As a millennial who grew up without much technology, I look around and today everything is digital. For the most part, the digital tools in my life MAKE IT EASIER. I’m able to be more productive. I’m a better communicator. I feel like a successful adult when accomplishing simple tasks like banking, bill payments, and controlling the lights in my house.
In today’s world it is actually hard to live an analog life and still DO. ALL. THE. THINGS.
Digital planning includes the of apps or tools, like a digital planner, to help you plan, organize, and manage everything you’ve got going on. It sounds like it’s supposed to do everything short of saving my life—but is the switch from paper-based planning worth it?
The use of digital planning apps and tools seems to offer several advantages over traditional paper planning. I am a massive planner-nerd and I love the feeling of getting that new yearly planner in October every year. I then spend some “me-time” setting up my BIG Happy Planner for success as soon as the new year starts.
I use a paper planner exclusively—I need one that covers my travel for work, deadlines, my home and vet appointments, my yearly goals, birthdays…EVERYTHING.
But every year, after I spend all the time copying the important dates and upcoming appointments into my new paper planner, I have to take apart the previous year’s planner. And then I get so upset that I can’t Recycle or Compost (two key components to reducing your waste) the pretty paper with the plastic labels, the colorful ink, and the sticker/glitter details on every page. And with traveling for work, I needed a planner that ALWAYS fit into my bag. I went on the hunt for an alternative to my paper planner habit.
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Alternatives to Paper: Digital Planning
There are many digital tools available that are great alternatives to paper planning. These tools help keep track of all the things we’ve got going on in our lives, from simple apps with reminders to comprehensive project management platforms to everything in between. Here are some of the current most popular digital planning tools that allow you to stay organized and on-track:
1. To-Do List Apps
To-do list apps are perfect for a quick and easy way to keep track of your tasks. These apps typically allow you to set up due dates, priority levels, and reminders.
The reminders app on your iPhone is an example of this type of app: simple, easy check list of priority tasks that can be organized by due dates or priorities. The Boyfriend and I use this to set up recurring reminders for things like when the kitty litter should be changed, or changing the filters in our Brita water bottles.
2. Calendar Apps
Calendar apps are great for scheduling and managing appointments, meetings, and events. The apps allow you to view your schedule by day, week, or month, and you can set reminders and notifications.
To be honest, I’m not very good at using the calendar app on my phone. We’ve recently switched to trying to use it more now that one of us works outside the house.
If I schedule a meeting that I need to block off time for him too, I schedule it in our joint calendar so we both get notifications. I regularly update my personal calendar to share my flight numbers and location of my work trips so she has more peace-of-mind when I travel for work.
I can see the usefulness of a digital calendar, but I can’t see it all once, I can’t flip back and forth between pages for planning, and I still have so much to learn in order to utilize this type of planning app effectively.
3. Project Management Tools
Project management tools work well for complex projects (or households!) that require collaboration and teamwork. These tools offer features such as task assignment, progress tracking, due dates, and communication amongst teammates.
One common project management tool would be Trello, or something similar with the use of kanban boards. I use Trello to keep track of a lot of the digital-only items in my life–like everything I do related to my online business.
I have Reference Boards for Naked Sustainability Logos and Social Media platform links, and boards for planning out my blog post content for the rest of the year with all the tasks for each post automatically built right in.
The Boyfriend and I just learned about an open-source, locally-hosted project management tool that we are getting up and running for all the things going on in our lives. We have boards for Home Project Planning (a running list of all the future projects we WANT to do), boards for Home Projects (those that are actively in the works, like getting Solar Panels installed!), and boards for our long-term reminders (like seeds that need planted by which date).
We’re still in the early phases of implementing this tool in our lives, but hopefully I have an update on the usability soon.
4. Digital Bullet Journal Apps
Digital bullet journals allow the user to create personalized templates to organize their tasks, thoughts, and goals. These apps come with a range of features such as mood trackers, habit trackers, and goal setting tools.
I haven’t personally used an app of this kind, but I imagine it might be useful for someone working towards building a better habit, like drinking 100oz of water daily, or something of that nature. I think the app Notion or One-Note would be something similar to this. The templates available for these options are fully customizable, and I’ve seen them with habit tracking checkboxes.
5. Digital Planners
A digital planner is ALMOST like a paper planner, in that you can annotate directly onto your calendar or page using a stylus, digital pen, or touch input. Typically these types of planners are PDFs that are uploaded to an annotation app like Goodnotes on a device such as an iPAD or tablet, phone, or computer.
In particular, a digital planner that allows you to annotate includes the ability to add handwritten notes or drawings directly onto the planner pages, allowing you to add personalized notes, to highlight important information, or doodle in the margins.
It is the perfect option for those of us who prefer to take handwritten notes for that pen and paper experience but want the benefits of digital organization and accessibility.
Benefits of Using a Digital Planner
1. Writing Things Down
One of the biggest benefits of using a digital planner is that you are still able to write everything down, an not just type it out on a computer or phone. Digital planners have all the mental benefits of handwritten notes, like reducing stress and anxiety.
My brain simply cannot handle the amount of information it must hold onto without writing EVERYTHING down. Once all the plans, thoughts (and doodles) are actively written down, I have more focus and am able to be much more productive. If I don’t write everything down, I proceed to subconsciously go through my list, in it’s entirety, almost constantly for fear that I will forget something that needs to be done or discussed with the Boyfriend. It causes too much anxiety and undue stress.
2. Reduce Paper Waste
By switching to a digital planner, the amount of paper waste you produce would be drastically reduced, especially if you buy a new planner every year (like I did!).
Paper has a major environmental impact at every step of it’s life: from deforestation to the production and manufacturing process to shipping the paper to a retailer, and ultimately how it is disposed of.
Pulp and paper are the 3rd largest industrial polluter of air, water, and soil; with paper production often being quoted as the third-most energy intensive of ALL manufacturing processes. Deforestation and Paper Production being a major contributor to addition of greenhouse gases in the world.
The production of paper involves several stages, including pulping, bleaching, and drying, among others. Chlorine-based bleaches are often used to create the white paper we have grown accustomed to in new planners and notebooks.
According to the United Nations Environmental Programme, global paper consumption has increased exponentially. In the United States alone, it’s estimated that around 68 million tons of paper and paperboard products are produced and discarded every year.
This accounted for over 20% of our landfill space. When left to decompose in a landfill, paper (along with all the other organic products) releases method, a potent and harmful greenhouse gas.
By reducing our use of paper products and opting for digital planners as replacements, we can help to reduce the amount of waste produced each year and protect the planet for future generations.
3. Decreased Carbon Footprint
In additional to reducing the energy required to produce the paper, you can decrease your carbon emissions by switching to a digital planner as well. With a digital planner, you reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions that are associated with shipping and transporting the paper and, eventually, the final paper planner to retails stores and/or you. Plus, you no longer have to physically buy pens, stickers, folder pockets, etc. for all of your planning needs. This reduces CO2 emissions and helps decrease your carbon footprint.
4. Save Energy
In addition to reducing the amount of physical resources used like paper, pens, and folders, a digital planner also saves energy. No electricity or power is required to manufacture, print, and transport physical planners. There is some electricity and power for the manufacture and transport of the digital device your planner will reside on, but it is a multi-purpose device, so it factors in a little less.
5. Endlessly Reusable and Customizable
Digital planners are reusable from year to year (especially if you have an undated one where you fill in the month/dates) and able to be customized. You can easily add additional note pages, pages for important dates like birthdays and anniversaries, and even goal-setting or budget tracking pages.
You can make changes and update your planner without wasting paper or generating additional waste. Cancelled appointment? No problem, you can just erase the time slot in your planner. Want to customize your planner? Super easy with the use of digital stickers. You copy and paste stickers wherever you want! No need to worry about running out of “Bill Pay” stickers ever again!
6. Easy Access and Portability
With digital planners, you can easily access your planner on the go, as long as you have the annotation app on the device you are trying to utilize (like your smartphone). This makes it easier to keep track of your schedule and reduces the need for multiple paper planners or notebooks.
I don’t have one planner to rule them all (YET), but I do have a version of my planner with me wherever I go for easily checking my upcoming schedule. I also have additional digital notebooks available for on-the-go notes or references when I’m away from my digital planner.
The best part is: my Digital Planner takes up LESS room in my work bag than my Happy Planner did! And I don’t have to worry about a page going missing or getting wrinkled.
Are Digital Planners worth the switch?
Overall, switching to a digital planner is a great way to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. You can save paper, reduce your carbon footprint, and enjoy the convenience of an easily accessible planner all at once. AND you can still get the brain benefits of writing everything by hand.
I have made the switch to a digital planner this year and am diving in to figure out exactly how useful it is! I’ll be sure to keep you posted!
What about you? Which digital planning tool do you love and use daily? Let me know in the comments below!
