A digital planner is a PDF file with hyperlinks and tabs that allow you to jump quickly to a particular page. You can write on the digital planner with a stylus and decorate it with digital stic.

To get started with digital planning you’ll need the following:

• a tablet with a stylus pen (e.g. iPad & apple pencil, or Samsung tablet & S pen)
• a PDF annotation app (my favorites apps are Goodnotes for iPad, and Penly for Android)
• a digital planner

I recommend the following accessories:
– A paper feel matte screen protector for iPad users. It makes the writing experience much better in my opinion.
– A silicone case for your Apple pencil or stylus pen. The extra grip helps with handwriting.
– A bluetooth keyboard if you want to type in your digital planner. I personally do a mix of handwriting and typing.
– An iPad/tablet stand. This is particularly useful for propping up your screen if you are typing on an external keyboard.

To use a digital planner, you will need a separate PDF annotation app.

My favorite app on the iPad is Goodnotes. On the iPad other apps include Notability and Noteful.

My favorite Android app is Penly. You can create custom hyperlinks and batch import stickers, and there’s even some undated digital planners included within the app so there is no need to purchase a separate digital planner.

A digital daily planner is a digital planner with daily pages and is ideal for planning out your day-to-day activities. Depending on your needs, you can plan your daily schedule, top priorities, to do list, meal planning and water intake etc. There’s also space for taking notes and journaling.

A digital calendar planner is a digital planner with calendar pages. Most digital planners include monthly calendar pages but can also include weekly and daily pages that are hyperlinked to the monthly view. Digital calendar planners usually run from January to December but can also be for an academic year, or even spanning over multiple years.

For beginners I recommend using a dated digital planner – this means that the dates are pre-populated for you and the planner is ready to use. But the downside is that you will have to repurchase a new digital planner in the following year.

If you want to reuse your planner, undated digital planners allow you to write in the dates yourself, if you don’t mind spending some time to get it set up initially.

I have used both digital and paper planners and here’s how I see the pros and cons of each of them.

Pros of paper planners:

• Easier and cheaper to get started. No need to buy a tablet and learn how to use an app.
• The feel of a physical planner
• Writing on actual paper

Cons of paper planners:

Hard to undo mistakes or change what you’ve written.

• Less flexibility. It’s not easy to customize layouts if you want to use something different.
• Having to print out images and photos.
• Harder to navigate and find a particular page.
• Buying pen and other stationery supplies.
• Takes up physical space.

Pros of digital planning:

• Paperless
• Easy to undo mistakes and move things around
• Easy navigation using hyperlinks
• Digital stickers can be reused again and again
• Easy to add digital photos and images
• Duplicate any page as many times as you need
• Customize your planner with digital inserts and widgets
• You can keep multiple planners on one device
• Some apps allow you to access your planner on multiple devices like on a phone

Cons of digital planning

• Have to buy an iPad/tablet and accessories if you don’t already own them
• Have to learn how to use an app
• Writing on the screen vs on paper
• Your device can run out of battery

A digital planner has hyperlinks and tabs that allow you to jump quickly to a particular page. Look for digital planners with hyperlinks to each daily/weekly page for the easiest navigation. To go to a particular page, simply tap on the hyperlink.

Goodnotes app does not come with digital planners. To use a digital planner in Goodnotes, you have to import the planner file into the app separately.

To get a digital planner on Goodnotes, you can tap on the Share icon and share the file to Goodnotes app. Watch the video here for a detailed step by step tutorial.

I love digital planning on my Samsung tablet with the S pen and Penly app. Penly app allows you to create custom hyperlinks and batch import stickers, and there’s even some undated digital planners included within the app so there is no need to purchase a separate digital planner.

Another popular choice is the Mi Pad and smart pen.

On Android you can also use OneNote app which is great for syncing across multiple platforms, however the downside is that OneNote planners work slightly differently to PDF planners and I personally don’t find them as user friendly.

OneNote app can be used for digital planning but it doesn’t come with any digital planners, so you will need to import a OneNote planner into the app. OneNote is great for syncing across multiple platforms however the app isn’t made for digital planning and I personally don’t find it as easy to use as other apps.

I have used both digital and paper planners and here’s how I see the pros and cons of each of them.