Evernote does it again...


Hello Reader,

On November 29th, Evernote announced on their blog that they were placing limitations on free users: 1 notebook, 50 notes.

I wonder if this is the first you're hearing from this... other than if you're a free user who tried to add a note anytime after December 4th.

Reply to this email if you're hearing this new limitation set here first.

I only discovered this new set of limits from a Facebook post from the team at Tool Finder. And I believe they only found out about it from TechCrunch.

You'd think that Evernote would have emailed all of its free users to let them know about this change, right? Nope. I got no such email. In fact, the only email I received from them recently was their Black Friday offers.

Not cool, Evernote.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that while I was using Evernote sporadically, that time has come to an end. I've moved everything out of Evernote, uninstalled the app and its web clipper, and have moved on.

And I'm now encouraging others to do the same.

Massive price increases. Limitations with little to no warning. It's clear that Evernote has a new kind of customer in mind. And I'm not it. Maybe you aren't either.

Now is the ideal time to pick up Your Evernote Endgame, a program I've developed to help you leave Evernote behind with less friction and more flow.

For a limited time – 50% more time than Evernote failed to give its free users to make a choice about their Evernote experience – I've brought back the launch price of Your Evernote Endgame: $24.

Your Evernote Endgame is a mini-course complete with migration guides, an exploration of Evernote alternatives so you can find your best option, and access to a community of digital notetakers and productive people who have either already made the move or are looknig to do the same.

Click here and use the code FORGETEVERNOTE to get Your Evernote Endgame for $24 until December 15th.

Got questions? Feedback? Insights you'd like to share? Reply to this email. I'd love to hear from you.

– Mike

The Practice of Productiveness

I’m Mike Vardy, and I help people build a better relationship with time — not by controlling it, but by working with it. Through my writing, courses, and community, I explore how intention and attention shape a more meaningful life — one rooted in the original idea of productiveness over productivity.

Read more from The Practice of Productiveness
Sunset over a calm body of water.

Hello Reader, We’re deep into the holiday stretch now—the week where days blur, obligations multiply, and your calendar starts behaving like it has a mind of its own. This is the point in December when most people try to push a little harder. But that usually leads to the opposite of what we’re hoping for: more friction, more fatigue, less presence. There’s a gentler way through this week. It starts with a single question: “What kind of day is this?” Not emotionally. Structurally. Because...

A large bell sits in front of a christmas tree.

Hello Reader, I’ve been thinking about It’s a Wonderful Life again. Partly because it’s December—and we’re deep enough into it now that the shine has worn off. Partly because I recently listened to an episode of the What Went Wrong? podcast that unpacked how that film almost didn’t survive—and why it still endures. What stayed with me wasn’t the trivia. It was the reminder beneath it all. George Bailey doesn’t get a new life. He gets the same life back—just seen differently. That matters....

The Lantern by Mike Vardy Vol. 1, Issue 42 | December 13, 2025 Hello Reader, Lately I’ve been noticing how easy it is to look like you’re working without actually working. The little signals we send — green dots, busy calendars, quick replies, bodies in rooms — can all stand in for real engagement. It’s productivity as performance, a kind of low-grade theatre we’ve all learned to act in. But when the performance starts replacing the purpose, something slips. The day fills up while the work...