I’ve always used paper notebooks for my personal notes, plans, tasks, organization etc. I really love having paper and pen always with me so I can write down whatever comes exactly when it comes. During the time I moved my task maintenance to the digital form – I am using HyperSwiss for that purpose at the moment – but I still needed a notebook for notes taking.
The problem with the paper is that you have to replace the notebook from time to time and some of the written notes are lost in this process. It requires rewriting to keep things up to date. Not to mention that on paper there is no copy/paste function.
Because of this, I wanted to try to move my notes taking to the digital world. I did a research, evaluated some possible tools and decided to try out iPad and Apple Pencil together. After several weeks of using iPad Pro 9.7″ together with Apple Pencil, I can say that I am leaving my paper notebooks behind. The app that I am using for notes taking is Notability which is a very good tool.
My main concern in this transition was about the handwriting on iPad, but that works perfectly. While the experience is not fully the same as when you write on paper, it works so well that I do not miss paper at all. There are so many advantages. I can use different colors for writing, I can edit my notes, underline, draw on them, I can cut/copy/paste pieces of the notes. My notes are more clear and colorful. They are organized in proper topic folders so I can quickly find them.
In the same time, I can use iPad for plenty of other daily activities – emails, chat, newspapers, checking my Calendars and tasks… Battery life of both Pencil and iPad devices is very good. I can use them in normal daily activities with the one charge per 24 hours.
I still have to discover possibilities and the ways of more optimal usage of these new tools, but I can already say that I am not getting back to the paper.
Miljan Vranic / Миљан Вранић 