The Only Notebook You’ll Ever Need

Everyone loves little notebooks, right? I know I’m not alone. I feel like I have a little pile of notebooks everywhere I go, whether it’s at home or at work. Some of my notebooks are journals, so of course I plan on keeping those around. But some of the notebooks are just full of to-do lists, groceries, meal planning notes, client billing when I’m too lazy to open the billing software, etc. A lot of this stuff does not need to be forever memorialized but should you throw out all of the confirmation numbers from that trip you canceled and you’re PRETTY sure you got refunds for? This is the type of thing I’m always worried about. Enter the Rocketbook.

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What is a Rocketbook?

The Rocketbook is a cloud-connected smart notebook that looks and feels like a regular notebook but WIPES CLEAN – brilliant. You can connect your free Rocketbook app (iOS and Android) to a ton of different cloud services like Google drive, Dropbox, Evernote, box, OneNote, Slack, iCloud, email and more. You are not limited to just one of these services – for example, I have mine connected to my email, box for work-related notes, and Evernote for personal notes.

How does it work?

The Rocketbook is super user-friendly because it has no technology within the actual notebook – it’s just a notebook with special paper and special (erasable!) pens. The “techy” part is really the way the notebook interacts with the app to save your notes.

1. Write: Using your Pilot Frixion Pen (one or two come with your Rocketbook, but there are lots of other pens, markers, and highlighters available, all of which are reasonably priced), write whatever you want in your Rocketbook
2. Wait: Wait a few seconds for your notes to dry. The pages work kind of like a dry-erase board, but once the ink has dried, it won’t smear or rub off
3. Save: If you want to save your notes to a cloud-based service before erasing them, there are a few extra steps which are pretty simple:
4. Download: Get the Rocketbook app on your phone and set up your account, including any destinations you may want to send your notes
5. Scan: Use the app to take a picture of the notes and follow the instructions on screen to get them sent to the right place
6. Erase: Erase (with a damp cloth or the eraser on the back of your pen) when you don’t need the notes anymore

Once you do this a couple of times, you’ll see it’s super simple. Honestly, even without the option to save your notes, the fact that the notebook is lightweight and wipes clean would be worth the price ($32 for the Letter size, $24 for the Executive size, and $16 for the Mini). The fact that you can also save your notes without wasting paper makes the Rocketbook that much more awesome.

Why I love my Rocketbook

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1. It FEELS like a real notebook. I’ve never been a fan of typing notes. I’ve always felt I retained information better handwriting (there are lots of studies besides my personal hunch that support this). I did 3 years of law school, a year-long master’s program, and 3 separate state bar exams all on paper even when most other students were lugging their laptops everywhere with them. I also prefer the feel of real paper to handwriting notes on a slippery iPad screen. The Rocketbook feels much more like real paper than anything else I’ve tried.
2. No decision paralysis. I don’t have to decide whether to throw the notes away or not. If I have any hesitation about getting rid of something I’ve written down, I just snap a picture with the app and that’s it – they’ll be there if I ever need them.
3. Searchable notes. The Rocketbook app transcribes my notes, so they’re searchable. It also transcribes the title, so it’s super easy to save them to a specific destination without having to type in a title. This is especially useful for client notes, but it’s come in handy for flight info, etc.
4. It keeps my kids off my back. If I’m ever stuck somewhere in line, in a waiting room, wherever, with my kids, I can always pull out my Rocketbook Mini and markers and let them draw to their hearts’ content. If they run out of pages, we just wipe it clean and start over.

Are you a notebook-hoarder like me? Or do you keep everything on your laptop or phone? Let me know which one you prefer – or if you do a little of both! I love to hear about ways other people organize their lives!