Full disclosure: I’m a continuing education junkie and can never say no to a lactation conference. In order to make sure all that education sticks, I want to be able to keep track of my conference handouts. I use Evernote to keep all my PDFs organized, because I love the visual interface. I can actually scroll through the PDF without launching a separate application (like if I was storing them in Dropbox, for example).
Every new conference means access to the PDFs created by the presenters. I find these documents to be immensely helpful, not just so I can recall the content of the presentations but also so I can pore through the bibliographies and dig further into the topic.
Sometimes the documents are all in one folder, which makes them super easy to download. Other times they have to be downloaded one at a time from the presentation page. I always download the PDF before I start watching the presentation so I don’t forget to do it.
Most in-person conferences are using paperless handouts, but if they’re still using paper I’d scan them into Evernote using my little portable scanner.
The downloaded PDFs end up in my Downloads folder on my desktop, so I drag them into Evernote where I have a notebook called “IBCLC Education.” The name of the PDF is usually something incomprehensible, so I rename it with the title of the presentation. I add tags for the topics covered and for the name(s) of the presenters. I also add a tag for the conference and the date.
About the Author
Annie Frisbie, MA, IBCLC is the creator of the Lactation Consultant Private Practice Toolkit, a collection of books, resources, legal forms, training manuals, and workbooks aimed at helping private practice lactation consultants build a private practice that’s ethical, profitable, sustainable, and enjoyable.
