Digital Notes

The Remarkable Paper Pro Journey

I have been wanting to keep track of daily tasks, and get into keeping a daily-ish journal. I have tried digital tools like which is a fantastic tool to do all sorts of things beyond what I was looking for. I used it for months, even planned out my garden this year in it. Drawing out how I want the beds, keeping track of when I started to germinate the seeds, and when they moved into the ground. Taking clippings of the seed packets, I went crazy deep. However it didn't stick. I think it is because I didn't feel the connection with my thoughts when i used it. It is an application, and that means you have to be at your desk to use it, or on a tablet with a keyboard. Something about typing adds a layer between myself and my thoughts. It was also easy to get distracted since I am at my laptop while using it. So I discovered e-ink tablets meant for just this thing. I started with the Boox Go 10.1 It is a great device. The screen very crisp and sharp. Found a EMR pen that I adored. I used it almost daily for a few months. However a short time later.....Remarkable released their Paper Pro I held off for a while from getting it. Talking myself out of it. Till finally I had enough points with a retailer that was selling it, that I was able to pick it up using the points for less than half the cost. I thought they have a 100 day return policy so if I don't like it.... Spoiler: I liked it. At first I found it limiting in features compared the Boox tablet. You can't do things like change the pen size, add custom templates, link to other notebooks/pages, heck you can't even search outside of tags that you add manually. Then it started to grow on me. The larger screen size I found easier to write on. The color feature is also nice, and adds a layer of depth to your notes but I could take it or leave it. I think the simplicity and the seamless nature of their mobile/browser/desktop app won me over. Often with The Boox tablet I would use a feature, not because I needed it, but because it was there and I thought I should. I would often be playing around with features instead of putting pen to paper so to speak. With the Remarkable it tries to be as close to pen to paper so you can just get down to writing. Yes there are a lot of basic features I wish it would have, like shape drawing automation, and a TOC, but I don't find I miss them too much.

The act of pulling out a writing stylus has caused me to slow down when I write notes, journals, tasks. I can type pretty fast, so often I would feel like I am not processing what I was jotting down when I used Obsidian. With the e-ink tablet and the act of writing, it is a much slower and more natural flow. I feel like I am processing the information and being more thoughtful in what I put down, and in away it feels more personal. I can also take it with me anywhere which comes in handy for trips and just getting out of the house. I have been using it as a daily health and task tracker as well as a journal and project planner. I have a notebook devoted to monthly tasks that I call "dailies" each day gets a new page where I track things like my sleep, my workout and any tasks I need to do that day. Then I have a monthly journal with each page being a day. The feature that only the Remarkable has, is endless page. So you can keep scrolling to keep a single day to a single page. I am going to expand my usage and try to start using it for work, as well as learning to sketch. I have always wanted to learn how to draw but haven't been too good at it. Having something that feels like pen and paper with me all the time I hope will inspire me to give it a go.