result, I am now working in a clutter-free environment.

Once you have organized Evernote for maximum efficiency, it is time to start filing your documents into Evernote’s digital repository. There are a number of tools for doing this. However, I find that I use the email-to-Evernote function more than almost any other method.