Whenever I’m asked for academic advice, my go-to is to keep two notebooks: one for fast, scribbly in-class note-taking and one for rewriting, with annotations and highlighting and marginal comments. This is obviously simplified— the system is two notebooks per class (though technically, one class usually is half a notebook for me). I started doing this freshman year of college and from a purely academic standpoint, it’s only benefited me.
My only two complaints are that (1) it’s quite time-consuming (it’s worth noting that the act of rewriting helps you memorize concepts, so I do find that it reduces my overall studying time) and (2) it requires significant paper use.
Credit: Stuff.tv
Enter the Rocketbook Everlast. It’s a smart notebook, with wipeable pages and an app that pairs with it so you can scan your notes and have them automatically go to different locations. I’m a big Google Drive user, for example, so all my notes go to different folders in my Drive.
I started using this notebook when the semester started, and I’ve found that the 32 pages are perfect for me and the number of notes I take in the average week. I write in it for all my classes, scanning as I go along, rewrite them in a traditional notebook whenever I have the time, and then use a wet washcloth to clear my whole notebook on Sunday nights.
Credit: Carina Wang
It’s been amazingly convenient for me, in so many different ways. The notebook, for example, only works with Pilot Frixion pens. It was a little hard to get used to at first (I was just so accustomed to my Muji pens) but the erasable aspect comes in so handy. Additionally, I’ve loved having my notes in two different places.
I don’t think I could ever go all-digital, but one of the cons of studying with paper and pen is the sheer amount of stuff you have to carry in your backpack (and tbh, I think I already have horrible posture). I’ve found it so helpful to be able to access all my notes when I only have my iPhone or laptop with me— it makes on-the-go studying a possibility in a semester where it’s becoming my necessity.
Credit: Pen Store
The only things to watch out for, in my opinion, are smudging the ink (be patient and wait a few seconds, unlike me) and color options. Pilot Frixion makes colored pens and highlighters, but the Rocketbook only comes with one black pen, so be mindful of that.
All in all, though, I would absolutely recommend this notebook. It’s convenient, sustainable, and incredibly user-friendly. For those who prefer studying off of typed notes, the app also has a feature for OCRs (handwriting recognition), that can turn your scanned handwritten notes into typed documents.
As the semester continues, I anticipate that my Rocketbook will be as useful to me as my laptop (big claims, I know, but that is how much I believe in this notebook). You can read more about it and the other notebooks in the Rocketbook line here.
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