I Started Recording My Thoughts Instead of Scrolling... Well, I'm trying to...

How my Plaud Note Pin slowly helped me focus again.

May 16, 2026

Today is a little different compared to sharing my experiences with my e-ink devices (i.e. Xteink X4 and Kobo Libra Colour).

I want to explore more productivity workflows and gadgets that can help me with my day-to-day tasks.

So I hope you’ll enjoy this one!

There are things in my personal life that’s affecting my attention span lately.

Doom scrolling is back…

Back in Q4 2025, I was getting into habit tracking and daily journaling.

And it was doing great.

I even did a few videos about it too.

However, this Q1 2026, I slipped back into old habits and I need to do something about it.

Hence, I’ll be sharing what changed, what I’ve learned and how I plan to get back on track.

Let’s get into it.

Inspiration seeking turned endless Doomscrolling

December of 2025, I started my youtube channel where I share my experiences with interesting tech gadgets and how I use it in my life.

Watching videos on Youtube had tremendously inspired me to create my next videos.

However, I’ve got to be honest, it did lead me to endless doomscrolling as well.

Having the initial thoughts of “I’m doing this to get inspiration” but it turned into hours of endlessly scrolling through Instagram or Youtube.

I realized the way I approached content creation is a double edge sword.

Positive: It helped me brainstorm ideas for the youtube channel and Substack

Negative: It also leads to hours spent being unproductive, instead of doing the work

I realized I was capturing NOTHING

After scrolling endlessly for a couple of hours, I realized I was capturing no ideas at all.

Even if I saw a video that’s inspiring or read an article that gives me ideas - I’ll get distracted by the next video or the next story.

Ideas immediately wiped out my head and I got sucked into the black hole of social media.

Recording Thoughts Before They Disappear

One of the most important thing for me right now is capturing my thoughts and ideas.

Creating weekly videos and Substack articles can be time consuming, especially with a full-time job.

So as much as possible I want to capture these ideas - no matter how random it gets.

So the other day, I was cleaning my room and I found something that I forgot that I had.

My Plaud Note Pin.

I bought it last year when I was packed with different projects and meetings at work and I want something that could help me stay on track.

Not only does it helped me with work but also voice journaling or reflections.

Especially, when I don’t feel like writing on my journal - I would take this out and starts yapping. Lol.

Then AI will summarize this information into a digestible pointers.

I think this might help me again with content creation.

Advantages

The advantages of this little note pin based on my experience are…

It can capture my thoughts and ideas fast - I don’t have to take out my phone, go to my Voice App and starts recording.
Wearability and better accessibility - This device has different accessories like a necklace, wrist strap or simply pin it onto your shirt. It’s always available wherever you go.
Stand alone device for voice notes - Personally, I prefer a stand alone recording device where I can be focused with my thoughts with less distractions.
Better device if you’re feeling lazy to type or write - If I have a random idea while commuting or taking a walk or run, I could easily press the pin and starts talking. Frictionless.

Disadvantages

Now, the downside though…

It can get expensive - The subscription ($39.98/month - cheapest) is more expensive than my ChatGPT subscription!
Privacy concern - It can be an issue to some people, so its best not to share too much sensitive and personal information about your life.
Content hoarding - This is a huge one for me because the input is MORE than the output. So I have to be really intentional in using it.
AI can make you lazy - I’ve worked with AI before where I thought it can help me produce good quality content BUT NAAHHH. It was trash. Lol. So I simply use AI as an ASSISTANT ONLY.

Realization based on experience

One thing that I realized while using this was that, its less about using it for meetings at work but more on my own personal use…

I felt the usefulness of this device if I have the urge to do journaling or storing my ideas.

Yes, the note pin may looked a little gimmicky but if you’re more intentional with your use of it - then it won’t be a waste of money.

Honestly, overtime I was having doubts as to why I bought one - that’s why I stopped using it but now, I want to try it again.

Maybe it’ll work eventually?

What’s the workflow? How I will be using it?

Here is a quick workflow on how I will be using it. It might change overtime as I continuously use around with it.

Record my ideas or voice journaling with my Plaud Note Pin
Access Plaud app and copy the transcriptions
Paste it to ChatGPT where it will generate the appropriate template that I instructs it to do. (eg. Bullet points summary, To do list, Tags etc.)
Work within ChatGPT if I have other questions related to the voice notes
Paste it to Notion where I will review the ideas or notes

The reason why I’ve used ChatGPT is because I have a current subscription with it.

So I want to use it as much as possible.

Yes, it has extra steps but I think this is the best solution I could think of right now without paying even more expensive subscriptions.

Future Plans

In the future I want to have a seamless workflow whereby, the summary, to do lists and other information will flow down to my workspace - where I can review.

Currently, my workspace is Notion. This is where I list down my ideas and my to do lists as well.

I’m currently looking into Obsidian, different plugins and what it can do.

Hopefully, in the future I could work on a strong workflow that works best for me.

You know what I want as well? To be able to use ChatGPT with Plaud.

I don’t think integration with my current subscription with Plaud is going to happen but oh well, it’s just one of my wish list.

So what do you think about the Plaud? Do you think it’s a useful tool?

And if you have one or used it before, how do you use it?

Also, I’m curious what is your current workflow? What are you using?

Any recommendations and workflow suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Until then, I’ll catch on the next one.

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