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Looking for recommendations please... does the below "need" sound familiar to anyone and what have you done?
I want to get more organized and better at taking notes & keeping to-do lists in order, as my work life is getting increasingly busy and chaotic.
Hand written noted in notebooks I find challenging as they're both messy and disorganized plus hard to look back on. I also end up with a mess of notes all over the place. So any tech solution would need to help me (or force me) to get better at this, otherwise I'll just have a load digital mess all of the place instead.
Typed noted using one-note or similar I find distract me too much from the meeting itself and I end up missing things. I'm usually in meetings as a decision maker or direction driver rather so have to be fully immersed in the conversation rather than just taking minutes, but also need to be able to capture key points and actions for others and myself. I find hand scribbles best for this.
I've struggled to find a good to-do list collation program. Theoretically one-note can do this as it collated "tags" but they're a bit one-dimensional and getting them into one-note involve having yet another screen open when on zoom, or even having a laptop open and ready which I don't always have in in-person meetings.
I was contemplating a ReMarkable as I like the idea of a simple paper-like pad, but it looks a bit basic in terms of apps, integration, turning the captured scribbled notes into actions.
An iPad with the apple pencil looks more versatile - there are many third party apps it can run (including one-note) plus it's also good for many other things when not taking notes.
Any thoughts or advice ?
Where I worked before now, there were a lot of researchers, a number of whom were remarkable owners. They were all big fans of them, they were all mathematicians too and apparently the ability to transcribe formula was a valuable feature. Personally, I go with a notepad and tickboxes then reviewing this at quieter times to keep myself honest.
I switched to paperless a few years ago using an iPad Pro + Pencil + OneNote. It works really well for me. Syncing of OneNote data between all devices works really well so I can put my finger on info quickly on iPad/laptop/phone. Would recommend. I personally find an iPad is so much more versatile than a ReMarkable tablet, that I don't see the attraction in a single use device. People sell screen covers and pencil tips that are meant to replicate the feeling of writing on paper for the iPad (not tried them).
I guess you might consider the lack of distractions in using a Remarkable tablet a good thing, but whilst in a meeting being able to quickly flick to Outlook/Teams/web browser/Messages etc on the same device is really useful.
When i bought my iPad the Air didn't exist so I went for the Pro, but if I was doing it now it would be hard to justify Pro over Air (but suspect my OLED-or-death tendencies might still swing me to the Pro still).
To-do lists are a bit trickier. I used to be OK with the to-do lists in Old Outlook, but now I've bitten the bullet and switched to New Outlook it's been a massive downgrade. On the iPad/Phone you use the separate MS Tasks app, which is pretty poor at syncing with Outlook in a timely manner. Coming from Old Outlook I found I had thousands of tasks that I had marked at completed but were still hanging around as I hadn't actively deleted them. When I did managed to delete them (a several day process), the Tasks app did buck it's ideas up a bit, but it's still sub-optimal.
For home to-do lists, the combination of Apple Notes + Siri is glorious. Being able to shout at Siri in the home or car to "Remind me to X at 7pm, or 'when I get home', or add to a family shared shopping list hands free while cooking is brilliant. I think the Apple side of things being so great is half of why the MS version being so crap drives me spare.
Typed noted using one-note or similar I find distract me too much from the meeting itself and I end up missing things. I'm usually in meetings as a decision maker or direction driver rather so have to be fully immersed in the conversation rather than just taking minutes, but also need to be able to capture key points and actions for others and myself. I find hand scribbles best for this.
Hand-scribble, then copy into OneNote after the meeting.
The handwriting recognition on an ipad with apple pencil is amazing. I still prefer to scribble on paper and then rework later though
Is AI the answer to this? We use Co-Pilot on Teams calls and it can give a summary of the meeting along with agreed actions and deadlines. It's not perfect, but it doesn't take much tweaking to get the record accurate.
Not sure if you can do something similar with Zoom.
Thanks everyone. This place rocks.
Sounds like the ReMarkable isn't for me - doesn't offer much more for my needs than keeping a record of my scribbled notes which would be fairly useless without re-work into something more useful. Also does nothing for my to-do list needs which needs to sync across devices.
I think the answer for me is a combination of "Hand-scribble, then copy into OneNote after the meeting" but likely using iPad & pencil to do so.
Re the to-do's I just had a good clear out of MS To-Do and it's not quite as bad as a remember so will re-attempt to bond with it. At least it syncs across devices so I can make some quick impromptu reminders on the iPhone which are there when collating tasks and actually doing something about them later on.
Re AI - we do have the Zoom AI Assistant enabled and it is shockingly good at capturing meeting contents. Not verbatim text, but the actual discussion thread and actions. I might bite the bullet and start using it regularly to base minutes off.
So - am off to explore whether there are any good deals on iPads right now... ?
I was just about to say AI too. If you want a writing pad based option then Rocketbook might be worth looking at.
Basically you write your notes on a pad and then scan using a phone app and your notes are on-line. You then can wipe off your notes and re-use the pages.
integration with other stuff means iPad been the best tool for me. Love the big 12.9"one, almost a laptop replacement, but now on the new mini and it is absolutely perfect. Fits in a big trouser pocket!
I've used paperlike screen cover thingy for years, makes using Apple Pencil a much much more pleasurable experience. https://paperlike.com/
I had a similar issue and now use one note in a mix of typing on laptop or hand scribble directly into it via a samsung tablet. If i had a choice it would be ipad but work provided a rugged tablet which works ok.
It does mean the hand scribble is messy, but what i have found is that most of what i write i am writing for the sake of it! I highlight important bits and the direct to one note means that its there straight away. Transcribing later is a noble idea but not something that i am ever likely to actually do!
We have an ipad at home and the pencil is much better on that than the samsung tablet, but i was able to get a Staedtler Noris Digital pencil which is great and like a 'real' pencil.
I was just about to say AI too. If you want a writing pad based option then Rocketbook might be worth looking at.
Basically you write your notes on a pad and then scan using a phone app and your notes are on-line. You then can wipe off your notes and re-use the pages.
I have had a remarkable since 2022, and it's good at some stuff, and not others. I use it for reviewing/annotating documents and getting ideas together. It's good at that quiet thinking & reading & ideating thing when I need to step away from being connected. But it's not great at to-do lists, it needs too much extra work to sort that out.
I use a mix of MS Loop and MS ToDo for my task lists, and write meeting notes in One Note project pages on a surface pro. Very easy to the add a quick couple of to dos into a project related task list in a Loop component that sits in one note and updates across to loop and ToDo (not actually as time intensive as it sounds). I can then easily review tasks in one place (Loop) and have a one page today's todo list in ToDo on my phone etc.
I’ve tried several times to electronicise my old stool notepad, for all the reasons you described, and each time have really struggled to make the leap. I can’t seem to move away from the ‘physical’ of the notepad to a digital solution.
However, have tried hard with both options you described. My view is that the reMarkable nudges out iPad in pretty much every area to replace a notepad as it’s largely single minded in its purpose. Easier to hold/use, screen is more usable, better functionality, battery life etc.
The downside is that it’s largely single minded and the iPad offers far wider usability with similar functionality for note taking, but all of that usability can be a distraction and consumes battery at a greater rate so when you sit down in a meeting…
The reMarkable is also pretty expensive for what it is once you buy all of the over priced accessories that in reality makes it so usable.
So I guess I’m saying that I’d plan to buy a reMarkable if I was only looking to replace my notepad … but would probably end up buying an iPad and a PukkaPad.
If you want a new toy, then I think there are tech solutions which are excellent. Personally, I use Apple Pencil + iPad.
But honestly, I find a decent note book to be easier to look back through and find older notes, thoughts, to-do lists etc. For me, it’s a the key is to mark the date clearly at the top of each note, and make sure that each note book runs sequentially. Done like this, I can look back to notes from any meeting or telephone conversation I’ve had for the past several years.
My feeling is, if you’re not organised in paper format, you’re unlikely to be well organised in electronic form either. Then you may well just end up with a mishmash of electronic notes all over the place.
Anyway, I love a new toy just as much as anyone else. I’d just like to point out that I personally find it harder to find my electronic notes than my paper ones!
For the iPad plus pencil I can highly recommend changing the tip with one from pentips ( https://pen.tips/en-uk/collections/all-products) as that little bit of friction between the pen and screen makes a huge difference. The default apple tips are skity as anything!
I use GoodNotes which has excellent for my Doctor level scrawl (I am not a doctor but I get accused of it) conversion to text. You can search your hand written notes which is useful!
if you’re not organised in paper format, you’re unlikely to be well organised in electronic form either. Then you may well just end up with a mishmash of electronic notes all over the place.
That is my fear, and is what's happened before. At least with an iPad I end up with a new toy at the end of it if unsuccessful !
I think the answer for me is a combination of "Hand-scribble, then copy into OneNote after the meeting" but likely using iPad & pencil to do so.
Apologies if I sounded flippant but that's exactly what I do. My entire life is in OneNote, but my desk is covered in scribbled notes. Anything moved to OneNote is considered "committed," the rest goes into the recycling.
My feeling is, if you’re not organised in paper format, you’re unlikely to be well organised in electronic form either. Then you may well just end up with a mishmash of electronic notes all over the place.
Point here is, paper doesn't have a 'search' feature. You can have one tab in OneNote labelled 'misc' with your entire notes in it, and can locate a specific thing with Ctrl-F / Ctrl-E.
FYI there are cheap but good third party Apple Pencils. That really charges the price of an entry level set up
I’m new to ipad and enjoying it so far. Lots of my students seem to use ipads for notes and class work really well.
OneDrive and Office 365 integration seems good on the the iPad.
I have been a remarkable user since they first launched. It had a lot of plus points. Actually managing todo lists is not really one of them. If I was buying today I might be swayed to iPad and pen. In reality no tool will allow you to take detailed notes, control the meeting and concentrate. Scribbled notes turned into typed actions soon after may be the most effective but least time efficient. I did try an audio transcribing app a few years ago which was not bad - it probably has moved on with AI so if I controlled my privacy policy* this is the sort of thing I would consider.
*that’s an issue to consider at least for Remarkable - their cloud storage is likely to raise an eyebrow from any IT people who can’t control it!
Hand-scribble, then copy scan into OneNote after the meeting. iPad had reminders in it too as a native app.
Hand-scribble, then copy scan into OneNote after the meeting. iPad had reminders in it too as a native app.
FYI there are cheap but good third party Apple Pencils.
Any links to any good ones before paying the crazy money Apple want for one of theirs?
Supernote although not in the uk might be worth a look as a bit more integrated than remarkable.
for simple to do lists and general reminders I like google keep but that’s because I love post it notes!
Supernote although not in the uk might be worth a look as a bit more integrated than remarkable.
for simple to do lists and general reminders I like google keep but that’s because I love post it notes!
I use an Ipad mini and OneNote. I have a Paperlike screen protector and nib. Works well for me. I still have a pad on my desk for immediate notes that i dont need to keep beyond the end of the day, but for hand written to do list that I can check across devices, the the Ipad and OneNote does the job well.
I think I must have been having a bit of an episode earlier. As well as loads of typos, I seem to have said MS Tasks when I mean MS To Do and Apple Notes when I meant Apple Reminders. 🤯
I just wish Apple hadn’t taken Steve Jobs’ dislike of styli quite so much to heart, and given the iPhone the ability to be able to jot down notes with the Apple Pencil.
Being able to quickly scribble a note into Notes and be able to search easily for items later, and easily delete once no longer relevant would be easier and less wasteful than buying lots of little notebooks that are a pain to have stuffed in various pockets - doing a shopping list being a case in point, I’ll often suddenly think of something else I need, then I have to scrabble around for a notebook that gets more and more dogeared with pages falling out as time goes on.
I always have my phone with me.
I have one of these. It works just fine. The third party pens aren’t pressure sensitive. But i don’t think that’s an issue for your use
OK, plunge taken an an iPad Air purchased yesterday, let’s see if it helps or is just another toy.
despite researching Macrumours to check that there’s not another device about to be launched, this morning I wake to find that Apple have announced a product announcement for new devices next week - talk about annoying!
anyway, those paperlike screen protectors are stupidly expensive for what they are. A triumph of marketing I think somima on the lookout for a less daft priced alternative…
those
I really like Apple Notes for my note taking (although I do have a Mac, iPhone and iPad, so the syncing helps). Easy to use and very lightweight. I'm easily pleased, but finding that I can add hashtags to notes and use those to easily search gave me a big grin.
this morning I wake to find that Apple have announced a product announcement for new devices next week - talk about annoying!
I don’t think you need to fret, looks as though it’s just an iPhone SE update.