The world was on the roadmap to make working from anywhere, even from home, normality. Technology for the next decade or so are poised to make this possibility more affordable, more efficient, and more practical.

Then the pandemic came and essentially forced decades of development into less than a year. The compression warped and mangled the concept. Some adapt, some buckle, but for the sake of the well being of everyone, it is essential. Perhaps someday it would become accepted too.

Now that most of us are working from home the role of that rectangular piece of glass in our pockets, bags, and most often in our hands, have changed. We rely on our smartphones more than ever before.

Our smartphones are content creation tools. This also means that it is an outlet for creativity. And creativity is the best way to stay sane and counter stress.

All smartphones are good enough for taking photos, and videos. Different apps ads effects and filters and more powerful phones can do more with editing. Doing vlogs and shooting portraits are just some of the ways the camera on your smartphone can be a tool for catharsis. On top of that, it is also a way to develop new skills, useful, and desirable skills in the current attention economy.

Because staying at home is the responsible thing to do, communication is vital. Our smartphones, believe it or not, are a powerful communication tool. Yes, they are more than just for doom scrolling and drowning ourselves in streams of digital media. One-way communication. They are the devices we turn to when we want to send a quick text, catch up over a call, and more importantly discuss over video. Two-way communication, which is healthier.

So, what if your smartphone can do even more? What if the device is more capable, more dependable, built for creativity and productivity, and hear me out, has a stylus?

Yes, it was the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 that got me thinking about all this. I’ve never even touched one, however, I’m still a pen and paper type of person and no finger input could beat the accuracy and practicality of a stylus like the S Pen.

So, Imagine, that your smartphone is now a digital notepad. A blank slate where you can also colour, draw, take notes, start a gratitude journal, do whatever a bullet journal is, or do whatever. Sure, most of these can be done by typing, but nothing beats that handwritten and drawn mood board.

And of course, you can do it on paper, but doing it on a Note 20, where you can start and stop anywhere and anytime, with all the tools at the tip of the stylus, and the freedom to express yourself with no cleanup, that is something else.

Also, don’t underestimate the power of taking notes. More specifically, handwritten notes. Even digital notes. We take notes not because we might forget later, but to remember it now. And it is a fact that you will retain information longer if you handwrite notes.

What makes taking notes with something like the Samsung Note 20 better is all the things that it can do and a pen and paper cannot. The ability to organise, format and search handwritten notes makes them infinitely more useful. There’s also Samsung AR Doodle if you’re feeling adventurous.

All this thinking about smart devices, our increased dependence to them during the pandemic, and how much more powerful they can be with a stylus remind me of something I have been saving up for. I’m waiting for it to arrive.