Are digital notepads worth it?

[somanychristmaslights]

I make lots of notes in my job, normally just to jot things down but then I end up losing them, or I turn the page and forget about it etc. Are digital notepads worth it? Was thinking it might get me more organised with not losing things I’ve written down 🤦🏻‍♀️

I have never even heard of these!

what can I google to find more info?

Goodnotes does have a feature that can do this but it’s not great. If I need my
notes typing up I screenshot and upload to copilot which is pretty good at converting my handwriting to text/word doc

yes on goodnotes you can insert images

Try watching some YouTube videos. That’s how I decided iPad and goodnotes app were best for me

(I’m not sponsored by them I promise)

I’m very tempted by the remarkable paper pure having read this thread

it’s also off the back of a frustrating day at work. I started a new job 4 months ago and there’s a lot to learn. My brain means I need to write down all of my training, follow the steps precisely and learn by repetition. But my actual job has so many facets to it that my carefully written notes then need bits adding to them, often needing to be inserted in to what I’ve already written down and well… I started 4 different notebooks today and I STILL need to make amendments

so for me, all I want is to be able to write my notes, convert them to text and crucially - keep adding to them! On and separate them out into different topics and subjects

so I’m <this close> to going for it

Oh no, I don’t need another subscription in my life!! 😩

Yes I’m the same. Or I’ll want to draw an arrow linking things together. Hand writing seems easier than note typing.

https://remarkable.com/shop/connect/pricing

i really don’t want to pay £3.99 a month. I’m already trapped paying £8 a month to Microsoft

I have a remarkable. It's really useful for me because in my role I will do a bit on something, do something else, then a third thing, etc then 3 weeks later have to do a bit more on thing 1, and I was forever scrabbling around to find which A4 pad the notes from that session were in.

It does change handwriting into typing, but only works if your writing is very clear. I find my notes aren't coherent enough for it to make a difference but it can be useful for meeting minutes if I deliberately write neatly.

It has to be synched to phone to download research papers etc. Its a bit of a pain as this then reproduces the remarkable on your phone which may not matter in some jobs but does in mine, I can't have notes from confidential client meetings on my personal phone, so I have to delete the app each time after uploading whatever I need.

I do pay the subscription but it's less than a cup of coffee a month which I don't resent.

I don’t need a subscription I don’t think. All I genuinely need is to be able to write my notes, make them into text and then add in bits when I need to. Oh and then follow the notes

I cannot bear messy notebooks - I’m always compelled to make them perfect or I start again. Such a pain but that’s how I am 😂

It probably needs a new battery

Remarkable do a free trial so you can try it out risk free. Return was painless and quick.

I've got a Kindle scribe coloursoft and I love it

I really want one in general, but as a personal device I wouldn't be allowed to do or store anything work-related on it.

Yes, they're so much fun, use it all the time. Better than being on your phone.

I use OneNote for everything at work. Haven't used a paper notebook in about 5 years.

If you can type well then no need for a separate device. If you specifically want something to write on because you prefer the act of writing/reading handwritten notes to typing then a separate device would make sense.

@BirdIsBoredOfFlying i don’t have a problem with my 10yearsish old iPad getting too hot.

@ItsABatFaceThing I pay £11 a year for the goodnotes app. There is a free version you can have play with but you can only have a couple of notebooks and can’t do the handwriting to text conversion (which is a bit crap anyway)

I have a Penstar which I really like. It's smaller than A4 but bigger than A5 and really feels close to pen on paper which is important to me. Also, no subscription needed.

My favourite way of doing this is with Trello, it lets you organise all your notes/tasks, notifies you when something is overdue and you can update live on your phone, tablet or PC and they all sync in real time, it’s also really easy to drag and drop notes around.

I use a Rocketbook and their app. I handwrite my notes then scan them with the app and it sends both a picture and the transcript to whichever app I want (email, trello etc). Its really useful for training courses etc where I want to organise my notes afterwards.

Ahh there’s too many options! I don’t have an iPad so I’d have to buy that anyway for an app which I don’t really want to do.

Jk Rowling has a super note.

I struggle writing notes and concentrating at the same time and my handwriting is atrocious! I’ve been looking at the pocket ai voice recorder that records the meeting, summarises and creates actions and to do’s anyone with experience of these?

I use ReMarkable. I spent a good amount of time researching and went with them because I wanted the ability to work totally offline and never have my work sync to the cloud or anything like that. I don’t use the subscription and it is always in airplane mode. I move content manually by connecting it to my laptop.
The disconnection is important for security if using it for work stuff, and you also need to consider whether it is allowed in your workplace, for example, I can’t use it for notes for one project cause the client bans all e-ink devices.

I also love that ReMarkable doesn’t have extra features. It is simple a very good e-ink device so there’s no distractions! They picked what they intended to do and did it well. Just be very careful about putting it on top of magnetic things cause it messes up the screen, apparently. I’m very neurotic about that.

Watching with interest too. I have been looking for months but can decide. Thinking maybe a Remarkbale but do you HAVE to have a subscription. No way do I want another bloody subscription!!

Ah just checked and a subscription is needed for part I want. Handwriting to text! In remarkable. So won’t be buying that!!