If you’re trying to decide if making the switch to digital planning is right for you, here is what ended up being quite an extensive pros and cons list of things to consider:
Types of digital planners
- Apps on phone e.g. Todoist
- Online tools like Trello
- Annotated PDF tools on an iPad with a stylus pen – Goodnotes, Zoomnotes, Xodo, Noteability, MetaMoJi
- Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers for Mac
Digital Planning Pros & Cons
I’ll be doing a comparison post of the various digital planning apps in the future but for now I’ll be referencing Goodnotes for most of these pros and cons as that seems to be the most popular digital planning app and it’s also the one I’m most familiar with.
Digital planner pros
- Easy to rearrange plans. You can use the lasso tool in Goodnotes to copy your tasks from one day, week or month to the next
- Can use any color (you’re not limited to pen colors and you don’t have to pay to use more / other colors). You can also change the color of your text after you’ve written it
- No need for a printer, printer ink or paper
- No need to do regular printer maintenance to keep the colors looking good
- Can reuse the same spreads over and over. You can either erase what you’ve written or if you have a lot of routine tasks, just copy the spread, delete the things that are no longer applicable and convert it to whatever week you’re using
- Don’t need to keep buying planner stickers, or printing & cutting your own, once you buy digital stickers once you can use them as many times as you like
- Can access your plans on your phone which you’ll be carrying with you anyway so you can leave your iPad or tablet at home
- You only need to purchase a digital planning app once and you’re good to go. The apps are usually less than $10 (sometimes free!) to purchase which is far less than a paper planner (or bullet journal notebook that’s likely only going to last 1 year). At the time of writing this post, Goodnotes costs only $8 USD
- Some apps like Goodnotes come with premade templates (although they’re basic e.g. lined paper) however you can purchase templates for digital planning (including from my shop!)
- Instant access to the planner app after you purchase / download – there’s no need to wait for it in the mail or go out to a store to purchase it
- Can import printable PDF files into Goodnotes (see this post for a tutorial)
- Can scan your physical planner stickers in, crop them and turn them into digital planner stickers
- Less likely to lose it – if you’re planning on an iPad you’re going to take more care to know where your iPad is since it’s expensive
- Buy the iPad once and keep planning for years
- Digital planner templates are cheap and it’s also cheap to make your own (my ecourse on how to make a digital planner will be available soon!)
- Can duplicate any hyperlinked page and all of the links (e.g. between tabs) will still work
- Never run out of paper – just copy a page and keep planning. You can do a 3 page, 4 page or more weekly spread (which most paper planners don’t have)
- Good for planning secret projects – no one will see what you’re planning unless you show them
- Can synchronise plans across multiple devices like your iPad and iPhone
- Can be neater – Goodnotes has a shape tool that can automatically keep a line straight, or add a perfectly proportioned circle or square
- Can resize design elements. Sometimes I won’t use a planner sticker because the size is too big or too small for the space I want to use it e.g. Erin Condren full box stickers can be used in other planners, but it won’t be a perfect fit. In Goodnotes, you can quickly resize
Digital planner cons
- Writing with an Apple Pencil is harder than a real pen. Similar shape but pencil is much heavier and it takes a bit of getting used to
- Can’t take pages out and lay them side by side like you could do with a discbound paper planner. You have to flick between tabs on the screen
- Have to switch between writing mode and read only mode. Read only mode must be selected to click hyperlinked tabs and navigate a digital planner or notebook
- Can type text if you don’t want to hand-write but it’s not the best function – I find it difficult to change text after typing it and for me it takes longer to type the text using my iPad’s on screen keyboard – it’s quicker for me to just write it
- Bad for you eyes to be looking at a screen all day
- If your battery dies you can’t access your planner unless you’ve synced it with your phone
- I typically use 7” wide x 9” high planner page size (what I’d call medium page size e.g. Plum Paper or Happy Planner Classic size). Most device’s screens are smaller
- More creative on paper – not restricted to only digital tools, stickers etc
- Buying an iPad or tablet for the sole purpose of digital planning is expensive
- In Goodnotes if you use the lasso tool and only want to move one sticker but to you have another close to it, it can accidentally select the sticker you don’t want to move
- Apps take up space on your device. More storage space = more expensive device
- Can’t see 2 open pages at once. There are some Goodnotes digital planners that look realistic (like an open notebook, see below screenshot) but the planning space for each page is about the same size as my hand. I find it difficult to write in a cramped space without zooming in on the iPad screen, writing on the screen and then zooming back out. The problem with that, is that it takes much longer to plan
- Some digital planning apps have limitations / you may not be able to do exactly what you want like you do with the freedom of planning on paper
- You’ll need to learn how to use the digital planning app. It can take time to watch tutorials and experiment what each button does
I recommend using a digital planner if you:
- Regularly refer to your planner throughout the day and want to take it with you everywhere you go
- Typically use a small page size planner (A5 or less) as iPad and iPhone device screens are around this size
- Want to use lots of colors
- Want to save money on stationery
- Don’t have space to store stationery supplies (washi tape and pens seem to breed on their own…)
- Already own an iPad or tablet
- Have a lot of repetitive tasks – you can easily copy and paste text, digital stickers, shapes, images etc.
- Don’t own a printer (or don’t want to buy one)
I don’t recommend using a digital planner if you:
- Are a perfectionist – you’ll probably spend more time setting up your spreads. in Goodnotes, when I erase a small line – even the smallest eraser size – it can still erase other adjoining elements (like other letters in the same word) that I didn’t want it to erase
- Don’t already own an iPad or tablet
- Want to use a large page size
- Have big handwriting
Size Comparison
To give you a size comparison, here are some details to consider:
- iPad dimensions (I have the 6th generation)
- To the edge of the screen (the white border) is approx 6.75″ wide by 9.5″ high
- To the edge of the actual screen (where you write / plan) is approx 6″ wide by 7.75″ high
- Planners can vary in size but the most common page size (and my favorite!) is around 7″ wide x 9″ high (around Happy Planner Classic size).
Read more: Ultimate planner page size guide (with printable reference cheat sheet)
Related post: Digital weekly planning in the Goodnotes app
Paper Planning Pros & Cons
Paper pros
- Bigger page size than an iPad screen
- iPads are expensive, paper is much cheaper
- Can use plenty of different supplies – washi tape, stamps, stencils etc.
- My writing is neater using a real pen than the Apple Pencil
- Can view multiple pages at once. If you have a discbound planner you can pull pages out and view as many as you like at once. You can’t do that with a digital planner. I also like being able to write on one page and keep the page open / hold my place in another section of the planner and refer to both pages at the same time
- Much more variety. I find digital planners tend to look the same after a while. With paper planners there are different page sizes, binding styles, cover materials, paper type etc.
So much more variety.. and this is just one planner brand
Paper cons
- Once you use a piece of paper you can’t re-use it (unless you buy a reusable notebook like the Rocketbook Everlast). I use a lot of paper when I’m bullet journaling – if I make a mistake big enough I just restart the spread on a fresh page
- Some pens and highlighters and sadly my favorite dot markers are prone to ghosting and bleed through. I don’t like writing directly on the back side of a page that has bleed through or even heavy ghosting or indenting which means I do use more paper by skipping pages
- If you lose the planner it’s gone, you can’t back the entire planner up like you can with a digital planner
- Have to wait for the planner to arrive or go out to a store and purchase it
- Planners can be very heavy – especially those with 1 page to plan each day
- Stationery doesn’t last forever – pens and highlighters run out of ink, use up all your sticky notes and whiteout etc.
- Depending on how much you write, you might use multiple bullet journal notebooks per year or if you’re like me, you use multiple paper planners. This costs more and you probably don’t want to carry all of them with you at once
Related post: Erin Condren Petite Dot Journal & Stencils
I recommend using a paper planner if you:
- Remember things better by handwriting
- Want to decorate using physical stickers, washi tape, sticky notes etc.
- Like scrapbooking / journaling in your planner
- Don’t own an iPad or tablet
I don’t recommend using a paper planner if you:
- Want to take your planner with you – especially if you want to use a day to a page planner
- Are using your planner for work purposes and other people need to see your schedule, or if you want your family to be able to see and add plans to the planner
- Don’t want to store (or don’t have room to store) planning supplies
Related post: Whistle and Birch weekly planner spread using the study layout
Cost comparison
If you don’t already own an iPad, I wouldn’t go and buy one just for the purpose of digital planning. It’s a big investment and you might not end up liking digital planning.
Digital Planning
At the time of writing this post in August 2020…
- An iPad costs about $500 AUD
- Apple Pencil = $150 AUD
- Digital planning app (expect to pay around $20 AUD – Goodnotes is $13 USD)
- Let’s say you purchase a digital planner and some stickers for $30 AUD
- Total cost = $700 AUD … You can buy a lot of planners and stationery for that price! But iPads or tablets last for years so will probably end up being cheaper in the long run if digital planning is something you stick with
Warning: If you do buy an iPad or tablet with the purpose of digital planning, make sure it’s compatible with a stylus pen (some of the cheaper models that I was researching when buying one weren’t actually compatible with a stylus pen).
Paper Planner
- 12 month planner = expect to pay around $75 AUD plus shipping (let’s round up at say $100 AUD)
- Pens, highlighters, refill inserts, planner stickers and other stationery = lets say $150 AUD (or more!) each year
- Total cost = $300 AUD minimum per year. I know supplies like pens can last for years and some people may spend more or less than $150 per year on accessories, the $300 is a guide for comparison
So which do I prefer?
I’m not completely sold on digital planning. There are definitely some appealing pros and I do use them occasionally when I want a change, but my first preference will always be planning on paper. I remember things better when I physically write them down. I prefer the look of paper planning too, I think my spreads have more variety than when I plan digitally. iPad screens are too small for me, it can get annoying zooming in to write things, or flicking back and forth between pages. I do prefer to plan some things digitally (see this post). But for day to day planning I’m sticking to using paper the majority of the time.
You could do a hybrid where you keep your reference info e.g. cleaning lists and other things you don’t need to refer to every day in your digital planner for quick reference and then continue to use paper for your actual planning.
Learn how to make your own digital planner!
More posts on digital planning
- How to add any printable to your Goodnotes digital planner
- Goodnotes: How to crop individual images from a PDF, JPG, PNG, sticker sheet, clipart etc.
- How to resize any printable PDF and add it to your digital planner (in Goodnotes)
- Digital habit tracking in Goodnotes versus habit tracking on paper
- How to unzip files on an iPad (using free iZip tool)
- How to add digital planner stickers into Goodnotes (2 ways)
More posts on paper planning
- How to choose a binding system for your planner (comparison and which one I like the most)
- 50 Themes for your planner or bullet journal spreads
- My all time favorite planner supplies
- 10 Reasons why I plan using printables (and why you should too!)
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Soni says
It really is a personal choice. I’ve switched between paper and digital every few years, finding the same pros and cons of each. In the end I switched back permanently to digital planning because I have a lot of recurring tasks and as a piano teacher I also have a lot of repeating events (regular weekly lessons). I also travel teach (or did pre-Covid) and need a digital planner that synced across all of my devices. When I kept a paper planner I used sticky notes for my recurring tasks and events, moving them to the next due date after completing them, but that became cumbersome and cluttered up my pages. That said, I do miss the tactile feeling of a good quality pen on good quality paper.
Tara says
Great post and perfect timing! I’m currently attempting to create a digital Bullet Journal for next year, so this was really helpful! A lot of my spreads and stuff are repetitive, so I think I’ll be happier going digital.
I would like to add one thing though. There’s an app similar to Goodnotes that works on Android, Windows, AND iOS. It’s called MetaMoJi Note (there are free and paid versions) and you can sync between your devices, which is great, and it’s the one I plan on using. (since I have Windows and Android…)
Thanks for the post!