I Replaced My Phone's To-Do App With This Reusable Smart Notebook, and It Rules

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I've always been the kind of person who needs to write my thoughts down, for fear I'll forget my latest brilliant idea. I used to keep multiple notebooks at the ready for this purpose, but they would invariably get lost, get messy or damaged, or just be too annoying to keep organized. I switched to using apps, but I never built the muscle memory to keep it consistent, and opening a phone has never been good for my productivity.

Then I learned about the Rocketbook Core reusable smart notebook. I tried it out, and now it has replaced all my productivity apps and my paper notebooks—and the best part is, it's super affordable, only costing me around $24.

The Rocketbook looks like a paper notebook at a glance, but its pages aren't paper, but a material that functions a little bit like a whiteboard: You can write on it using the included stylus, then wipe the ink away with a damp cloth. Unlike a whiteboard, your hands won't get smudged with ink, and it won't smear across the pages themselves either (unless you're writing too 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.

A reusable notebook is kind of neat, but the real draw is the integration with the free Rocketbook app, which 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 make folders or bookmarks within the Rocketbook app, so you can send your scanned notes to that specific category.

Say you make one of the seven smart tags on the bottom of the page "Biology." Every time you scan an image and circle that tag (or write it on the "tag" box on the bottom right), it will go to that folder. You can then choose to upload these files to other apps, such as Google Drive, Slack, Dropbox, or OneNote. This video provides a detailed explanation of how the smart tags work:

Once you use up the pen that comes with the notebook, you can replace it with another, provided you buy the right kind of erasable ones. A regular pen will not work. Because I like being organized and and also easily misplace things (like the special erasable pen I need for my special notebook), I added this pen holder, which also keeps the notebook closed when not in use.

If you want to depend less on your phone while also reducing the amount of notebooks littered around your house—and you don't have the big bucks to buy a Supernote or reMarkable—the Rocketbook might be a great option for you. It has been revolutionary for me.