11 Irresistible Reasons to Switch to Digital Planning

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Digital planning is the new kid on the scene. 

In what seemed like overnight, digital planner screenshots were circulating around Instagram, time-lapse videos of people decorating their iPad planning spreads were racking up views on TikTok…and suddenly before we all knew it—the digital planning revolution had taken over. 

Spurred by a tech-savvy generation, a desire to reduce paper waste, and the tablet’s takeover, digital planning isn’t just a trend but a re-imagining of what planning should be.

No more bulky paper planners that end up in the trash at the end of the year. No more scribbling out errors you’ve made. No more needing tons of supplies like washi tape, hundreds of markers, and stacks of stickers in order to decorate your planner. Every supply and planning template are now all on your tablet. 

And these are just a few of the benefits to digital planning.

So in this post, we’re going to take a look at all 11 irresistible reasons to switch to digital planning and ditch your paper one for good.

11 Incredible Benefits to Digital Planning

1. Customizable

Ever purchase a planner and wish the weekly layout were different?

Or maybe the monthly budget template in that financial planner didn’t quite have all the expense categories you wanted.

Gone are the days of wishing your planner had x, y, z. You can now create that.

With digital planners, you can easily “white-out” any sections you don’t need with a white box. You can re-label bits with text boxes. You can use shapes and other annotation tools to create your own custom layout. You can even create completely custom sections of your planner to do with as you wish!

Honestly, the customization possibilities are endless.

Digital planning apps are packed with some of the best editing and annotation tools to take your planning and planner to the next level.

So no more being stuck with a planner that doesn’t suit you. You can make your planner completely your own.

2. Everything in ONE Place

With traditional paper planners, you’d typically have a daily planner with perhaps a few habit tracking pages or financial templates, but that’s about it. If you wanted a more in-depth financial planner or fitness/wellness planner, well then those are entirely separate planners you’d have to purchase. 

Now with digital planning, you can have all of your planning templates in one place, either within the same all-in-one planner or separate planners that are still all on your iPad or tablet. 

As well, not only are all your planners and templates on 1 device, so are your photos, digital stickers, digital washi tapes, websites, YouTube videos, music, and more. All of these things are available to you on your tablet and can be incorporated into your digital planning. 

3. Reusable

While there are dated digital planners available to buy, you also have the option of getting undated ones. These allow you to start fresh each and every year with your planner—and with only 1 purchase, I might add. 

At the start of each year, just simply duplicate your planner and wipe it clean. 

Or, right after purchase, keep 1 blank copy of the planner stored on your device and create a duplicate to use for the year. Then when next year comes along, you just duplicate your “master” blank copy and you’re ready to go, no page-by-page erasing.

Even undated paper planners can’t beat that.

So whilst the tablet and stylus might cost when you’re just getting started, you can easily save more money with undated digital planners than you would with traditional planners. 

And digital accessories like stickers, washi tapes, and widgets are also reusable whereas physical versions of these certainly are not.

All in all, this is one reason to switch to digital planning that’ll help your wallet big-time.

4. Eco-Friendly

For my avid paper planners out there, it’s difficult to admit it but our favorite past-time can kill a lot of trees.

For instance, many traditional daily planners can only fit 6 months worth of monthly, weekly, and daily planning pages so we have to buy 2 to cover the year. 

Which means twice a year when those 6 month planners are filled up, we’re chucking all that paper in the bin.

Yes, paper can be recycled but it can also not be consumed in the first place. 

On the other hand, digital planners don’t use paper at all and, as I’ve mentioned before, can be reused forever in some cases.

And if you’re wondering, “well what about the tech? Is that eco-friendly?”

Nothing we consume (at the amount we consume it) is 100% great for the environment, it’s true. But at least with old tablets and iPads, they can be recycled properly at Apple Stores and local recycling centers. 

Apple, for example, is leading the way when it comes to recycling and repurposing old iPhones, iPads, and Macs with their Trade In program. 

For years now, customers have been trading in old Apple devices before buying new ones. And all those old devices are broken down for raw materials and recycled to create the newest iPhone, iPad, and Mac models. 

As Apple’s Environment page states:

“All iPad models in our lineup, including the new iPad Air, use 100% recycled aluminum in their enclosures — joining Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch SE, MacBook Air, Mac mini, and the 14‑inch and 16‑inch MacBook Pro models. Aluminum now makes up less than 10% of our product manufacturing footprint.”

So when it comes to our modern-day smartphones and tablet devices, yes there’s still consumption and an environmental impact there. But major companies like Apple are taking enormous strides (and succeeding) to minimize their carbon footprint and use more and more recycled materials. 

5. Backs Up

If you’ve ever had a hard drive fail, or a thumb drive disappear, or photos lost when swapping out a phone, then you know first-hand how much that sucks (understatement). 

Luckily with digital planners, the PDF annotation app you use backs up your planner and other PDF files to the cloud. So if your iPad takes a swim in the pool or just straight up doesn’t turn on one day, you’re safe. 

Needless to say, your little A5 binder planner can’t do this. If you spill coffee on it, well, you can dry it out in the sun but it’s pretty much done for. You’ll need to get a new one and fill in all those planning pages again. Ugh. 

6. Syncs to Your Phone

Another frustrating reason to ditch that ol’ paper planner is the fact that if you accidentally leave it at home, then you’re out of luck. 

No chance you’ll remember what’s planned for the upcoming week, or what you have going on on X date. You’ll just have to wait until you’re home before making plans with that friend or jotting down that meeting. 

But with a digital planner, even if you don’t have your iPad or tablet with you, you can still access your digital planner from your phone. And how often do you leave your phone behind? My guess is not nearly that often. 

How this syncing feature works is via the PDF annotation app you use for digital planning, like Goodnotes, Notability, Noteshelf, etc. All you need to do is install the app on both your tablet and phone, turn the feature on, and you’re good to go. 

It’s important to note that not all devices or apps support syncing, but nowadays the majority of them do. 

Here’s a look at my top recommended digital planning apps and their syncing abilities:

7. Space-Saver

That bulky paper planner is weighing you down. I mean, how big can a tote bag be before it’s technically a duffel bag?

Traditional planners are cumbersome to carry around with you, hence why we often leave them at home (either intentionally or unintentionally).

Digital planners don’t have to be.

While carrying an iPad or tablet around with you everywhere sounds cumbersome, as mentioned before, your digital planner can also be accessed on your phone too.

And if you’re already in the habit of taking your tablet with you everywhere for work or school, then great. You now only have to carry it and not your paper planner as well!

So let’s clear out space in that tote bag, who’s with me?!

8. Undo

If you’re like me, you want that paper planner to look neat, organized, and beautiful just like the Pinterest inspo you’ve been eyeing. 

But unfortunately as you know, things don’t always turn out that way…

Before you know it, that beautiful minimalist planner is looking like a 2 year-old’s doodling book. You’ve got scribbles everywhere whilst trying to fix mistakes, arrows pointing everywhere to indicate events rescheduled…you name it. To anyone else, it looks like the scribblings of a mad man. 

Thankfully though, digital planners make that neat, organized, clean-looking planner a reality. 

Why? Because of Undo.

Accidentally wrote an event on the wrong date? Undo. Spelled something wrong? Undo. You get my point…

And moving appointments around is a breeze, just simply drag your text box or digital sticker label to the correct date. Done. 

In short, digital planners let you keep your planner (and life!) looking organized.

9. Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks are yet another key benefit to digital planning. With hyperlinks, you can easily navigate to different sections of your digital planner and skip around it in the blink of an eye.

Most digital planners will have tabs or icons that show on every page and allow you to go to any template or page you need. 

So if you’re on a daily page and need to log a habit in your tracker, just tap and you’re there. 

Another reason why hyperlinks are fantastic is that they can also link to external websites, videos, music, and more.

For example, let’s say Saturday you’ve got a house project to do like re-painting a room. You’ve already added the event to your weekly page, but also watched some YouTube DIY videos all about painting tips. Next to your event, you now add a clever hyperlink to a helpful YouTube video you’ll need come Saturday. 

See what I mean? 

Hyperlinks are not only a navigational tool but also provide a way to consolidate all your inspiration, information, and resources in one place.

10. Don’t Need Drawing Skills

I love bullet-journaling.

I love how I can create my own weekly layouts, fun little hand-drawn habit trackers, and use colorful pens and markers to my heart’s content. 

But just one slight problem…I’m not a very good drawer. Oftentimes, my bullet journal looks amateurish compared to those fancy bullet journal artists out there. 

So here’s yet another reason to switch to digital planning—you don’t need drawing skills to make your planner colorful, fun, and well decorated. 

When creating a custom layout, annotation tools like the shape tool let you draw perfect squares, circles, and rounded rectangles. The text box tool lets you use fun custom fonts to create your headers and paragraph text. 

And lastly, digital stickers are the answer to your I-can’t-draw prayers. 

Digital stickers are pre-made illustrations, washi tapes, and other design elements that you can add to your digital planner with the Add Image tool. 

So if your bullet journal isn’t living up to your wildest dreams, start digital planning. You can finally create that look and style you’ve always wanted. 

11. Endless Planning Spreads

The final reason to switch to digital planning is perhaps the theme of all of them: 

The endless planning spreads and possibilities. 

You can actually transform your digital planner into whatever you wish it to be. A place to quickly jot things down, a digital bullet journal you design yourself, a digital scrapbook with thematic monthly spreads, or a digital journal to write in every day. 

There are also tons of additional digital planning templates available online. 

You can import and add any PDF page into your planner, expanding its use and functionality. 

Just have a look on Etsy and you’ll find thousands of planning templates, ready to import into your digital planner. Thousands. 

So when I say the possibilities are endless, I really mean it!

Conclusion: How to Start Digital Planning

No denying it, there is a learning curve when switching from traditional to digital planning.

But if you look at all the enormous benefits and reasons to switch to digital planning, that adjustment period in the beginning is totally worth it.

So if you’re convinced the future is digital and are ready to hop on the digital planner train, take a look at my digital planning guide for beginners. It’ll take you through common questions, devices you’ll need, apps you should use, and steps to get started. 

And if you’re excited and ready to go, check out the Snazzy Pixels Etsy shop where you’ll find fantastic digital planners and notebooks to get your feet wet and start going digital. 😉

11 Reasons to Switch to Digital Planning TODAY