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You’ve heard it before. Do you prefer a paper planner or a digital planner? I always thought I was a paper planner kind of girl. I still am. I still love purchasing pretty stationery and putting pen to paper. However digital planners are growing in popularity.
I used to think of digital planning as using note apps such as todoist and OneNote. It’s no longer like that. You can literally purchase planners that look like a paper planner but they’re stored on your iPad/tablet. Even better, using the Apple Pencil with the iPad allows you to also write in your own handwriting on the digital planner. You wouldn’t know the difference!
Don’t get me wrong, I still love and use my paper planner for blog and business purposes but I prefer to use a digital planner day-to-day and here is five reasons why:
1. SYNC TO OTHER DEVICES
I currently use Goodnotes on the iPad for my digital planner and so it’s an absolute godsend that I can sync it to my iPhone. I used to hate carrying my paper planner around with me. One, carrying an A5 planner was just too heavy and took up too much space (personal planners don’t work for me) and two, I was petrified of losing it. Plus when I used to go on holiday or somewhere unexpectedly it meant leaving my planner behind or writing on scrap pieces of paper. Now everything is in one organised place and I can access it from multiple devices.
2. CHEAPER TO MAINTAIN
The one that always puts me off using paper planners is the money that it costs to maintain it. Let me tell you, planners are an EXPENSIVE hobby. I’d hate to even think about the amount of money I’ve spent on planners and stationery.
Digital stickers and washi are much cheaper and even better, they can re-used again and again. I wasn’t a huge fan of decorating my paper planner because I thought that it was too time-consuming and to be honest I just couldn’t afford to buy a new planner kit every month to decorate my pages. Now I have access to LOTS of stickers, sticky notes, washi tapes, etc. and they aren’t doing down any time soon!
It’s even encouraged me to start creating my own stickers as I don’t have to print them off and cut every week. No more time-wasting! Which brings me on to my next point…
3. NO MORE WAITING FOR THE MAIL MAN
There is nothing more annoying than ordering something and then having to wait up to a week for it to arrive. I want it NOW. That’s the beauty of digital planners and digital downloads in general. Make your payment, wait a couple of minutes for it go through and then PING – you brand new planner is waiting for you in your inbox.
I regularly buy digital add-ons for my planner on Etsy so it’s perfect that the country I purchase from is no longer an issue for me as I know it’ll literally be ready to use within minutes.
4. EASIER TO NAVIGATE
My absolute favourite thing about digital planners are the hyperlinked tabs. GENIUS.
I no longer have to flick through the pages to find the insert I want, I can just simply to click on the hyperlink and there I am. The digital planner that I’ve currently have has over 2000 hyperlinks and so it’s SUPER easy to navigate to each page.
If you’ve not yet purchased a digital planner then it is vital that you get one with hyperlinks. Imagine a planner with over 86 pages and you have a date you need to block out 4 months from now. It will be a nightmare flipping through each page until you hit the page you want. Trust me, hyperlinks are the way.
You can purchase hyperlinked digital planners in the Etsy shop here.
5. MADE A MISTAKE? NO PROBLEM
I’m massively clumsy. I’m constantly ripping out pages because I’ve made a mistake or I simply don’t like my handwriting. Sometimes I wasn’t even my handwriting that was the problem. My printer (and dog!) often liked to chew my paper meaning that I spent a lot of time re-printing and decorating my inserts. NIGHTMARE.
The tiny part of OCD in me cannot handle scribbles but that’s no longer an issue. Cancelled plans? Erase it. Made a mistake. Erase it. No more tearing out pages and starting again. YAY!
Are you paper or digital planner kind of girl? Let me know in the comments!
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I’m paper…but can u print out your digital?
Yes you can! Just print as normal 🙂
It just means that the print out will have the tabs down the side.
I love your cute blog design and blog colors! I am definitely a paper planner girl because I find that it is easier to grab my planner and jot down a new to do than to have to turn on my laptop. Plus I like adding stickers and drawing in my planner which just isn’t the same if you are using a digital one.
Thanks for the post. 🙂
Pixie | Productive Pixie
I’ve converted from paper to digital and it’s the best thing I ever did!!!
I was a hardcore paper planner until I bought my iPad Pro and discovered the Goodnotes app and digital planners. Now, I can’t see ever going back to paper planning.
I am debating. I love my paper planner and I love using my fountain pens with beautiful inks. That said the paper planners are expensive. I can’t find the one I love in France so I would have to do expensive shipping (really expensive). Plus, even with being a photographer and having tons of graphics, I don’t often get around to printing out things. 2 things are holding me back. 1. I have the 2019 iPad Air not the large iPad pro. I wish the digital spread was larger on screen. 2. There is something special about real paper and inks. Especially for posterity. In my 30 years using a computer, I’ve seen so many platforms and software disappear! I just bought GoodNotes so I’m going to dabble to see how I like it. There are a lot of enticing possibilities.