‘One dedicated place for ideas’: why my paper tablet is a creative gamechanger

From client meetings to planting plans, garden designer Shaun Mooney relies on staying organised and creative every day. He explains why returning to handwriting has transformed the way he works – and thinks

Life as a garden designer means no day is the same. Although you might imagine I’m usually outside among the flowers, the reality is that I spend much of my time at a computer or hunched over a drawing table. Yes, most garden designers still draw by hand – at least for part of the process! But at least once a week, I am lucky enough to spend time outdoors, surveying gardens, meeting with clients and landscapers and, on a very good day, planting out a new design.

Running a garden design business means wearing lots of hats; you have to be your own marketing director, salesperson, aftercare department, accountant, and don’t forget the actual job of being a designer. There’s the creative side, which involves sketching and shortlisting planting ideas, and the day-to-day tasks such as writing down meeting notes and to-do lists. Often I’m on the go, too, working from trains or gardens, across laptops, my phone and my trusty notepad.

But this means carrying lots of bulky devices, all hungry for battery, and I sometimes forget where I wrote down meeting notes or a shortlist of ideas.

So when I got my hands on the reMarkable Paper Pure, I was immediately impressed. This intuitive paper tablet quickly became a tool I use every day, combining the immediacy of pen and paper with the convenience of digital organisation. It’s so lightweight, and fits perfectly into the laptop sleeve inside my small backpack. And amazingly, it lasts at least a week on one charge.

Initially, I was a bit unsure of what the reMarkable paper tablet actually does. I’d assumed it worked like a conventional tablet, with apps, email and a web browser, but there is none of that noise or distraction. It’s essentially a notepad and sketchbook in one, with the ability to turn handwriting into text or to export files as they are. I quickly found that I enjoyed returning to handwriting full-time, and the fact that the screen doesn’t produce any light of its own makes it so easy on the eyes.

One of the best things about the reMarkable paper tablet is my newly productive commutes. I can prepare for meetings with clients, review notes and sketch out ideas for discussion. There’s no pressure to work neatly – I can just talk to myself on the page and order my thoughts before formalising those ideas later, whether that’s rough sketches of a planting plan or the outline of a garden design. Ideas flow more freely without presentation templates or document formatting interrupting the process. And when I want to switch between brain dumping and sketching, I can do all of that on the same page.

• ‘Garden design is very visual, so being able to draw ideas out for clients in real time is invaluable’

Some ideas just work better as a sketch rather than words, and I love that I am able to do that without really even thinking about it. And don’t get me started on the physical satisfaction of the to-do list template, with little boxes that you can tick off with a swish of the pencil as you go.

Meeting with clients is where I really feel the reMarkable Paper Pure comes into its own. Garden design is obviously very visual, so being able to draw ideas out for clients in real time is invaluable. And unlike working on a laptop, there’s no barrier of a screen between me and them, or a piece of paper I can easily lose. The sketches can then be developed into official drawings and documents for the client after exporting them to my desktop.

Perhaps best of all, in an age when everything is competing for your attention, the ability to work distraction-free is genuinely a godsend. No notifications, no “urgent” emails and, joyously, no social media!

• ‘I know I can capture a thought before it disappears’

Running my own business has been a learning curve over the past few years, what with mastering the “juggling octopus” of client communication, supplier management and taxes – not to forget designing gardens. But by having a device where I can just work, distraction free, I’m able to do most of the “thinking” part of the job on the reMarkable paper tablet before I switch to my desktop.

My experience of using the reMarkable Paper Pure has been remarkably intuitive. I didn’t have to learn a new system or force it into my workflow; it simply slotted into the way I already think and work. In a job that demands constant switching between creativity, administration and client communication, having one dedicated place for ideas has brought a real sense of calm.

Whether I’m in the studio, on a train or walking around a garden, I know I can capture a thought before it disappears. Sometimes, the best piece of tech isn’t the one that helps you do more – it’s the one that helps you think better.

Made for Thinking
Find out more about replacing your notes and printed documents with a digital notebook that feels like paper at remarkable.com