I’ve just lately accepted the truth that I’m, and at all times might be, a pen-and-paper form of gal. Relating to writing, nothing does it for me fairly just like the act of scrawling by hand. I’m extra inventive, much less distracted and extra emotionally invested in what I’m doing than after I kind on a keyboard.
However during the last decade or so of writing professionally, I’ve change into disconnected from writing by hand. I spend most of my time hunched over a laptop computer, and have unwittingly conditioned myself into writing nearly completely on this means for the sake of effectivity. Whereas that’s undoubtedly what works greatest for the day-to-day calls for of stories running a blog (I imply, how else might we do it?), my shift away from notebooks has killed my will to do any inventive writing exterior of labor. Nowadays, each time I crack open a laptop computer to write down in my off-hours, it looks like a chore.
However what additionally looks like a chore is typing up pages upon pages of handwritten textual content after dumping all of the phrases in my mind out onto paper. This burden is what first acquired me wanting into digital notepads; since a lot of them can convert handwritten notes to textual content recordsdata, they’re form of the perfect of each worlds. For some time, although, not one of the accessible choices actually spoke to me — the reMarkable 2 and different E Ink tablets are simply too large for my style. Then, Ratta got here out with the Supernote Nomad, and I used to be offered.
The Nomad is completely compact. With a 7.8-inch display screen, it’s extra like the dimensions of an ereader, which means I can toss it in a mini-backpack and produce it with me in all places — and I do. My Nomad arrived in Could (I ordered the $329 Crystal model, as a result of I’m a sucker for a clear shell) and I have been utilizing it nearly day by day since. I used to be cautiously optimistic about what really writing on this factor can be like, but it surely exceeded all of my expectations.
It took only some minutes to get used to, which primarily got here all the way down to me getting over my considerably irrational worry that the pen — the one which’s made for this machine — would scratch the show. (It was costly, okay?) The pill doesn’t include a writing implement, and I shelled out just a little further for the $89 Coronary heart of Steel pen, a choice I’m tremendous pleased with. It’s nothing like a stylus, however as an alternative has a pointy, precision tip like an actual pen — therefore my preliminary hesitation.
The expertise of writing on the Nomad is so near the sensation of really utilizing a pen and paper. There’s texture to it, one thing you don’t get with the graceful expertise of writing on an iPad. I write fairly quick, and have not had many points thus far with lagging. It comes with a bunch of writing templates, together with lined “paper” with a number of completely different ruling measurement choices, and you may create your individual templates or obtain these made by others. I have never messed round a lot but with customized variations, although, as a result of the built-in choices have been enough at no cost writing, note-taking and organizing my life.
I used to be pleasantly stunned by how nicely the handwriting recognition instrument has been capable of convert my rooster scratch to typed textual content. My handwriting is ok at greatest, however after I’m working quick, issues can get fairly messy. It isn’t 100% correct — it’ll throw within the occasional string of gibberish — however the machine principally will get it proper. You possibly can export the transformed writing as a .TXT or .DOCX file, and have the Nomad format it for you. This requires some cleansing up, but it surely’s by no means an enormous job.
Supernote units can sync with numerous completely different cloud storage suppliers, like Dropbox and Google Drive (although Google is at present not working for me, in order that’s one level towards it), together with the corporate’s personal cloud. You possibly can lock particular person recordsdata and folders behind a passcode, too, which I actually respect. Nothing haunts me greater than the considered somebody studying via my unfinished drafts, a few of which aren’t destined to ever see the sunshine of day.
And I’ve lastly ditched my paper planner — one thing I by no means thought would occur. Supernote’s built-in month-to-month calendar and weekly planner have lastly given me an alternate that really works for me. One of many fundamental issues that’s stored me utilizing paper planners is that I wish to doodle as a approach to make essential occasions or duties stand out, and the Supernote Nomad permits me to do that. The one factor I miss is utilizing stickers and pens of various colours, however I’ll survive.
Within the final month or so utilizing the Supernote Nomad, I’ve most likely gotten extra writing completed (the “for me” form) than I had within the final 12 months. It simply does not set off that dreaded “you’re at work” feeling that my laptop computer and even different distraction-free writing units, just like the Freewrite Traveler, have. Finally, I hope to get round to drawing and studying on it as nicely, however for the second, all I wish to do on this factor is write as a result of I am having such a good time doing it. And earlier than you ask — sure, I wrote this text on my Nomad.
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