How I use my iPad mini in 2024
My 2 month review…
As a long-time Apple user, I have always fancied owning an iPad, however I never had a real need (or the money) for one. That is until I decided that I need to organise my life and taking notes on my iPhone only gets me so far.
As someone who hates writing, I used to avoid taking notes whenever I could. This only goes so far as you get older and have a lot of work, tasks and commitments before you start forgetting stuff. Keeping that in mind, I decided to give myself an early Christmas present and invest in an iPad mini 6. I have been using this device for a little over 2 months now and absolutely love it. Some of the things I do with my iPad are:
Note taking
Note taking is something I increasingly do at work as it helps me better understand what I am working on or visualize certain concepts. One of my biggest turn-offs with doing this on pen and paper is that you sometimes figure out certain things later in your thought process, but you cannot go back to write it in between something you have already written down. This problem is solved in most note taking apps where you can add blank spaces in between already written content.
I used to use Notion quite a bit in the past, but am disappointed with how poorly it works with the Apple pencil. As a result, I currently use Apple notes, and have to admit that it is a great app for taking notes.
Planning
A new practice that I have started is planning my week every Sunday and reviewing it on Saturdays. This helps me stay disciplined, get things done which I would otherwise put off, plan weekly meals & grocery shopping.
Reading
Growing up, I would lose books to flooding every year. Naturally, I gravitated to ebooks as they are easy to find, you can read them on the go, and don’t have to worry about running out of space. Apps like Kindle have a great offering, unfortunately it doesn’t work too well when you move to different locations and switch countries, so I currently cannot buy any eBooks.
However, I have an active subscription to the O’Reilly Learning platform thanks to my employer, do a bit of reading there. Other than that, I use my iPad for reading articles and news on Medium and other apps.
Writing
Another motivation for getting an iPad was my with to start writing again as a creative outlet, and while I can do that on my laptop, it is a whole other experience writing with the Apple Pencil. In fact, this article is written on my iPad with an Apple pencil.
YouTube & Sudoku
I’d be lying if I said that I don’t use my iPad for recreational purposes. Although I am not big on gaming, I do enjoy playing sudoku quite a bit, and enjoy watching the occasional YouTube videos or just have a podcast running next to my laptop while I work.
Conclusion
My iPad has helped me create a workflow that works well for me, and the versatility of this device makes it an absolute pleasure to work with.
If you are on the fence about whether you should get one, I would highly recommend it, even with the 2024 update being underwhelming.
