Rocketbook & Obsidian

I want to talk about how I use Rocketbook and Obsidian and then we can talk about my thoughts on the process. This is a TLDR version so if you want some specific details or want me to write about a specific workflow let me know.

Backstory

Some years ago I bough a Rocketbook notebook and thought I would use it for notes at work and when studying. I ended up hating it and going back to using traditional notebooks for classes and moleskin like notebooks for daily and work things.

So why did you go back?

Valid question. I've been super into using obsidian and I've realized that I now really hate re-typing my notes, or I just straight up forget. That lead me to finding a better solution. I don't use Obsidian sync so my ipad was swiftly not an option.

Side Note: Obsidian on ipad was really bad. I want them to allow dropbox sync atleast. I had to make a whole different vault, then just got in my feels about all the moving parts, and said screw it. No laptop, no digital notes.

Anyway...Rocketbook is the only other product I know that can digitize my writing. Their app makes a pdf of your page/pages, and then it can send it to dropbox (dropbox is clearly very important here).

Final Thoughts

I'll be honest, I still don't really like Rocketbook. The pages could easily rip out and the initial pen is trash (I bought a pack of amazon that is more fitting). I'm also a little scared that one day I'll still have streaks on my pages from writing so much on ~30-40 pages.

That being said this is just the solution I was looking for. I've been taking notes on youtube videos, security+ CE, and quick in person classes. Now instead of thinking "when am I going to type this up", I just open the app and take a picture.

Now the real Obsidian con is that I can't tag pdfs but I'm ok with that. Just having them in the right folder is all that matters. I guess my mind map doesn't have to show all the connections as long as I have my folders organized by subject.

"In Conclusion"(lols), I think Rocketbook really shines in the student/learner capacity. I don't think you should use it for much else (the panda planner version might be cool). With Obsidian being a learning tool, and me having everything all organized (mostly) I've been able to keep a smooth learning to documentation/archive workflow.