Want to get on top of your finances in 2017? Try this neat Evernote hack

This is the time of year I think about making changes. I bet you do, too. I want to share a way to plan a change for 2017 that will really make a difference in your life. I will show you the method using a theme many of us think about — finances. Just click on the links to see enlarged images so you can recreate this for your own note or for a subject that matters to you.

Step 1: If you don’t use Evernote, download the free version here.

Step 2: Create a new note and label it with the area you chose. We’ll use “Finances.” Then start a numbered list by clicking on the Numbered List button:

I’ve added numbered items:

Now I made those individual items into numbered lists by clicking on the Numbered List button. This moves the first numbered item to the left and allows me to insert numbered items below the original ones:

I now have ideas for how to label and tag notes to create my Finances Master Note. Here’s the revised Finances note, showing labels for my topic notes and tags:

The capitalized word is a note label. The lower case word after the forward slash is a tag. Not all my options need their own note or tag, so I just picked a few to get going on my Finances Master Note.

Step 3: Make it your goal to label and tag in a systematic and sensible way when you create a note. If you already have masses of notes, then the next time you find an important note, make sure the label and tag or tags make sense.

Now you have the labels and tags, so make your Master Note. Right now make a plain one by going to the bottom of the Finances note and clicking on the table button:

Step 4: Next, I dragged and dropped the items into columns on the table:

Now I have labeled the topic notes and created tags, so I just have the table itself:

Notice I inserted links to the topic notes. I can use those notes to collect the information I need to stick to my financial goals. I also included a “Monthly Weigh In” note to keep track of progress. Just insert a checkbox:

So there you have it. You just made a Master Note. To learn more about this, get my bestselling book, The Master Note System: A New Way to Use Evernote to Organize Your Life. This book comes with a free Resource Kit with numerous templates so you can instantly begin to organize your life on a single page.