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Digital notebooks is a category that still divides opinion. For those who use them, they couldn't be without them. For those that don't, the idea of using an electronic device to re-create the experience of writing on paper only brings up one question—why not just use actual paper?
Well, there are a few compelling reasons. For one thing, digital tablets generally offer some kind of syncing, meaning you can write something down on your digital tablet and then easily pull it up later on your computer or phone. And then there's handwriting recognition, which allows you to turn your written notes into text you can copy into digital documents. All of these are compelling features, which we pointed out while reviewing the reMarkable 2 Tablet and its color upgrade reMarkable Paper Pro.
But there’s another, perhaps underappreciated, reason: the ability to use any kind of paper you want without having to keep that paper in stock. Want lined paper? Sure thing. Need graphing paper for some math problems? You've got that too, along with dotted paper and even blank sheets if that's your thing.
Which brings me back to reMarkable. My main problem with its devices has been that it really doesn't offer that many kinds of digital paper. Search the internet for “reMarkable templates” and you'll find all sorts of third parties trying to fill this niche, some free and some for a fee. Most of these are PDF files, while some require you to jailbreak your device to add them as templates. I've used some of these workarounds, and their existence points to how many people are looking for more kinds of paper out of their reMarkable tablet.
Thankfully, it seems someone at reMarkable is paying attention. Recently the company launched reMarkable Methods, which is now part of the reMarkable Connect subscription. This offers a collection of both templates for reMarkable notebooks and purpose-built PDF files. To get started you need only head to the website and browse.
The collection offers 14 PDF workbooks and 27 templates, all of which you can install to your device in just one click. Workbooks will show up in My Files while templates are offered when you create a new notebook—or switch templates in an existing notebook—under the new rM Methods section.
The templates offer much nicer day and week planners than those that came included, as well as dedicated templates for keeping track of tasks. There's one for the Eisenhower method, for example, allowing you to sort tasks based on their relative urgency and importance. There's also a simple kanban template, allowing you to sort tasks in columns. And there are multiple templates for taking notes, all with a different methodology in mind.
The PDF workbooks are more like the purpose-built journals or planners you can buy and vary from full calendars to an official Bullet Journal built by the team at BulletJournal.com.
The new calendar template is a good example of how this format can work. It includes a yearly calendar overview and focused pages that split this down by month, week, and day, with handy links on each page that make it easy to jump between views. This means it is easy to open this week's calendar, jot down your priorities, then tap the current day so you can fill in hourly details on a timeline.
These templates and notebooks aren't going to be useful for everyone, and it’s unlikely to make anyone on the fence about these kinds of devices finally go out and buy one. But if you’ve already got a reMarkable tablet (and the required reMarkable Connect subscription), they’re a nice addition worth checking out that will make your device even better.
