Phablet or smaller phone + tablet?

[Pandorium]

Hello everyone,
with the density of android-users higher than anywhere else, this is probably the best forum to help me with my decision I'm currently debating about:
Should I get a phablet or buy a smaller phone + tablet?

A little backstory:
Currently I use a Note 1. It has it advantages, but currently I'm a bit unsatisfied with it, because

• when installing about 5-10 apps the Samsung Note 1 becomes so sluggish, that everything has about a 1-2 second delay, which is hello of annoying
• while it fits in the pocket, something smaller would be less distracting
• the battery doesn't even last a whole day, constantly plugging in the cable for loading is a nuisance

What do I use my current Note 1 for when I'm on the road?

• to-do lists / shopping lists(40%)
• What's App and SMS (30%, only about 2-3 messages daily)
• checking mails (20%)
• occasionally googling something (10%)

As you can see, I do not use the Note 1 for Facebook, Games or Videos at all.
For reading Ebooks I own a Kindle Paperwhite which I really like .

As I'm currently enrolled in a university scribbling notes on pdf documents would be a really nice, so I do not have to print them all out.
However, I do find the Note 1 to be too small to comfortably view and take note on pdfs.
While I did read some pdfs on my Note 1, I think it's screen is a bit too small to comfortably read illustration-heavy pdfs.

So I'm currently thinking of selling the Note 1 and buying:

• a smartphone, that is as small as possible + can be charged wirelessly via Qi
• the cheapest tablet in the 7-8 inch range for viewing and editing pdfs + browsing the web

I'm sure a lot of users here have faced a similar decision.
How did you solve this problem?

Is the compromise of a Note just better?
Or do you still prefer a smaller phone and tablet?

 

[Haalcyon]

Well. If a Note 3 is in your budget it's a sure winner. That said, something like a Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 would be actually less expensive while giving you two different form factors. However, if you're a S-Pen you could go with an S4 and a Note 8 but that'd be more expensive than a Note 3 me thinkz.