More and more people are making the move from paper planner to digital planner and for good reason. There are many people for whom paper planners will always reign supreme, but for each one of them, there are a dozen others who love the freedom and flexibility digital planners can offer.
If you’ve considered a switch from your paper planner to a shiny new digital one, you may be wondering how to make the move. In this post we sum up the benefits of digital planners and offer five simple steps for a seamless paper to digital planner switch.
Paper vs Digital Planner
Paper planners suit some people, there’s no doubt about it. If you’re a tactile person, or someone who likes to avoid too much screen time, then a good paper planner could be your best option for an organized life.
Some people even choose a mixed paper/digital approach - keeping their paper planner at home for personal notes, appointments, and budgeting, and having a digital planner ‘on the go’ with them for a lightweight organizer that’s easily accessible and effective.
If you’re on the fence about your paper planner, or don’t want to balance both a paper and digital planner, then making the move from paper planner to digital planner may be the right course of action for you.
Why Make the Move From Paper Planner to Digital Planner?
Before we take a look at the best way to switch to a digital planner, here’s the ultimate paper vs digital planner showdown, showing why so many people are switching to digital planners:
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A Digital Planner is Always With You
Some paper planners are seriously hefty! You might have every intention to carry that bad boy around with you, but it’s not always the most practical solution! By contrast, a digital planner is only as heavy as the number of bytes it uses - in other words, it’s light as a feather! A digital planner like the BOSS personal planner simply hitch hikes along on your tablet - sliding into your bag or briefcase as if it wasn’t even there.
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Rearranging and Repeating Tasks is Easy
Going to Yoga every Thursday at 6.30pm? With a paper diary, scheduling repeating tasks can be tedious. And what if Yoga suddenly moves to Mondays at 7pm? You’re either going to have a lot of scribbling to do, or you’ll wear out the eraser on your pencil. With a digital planner, repeating tasks can be scheduled in the blink of an eye, and rearranging an entire series of appointments is as simple as a click or drag.
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The Search Function is Your Best Friend
You promised to have coffee with someone in your network, but who? When? And where?! If you’re anything like me, finding a specific meeting in a paper planner groaning at the seams with appointments requires an excessive amount of page leafing! The search function on a digital planner is the savior of the overly-committed. Just type in ‘coffee with...’ and figure out who it is that you’re meeting!
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Digital Planners are Reusable
Paper planners are beautiful, tactile pieces of art. But they’re also one-trick ponies. At the end of the year, that planner you poured your heart and soul into is going to retire and you’ll need to buy and start a whole new one. If you’d rather save that $50-$100 every year, a digital planner may be for you.
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Less Paper, Less Waste
While you’re saving money, spare a thought for the environment. Going digital means saving a few trees over your lifetime. Plan for the next generation while you are planning your week!
5 Steps for a Seamless Paper-to-Digital Planner Switch
So here’s your to-do list to make the move from paper planner to digital planner. It’s easier than you think - it may be the emotional bond that’s harder to sever than the practical one!
1. Choose Your Digital Planner
First things first, you need to find the digital planner that’s right for you. Whether you’re in need of a comprehensive personal planner, a budget planner, a fitness planner, a teacher planner, or an academic planner, make sure you get one that has the range of features you need.
2. Download an App
Our digital planners are PDF planners with navigation links. They’re intended to be used with annotation apps such as GoodNotes, Notability, Notes Writer, Noteshelf, and Xodo. Choose one of these and download it to your tablet.
3. Know Your Planner
Open your BOSS digital planner in the annotation app of your choice and start exploring! Figure out how to use different pen colors and sizes, how to highlight, and how to select and move appointments. Get a feel for the way your planner works before you start to populate it!
4. Fill it Up!
Start copying content from your paper planner, or start afresh for the new year. Make sure to add in repeating tasks so you can check your availability well in advance. Spend a while filling up the different fields in your new digital planner and then stand back and admire your beautiful, digital, planning progress!
Break Up With your Paper Planner
It’s not goodbye, it’s just see you in the digital world! If you’re a nostalgic soul then store your old paper planners in your closet for a trip down memory lane when you next get around to cleaning it out.
Paper Planner to Digital Planner - The Big Switch
Will 2021 be the year you move from paper planner to digital planner? If you want to get a feel for digital before downloading a full planner, click on the ‘get sample’ button here and give it a go!