As I've been experimenting with adding a third reading section to the day (basically, post-breakfast, lunch, and dinner), I'm finally using my Kindle for something other than hospital visits and waiting room time-slaying via short stories: reading non-fiction (currently, Cal Newport's latest, SLOW PRODUCTIVITY). Whereas I previously penciled up books with brackets and an overabundance of illegible scrawls that I'd hate myself for never reviewing, now I can read, highlight and, when I'm done, send the highlights to myself and put them in Obsidian. While fiction (except short stories) will remain corporeal-exclusive, it's not unlikely that non-fic will switch to digital-only - though if I want it on my shelf, I'll buy a physical version later.
reMarkable 2: six weeks later
Despite the occasional nostalgic yearning for and effort to return, haven't rushed back to paper journals as I found that, as soon as I used the reMarkable 2 for work, I missed using it for everything and went back to its digitally papery embrace, a combo of writing with a thick fountain pen and a Papermate Flair.
(Rite in the Rain index card wallet more than fills the handwriting capture void – though I've shifted from pencil to a Rite in the Rain pen; prefer the clicky on the go).
Present function is as combo daily note, journal, and scrap workings, all scrawled across a single infinite scroll page and moved into Obsidian as a PDF at the start of the next day, rinse/wash/repeat. Tried the Typefolio again, but, as my wife said of hers (she bought an rM2 a few days after mine arrived, and has been loving it for teaching), the instinct is to write by hand and so I do. Pen remains the Lamy EMR nib / top half with my Lamy Studio bottom half (prefer the weight) and posted cap. Don't feel a need for erasing since I did everything in pen before anyhow. Only complaint is that I wish there were more highlighter color options.
Still in love and don't see that changing anytime soon: easily the best work purchase in ages. Essential.
rite in the rain index card wallet
Since switching over from paper journals (and legal pads and whiteboards) to the reMarkable 2, I've shifted away from my still-beloved fountain pens (that the EMR I'm using is Lamy's EMR variation on their AL-Star fountain pen is a big help) to pencils for my non-digital notetakings and processings.
As such, I've been seeking a pocket notebook that both a.) could be used both during running and general leavings of the house, and, b.) didn't overstuff my already-stuffed pockets (read: Herbie the insulin pump). Happily, the Rite In The Rain Index Card Wallet, packed with their waterproof index cards and scribbled upon with my Kaweco Special S 0.7mm mechanical pencil, more than satisfies those requirements.
One hiccup, though: the RIR cards are (more than) a bit expensive - $16-$20 per pack of 100 - so I'm going to do a test with one of the regular, $2/pack of 100 cards that I've got lying all over the place to see if the waterproof part really makes a difference: while I know full well that it does with paper, I'm not certain it matters with cards, especially since I'm using pencil.
Either way, very happy to have solved this particular long-standing quandary.
so yeah about that time I passed judgement on reMarkable-as-journal way back in Sunday's newsletter
A conversation with my closest friend brought me round to reconsidering it and I can report that, in spite of a few hiccups, the reMarkable is not only my journal again, but something different, something I had in the back of my head that I wanted to do but never knew how to do until now: a combination of my journal with my planner/timeblocking and – and here's the big change, thanks to the advantages of continuous scroll digital notes – my rough drafts / thinking vomits of the day's work: this is, i think, the best representation of my day and my brain – one that cannot be replicated on paper and one that takes advantage of the remarkable's unique abilities.
Taking it one step further: I've since combined all of this with Obsidian's Daily Notes feature, making a PDF of the previous day's scroll and embedding it on the sheet made for the day, along with that day's Attendance Card and accompanying alt text. I then add tags (or copy them from the ones I give in reMarkable, as, unfortunately tags aren't imported on a PDF conversion).
Result being a happy think place that combines the best of analog (oh, that Lamy EMR pen) and digital (continuous scroll FTW) to create something i didn't know i wanted or needed until now I can't imagine working without it.
reMarkable 2, ctd
A few more impressions as I cross the halfway point of my first week:
99.8% certain that it will fully replace my paper journal: briefly returned to paper and went back to the reMarkable. Love writing in / on it: feels like a Papermate Flair / fountain pen mix without the waste of blowing through a box of Flairs a month. Lamy stylus supposed to arrive today. Have a feeling that that will clinch its victory.
Very nice to have gotten a handle on the touch gestures. Less friction = more brain.
A workflow is emergent.
Still haven't read anything on it. Or signed anything. Should have caught me a year ago, then it'd've been a different story.
The focus that writing on it instills transfers well to working on the Mac.
K was so fascinated by it that she bought her own for teaching. Have a feeling that it will be even more useful for her than for me (though it has already cemented its position as an essential brain extension in (what passes for) my creative practice).
My handwriting is and will remain shit but I learned to live with that long ago. In other words, text-type conversion isn’t in the cards and won’t be and I’m fine with that: I’ve been deciphering my scribbles since time immemorial and it’s not like I’m a doctor or anything important.
remarkable 2: first work session
Majority of first impressions have been altered: while I initially thought the remarkable would be a replacement for the Drafts app and not a journal, it's already proven to be the opposite; I'm giving it this week to replace my paper and pen journal (which, unless things drastically change and/or it decides to erase my jottings, it's already done); figured out the left-hand thing and am now a leftie writing on a leftie-oriented device with a digital Papermate Flair (I've found a setting – marker, medium, black which makes it so) and have ordered the Lamy stylus that's basically an AL-Star with a stylus nib so I can fully merge both worlds; a leather cover, not dissimilar to my journal one, is on its way. Hopefully will find a way to keep index cards, post its, and perhaps my CW&T Pen Type-C in there alongside for quick notes and jottings. Once the Lamy arrives, it'll be quite something, I think.
File system so far:
Journal: one notebook per week – pretty similar to what I do here – with one page per day (scrolling journal is fantastic!) and written in the same scrawl as with my 14+ years of paper journals. When the week is done, I'll transfer a PDF over to Obsidian and save it there and start a new one. Given that I've never gone back and consulted one of those journals in the 14 years of their existence, I see no reason that I'll start now: their purpose is to get the shit out of my brain. Hopefully, as I get more acclimated to creating with it, the notebook there and the notebook here will more fully merge. Biggest thing: I didn’t miss the paper journal, not once.
Legal Pad: so named, ruled, for when I need to draft things or think things through on the Main Things.
Considering adding "Whiteboard" for mindmaps, etc - though I could do that on the Legal Pad, IDK. Doubt I'll save these, as I tend to manually add to Obsidian / main project doc as I go.
Quick sheets for quick jottings - sticky notes section, accessible from the main doc, would be great, but that does, I suppose, go against the guiding ethos of deep work / thinking that the remarkable inculcates. A little too much friction between brain and scrap in this case.
I've neither found the typing function / typefolio to be very useful since I'm so used to speed-freak/mistake-laden huntnpeck on a Mac with my split keyboard (if I want to add typed text, I can always add it to the note via the app and move it over) nor have I tried reading or marking up PDFs, though I've a feeling that it will be a fantastic editing and revising tool.
Battery power is down from an unboxing 67% to 28% at the time of posting this - that whole purported "two week" battery life must be in a constant period of sleep – so I'll have to plug it in in a bit but that's nothing I'm not used to: I, do, after all, have to plug in my cyborg pancreas every few days so I can stay alive so I suppose I can live with plugging in my cyborg brain as needed.
Love love love.
remarkable 2: first use / impressions
I've had the reMarkable 2 for about half an hour now (writing this on it) and three things are apparent: one, my handwriting is shit in physical or in digital form and I'm really glad I bought the TypeFolio - keyboard is quite excellent (though I'm still getting used to the layout); two, while I can see me using this for writing drafts and braindumps (like this one - indeed, I bought it as a replacement for whiteboards and legal pads), I can't yet see it replacing my paper journals (UPDATE: SEE COMMENT BELOW)); and three, the design for lefties like me leaves a bit to be desired: I have to write with it set up for a right-handed person because my left hand constantly hits the x on the top left corner of the screen and closes the doc in progress (UPDATE: SOLVED; SEE COMMENT BELOW). Other than that, no complaints; have a feeling that the more I work with it the more I'll find to do with it. Will update accordingly.
reMarkable (2) incoming...
After a few years of looking at one, I finally took the plunge yesterday and purchased a reMarkable 2 writing tablet (along with the typepad folio)...
Goals: a capture device and an easy-on writing device for pieces here – as well as fulfilling (and amplifying) the usual functions of my Boogie Board: handwritten explorations of specific sections of a WIP. Planning to use the reMarkable app on desktop and mobile to facilitate the export and import of notes and scaps and other writings from reMarkable to Obsidian for work and zettelkasten archiving. Potential use as a Daily Note device too?
Should arrive next week. Penning this to start the tag and log its purchase.
spewflow(state)
Stumbled into a relationship with vomit drafting that seems to work: I use Flowstate with a five minute timer, and just let things come, spewing whatever’s in my brain all over the screen (handy that FS starts deleting everything after five seconds of inactivity). Once the five minutes are up, I copy and paste what I've “written” into Obsidian, and then sift through the carnage to find words or phrases that repeat and work / build from there. While the results are more often than not little more than gibberish, I’m occasionally able to use the repeating words, phrases, and rhythms to generate the bit, the fragment that I was looking for.