The decision to migrate from Evernote to Notion is rarely about a simple feature comparison. It’s an acknowledgment that your operational needs have evolved. What once served as a reliable digital filing cabinet now feels restrictive, and the prospect of moving years of accumulated knowledge feels both necessary and daunting. This is not an administrative task; it is a strategic maneuver to upgrade your business's core operating system.
This playbook converts that operational anxiety into structured control. We will treat this process with the seriousness of a corporate data migration, moving beyond a simple "lift and shift" to architect a more intelligent, integrated, and resilient command center for your work. We will proceed in three phases: securing your assets, executing a precise transfer, and building your new headquarters.
Before you move a single note, you must secure your assets and build a deliberate plan. This initial phase is entirely focused on preparation and risk mitigation, ensuring the core of your business is protected before the technical transfer begins.
A professional never flies blind. Your first step is to categorize your Evernote notebooks into tiers based on their immediate importance to your operations. This audit forces you to handle your most valuable information with the highest level of care and creates a clear, phased roadmap for the migration itself.
You will migrate and validate all Tier 1 assets before moving on, guaranteeing your core operation is secure in its new home before anything else is touched.
Relying solely on an application's import tool for mission-critical data is not a strategy; it's a gamble. Your insurance policy is a full, independent backup. Before initiating any transfer, perform a complete export of your Tier 1 and Tier 2 assets using both of the following formats from the Evernote desktop app:
This procedure ensures that no matter what happens during the technical transfer, your data is safe and recoverable.
A migration is a rare opportunity to fix past mistakes. Evernote’s unstructured nature often leads to chaos. Before you move, standardize your notebook and tag conventions to align with Notion’s database-centric architecture.
Review your existing notebook titles and establish a consistent naming convention. For example:
Client: [Client Name]Project: [Project Code]Knowledge: [Topic]Admin: [Category]Project: PhoenixFinally, address the clutter. Many professionals have years of notes that are no longer active but cannot be deleted due to compliance or record-keeping requirements. Do not complicate your primary migration with this data. Create a single notebook in Evernote called "Master Archive." Move all outdated-but-necessary notes into it. You can then either migrate this large archive last or leave it in Evernote as a low-cost storage solution. This shrinks the scope of your main effort, allowing you to focus on high-value data.
With your data audited, backed up, and structured, the technical transfer becomes a straightforward, procedural task. We will approach this with a primary method selected for efficiency and a reliable fallback plan to maintain absolute control.
For most users, Notion's built-in migration tool is the most direct route. It connects directly to your Evernote account to handle the transfer.
Settings & MembersImportEvernoteOnce initiated, Notion will pull the data, and your imported notebook will appear as a new private page in your sidebar. Depending on the size, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.
Sometimes, the official importer can struggle with very large notebooks or numerous attachments. This is not a crisis; it is a contingency. A professional is defined by their Plan B.
Export....enexImportEvernote.enexThis manual method gives you granular control over one notebook at a time and serves as a reliable workaround if the automated connection fails.
Your data is not successfully moved until you have verified it. Immediately after each notebook import—especially for your Tier 1 assets—conduct a swift but thorough audit. Trust, but verify.
With your data verified, the final phase is about architecting a more powerful operational system. This is where you evolve beyond a chaotic collection of notes and build an integrated Command Center, transforming static information into dynamic intelligence.
Your imported Evernote notebooks now exist in Notion as separate pages or simple databases. Leaving them this way misses the point of the upgrade. The true power lies in consolidation and connection.
Create a few master databases that reflect the core pillars of your business. For most professionals, this means starting with three:
ProjectsClientsKnowledge BaseProjectsClientsWith your information consolidated, you need a system to organize it based on relevance. A powerful but chaotic tool hinders productivity. One of the most effective frameworks for this is Tiago Forte's P.A.R.A. method, which organizes information based on its actionability.
P.A.R.A. stands for:
ProjectsKnowledge BaseThis is the culmination of your efforts: a single, dynamic page that gives you complete command over your operation. A CEO Dashboard is a living hub built from Linked Databases—filtered views of your master databases.
/linked view of databaseBy building this dashboard, you finally achieve the promise of this migration: transforming scattered notes into a centralized, actionable system for running your business.
By following this playbook, you have executed a strategic upgrade of your business's core operating system. This was a deliberate choice to evolve from a static archive into a dynamic, integrated workspace. Where Evernote served as a digital filing cabinet, Notion now serves as your command center.
The professional diligence you applied—auditing assets, creating backups, and verifying the transfer—was an act of taking control over the central nervous system of your business. The real victory isn't seeing your old notes in a new interface. It's the moment you link a project to a client, creating a relational web of information that was impossible before. This prevents critical intelligence from being lost in isolated folders and empowers you to make better, faster decisions.
You are now equipped not just with a better tool, but with a superior operational methodology. The CEO Dashboard you built provides a single source of truth, defending against the fragmentation that plagues so many professionals. You have turned a collection of disparate information into an engine for productivity and growth. You haven't just changed where you work; you've fundamentally changed how you work.
A former tech COO turned 'Business-of-One' consultant, Marcus is obsessed with efficiency. He writes about optimizing workflows, leveraging technology, and building resilient systems for solo entrepreneurs.
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