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I’ve always been the kind of person who needs to write down my thoughts, out of fear that I’ll forget my latest brilliant idea. I kept several notebooks ready for this purpose, but they always got lost, dislocated or damaged, or were just too much trouble to keep organized. I started using apps, but I never built up the muscle memory to keep using it consistently, and opening the phone was never good for my productivity.
Then I found out about the Rocketbook Core reusable smart notebook. I tried it and now it has replaced all my productivity apps And My paper notebook – and the best part is that it’s extremely affordable, it only cost me around $24.
The RocketBook looks like a paper notebook at a glance, but its pages aren’t paper, but a material that works like a whiteboard: You can write on it using the included stylus, then wipe off the ink with a damp cloth. Unlike a whiteboard, ink won’t get on your hands, and it won’t smear on the pages (unless you’re writing very fast and don’t give the ink a moment to dry). Once dry, no amount of wiping with your fingers or a dry cloth will erase your writing.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
A reusable notebook is kind of neat, but the real draw is the integration with free rocketbook App that scans your notes and organizes them for you. At the bottom of each notebook page, you’ll find different “Smart Tags” that you can use to essentially create folders or bookmarks within the RocketBook app, so you can send your scanned notes to that specific category.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
Let’s say you create one of seven smart tags at the bottom of the “Biology” page. Every time you scan an image and circle that tag (or write it on the “Tags” box at the bottom right), it will go into that folder. You can then choose to upload these files to other apps, like Google Drive, Slack, Dropbox, or OneNote. This video provides a detailed explanation of how smart tags work:
What do you think so far?
Once you’ve used up the pen that comes with the notebook, you can replace it with another one, provided you buy the right kind of erasable pen. A regular pen will not work. Because I like to be organized and also lose things easily (like I need special erasable pens for my special notebook), I added this pen holderWhich also keeps the notebook closed when not in use.
Credit: Daniel Oropeza
If you want to rely less on your phone and also reduce the amount of notebooks scattered around your home – and you don’t have the big bucks to buy a Supernote or Remarkable – then the Rocketbook could be a great option for you. This has been revolutionary for me.
