My meeting notes used to live in three places. There was a notebook in my bag, a PDF I had marked up on my laptop, and a loose page with an idea from the train. When a client asked a follow-up question, I spent more time looking for my notes than using them.
I didn’t want another tablet. I already have enough screens pinging me, and a stylus alone doesn’t make notes easier to find. So I moved my client work to the reMarkable Paper Pro to see if a paper tablet could fix the mess.
Here’s how I use it, the system that keeps my notes easy to find, and where my laptop still wins.
Writing without the distractions
There’s nothing else to open. No inbox, no notifications. I open a notebook and start writing, and that alone keeps me in the meeting instead of half in my email.
The 11.8 inch screen fits a full page of meeting notes or a rough mind map. The textured glass gives the pen a bit of grip, closer to paper than a glossy tablet. If you want the details, reMarkable explains how it developed the writing surface, color display and reading light.
Marking up documents in color
Before a client meeting I go through the brief one more time. On the Paper Pro I open the PDF and write straight on the page, the same way I would on a printout.
I keep the colors simple. Red is for questions I need to ask, yellow for anything already decided, blue for notes about the audience and green for what happens next. Five minutes before the call, I only have to scan for red.
Before you switch, check the writing tools and supported document features to make sure they work with the files you use every day.
How I organize my notes so I can find them again
Folders and tags only help if you use them the same way every time. This is the setup I settled on:
- One folder per client. Every notebook and PDF for that client lives there, so the brief and my meeting notes sit side by side.
- A few tags that work across clients. I use “action items”, “questions next call”, “decision” and “follow up friday”. On a busy week I tap “action items” and see every open task, whichever client it belongs to.
- Two minutes after every meeting. Before I close the notebook, I tag the page. If I skip this, the system stops working.
When part of a page needs to become an editable document, I use handwriting conversion instead of retyping it.
Reading in a dim room
I don’t always work at a bright desk. The adjustable reading light helps in a dark meeting room or when I read in the evening. reMarkable has a guide to adjusting the light if you want to set it up.
What it doesn’t replace
I still open my laptop for anything that happens in a browser, like shared docs, analytics and email. The Paper Pro is for thinking, reading and writing, and it doesn’t pretend to be more. If you rarely look back at your notes, a good paper notebook will probably do.
Is it right for you?
Ask yourself a few questions. Do you like writing by hand? Do you mark up documents or go back to your notes often? Would a screen with fewer distractions help you focus? If you said yes, the Paper Pro is worth a look.
For me, the point was never to write more notes. It was to find them when a client calls. Shop reMarkable Paper Pro and pick the setup that works for you.