Notepad and Pen Versus iPad

We live in an age where we are surrounded by highly exciting, multifunctional and fantastic hardware. Devices like the iPhone and iPad have genuinely managed to transform our lives by giving us the ability to contact our friends, access the largest information archive known to man, watch films, play games and more. This is no doubt is a great thing, but it also means that sometimes we might also forget some of the more traditional items we have access to as well; we start looking for more complex solutions to potentially simple problems and we spend a lot of money and energy when it's not strictly necessary.

I discovered this myself recently when I rediscovered the humble notepad and pen. I have been using it to supplement the work I do on my tablet and PC and have found it to be a very quick resource that increased my productivity. And then when I really got to thinking about it, I realized it could do many of the things we use a tablet for. It doesn't have 'apps', but you can create these yourself using a pen and some imagination and it has the big advantage of being incredibly cheap, having true 'instant on' functionality, and being incredibly light to carry around.

Uses of a Notepad

So how can I claim that a notepad is at all like a smartphone or a tablet computer? Well here are just some of the things it can do:

Diary


You can use your notepad as either a diary or a calendar by drawing in some lines and filling it out on a regular basis. Then just leave it open on that day.

Games Console


Okay so 'console' is a stretch but there are plenty of one and two player games you can accomplish with a notepad. They range from Sudoku, to noughts and crosses, to hangman, to Pictionary to maths problems (brain training).

Cash Book


You can easily keep a little tally of your spendings in a notepad to help you stick to a budget.

Notes


Why get your phone out and use the small on-screen keyboard to enter data when you can just as easily do the same thing with a pen and paper much more quickly?

Art Pad


If you are bored, use your notepad to doodle a sketch; it's much more instantly gratifying than trying to draw with some of the dodgy apps and your finger tips.

Of course there's also stuff you can't do with your pen and paper. For instance you can't send txt messages (though you can leave notes for people) and you can't browse the web (though you can make your own resource in the back). The humble notepad still has its place though, most certainly and can help you save money perhaps on yet *another* device. And furthermore, it will help you to be much more productive and effective if you can combine it with your tech in order to get the best of both worlds at once.
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