Top 5 reasons that digital planners are the BEST planners

When I first stumbled upon digital planners I was a bit skeptical. I had tried planning with google calendar and other digital forms of planning only to find out that I really just preferred planning out my week with pen (or pencil) and paper. (Click on the following link to see the benefits of actually writing things out. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/202103/4-reasons-writing-things-down-paper-still-reigns-supreme)

I loved paper planners, but I had reservations about them. I started lots of planners, only to find that a month or two in, I was frustrated with their predetermined boxes, purposes for said boxes, and number of pages telling me how to plan my life. I craved more simplicity, more flexibility, and often just reverted back to a good old blank sheet of paper in a lined or graph paper notebook. 

They are affordable.

I purchased my first digital planner in 2019. I had an entry level iPad that I had purchased somewhat on a whim thinking it would be useful only to find that it was just another device that I used occasionally for entertaining my kids. I can’t even remember what YouTube video or website tipped me off to digital planners, but with my background in graphic design, an apple pencil that I had purchased to experiment with in procreate, and an iPad in hand, I realized I had everything I needed to see what they were all about. 

I purchased a digital planner from etsy for around $20, downloaded notability and good notes to figure out which platform was easier, and started watching YouTube tutorials to teach me the ins and outs of getting the most out of my new digital planner.

They are versatile.

I found the process of using the apple pen a little clumsy at first. I struggled to get used to my handwriting, but appreciated the convenience of being able to have so many tools at my fingertips with only the apple pen and iPad. I loooved that I could choose my pen color, tip, thickness as well as have a wide variety of other tools at my disposal such as the highlighter, eraser, the lasso selector tool, and the ability to add and take away pages as I pleased. 

They sync between devices.

I kept my experiments simple, but knew that the options that were offered in these apps were powerful, and I really just enjoyed the process of being able to write out my plans, as well as erase, edit, and rearrange them so easily! The fact that it synced between my devices meaning all my to-dos, grocery lists, and notes were at my fingertips at all times without having pack around an actual paper planner was slightly intoxicating.

They save you from paper clutter!

Over time I got a paper-like screen protector to help my handwriting be a little neater, and it wasn’t long before I realized I NEEDED to create my own digital planner. That’s when things got a little out of control and I realized my love for all things digital planning and note keeping ran deep.

It felt a little daunting at first. I didn’t find many tutorials and the learning curve felt a little steep, but I was determined and before long I had designed my own planner, health & fitness tracker, budget tracker, and meal planner. I had successfully transitioned from purchasing a beautiful new paper planner every 6-12 months (only to transition to a random old notebook one of my kids had tossed aside after having only used 15% of it in school the previous year) to having my very own digital planner that was beautiful, functional and worked in a way that I felt was superior to my previous planning methods in nearly every way.

They add peace and calm to your life. 

Planning has always been a mindfulness practice for me. I love taking all of the jumbled to-do lists that are bouncing around in my head and organizing them thoughtfully in categories and trying to figure out practical timelines in which they can be accomplished.

I found more simplicity in my planning as well as more effortlessness and forgiveness for my often less than realistic timelines as I was simply able to erase the things I had accomplished, and move the things I had yet to get to with my lasso tool, and moving the things I had not gotten to, to a new day. My perfectionism also loved the ability to simply re-position, re-center, and resize everything I had written to my liking.

There are so many affordable options, so many great tutorials to help you get started, and digital planning has helped save me so much time, money, and has really helped me be more purposeful and peaceful in my planning efforts, as well as my ability to carry out my plans! So tell me, have you been converted to digital planning yet? If not, what’s stopping you from trying?