I’ve gotten TONS of questions about digital planners & I KNOW it’s VERY overwhelming.
I’ve taught myself everything there is to know about digital planning & I’ve created this page so that you don’t have to go searching elsewhere, in other words, make the most seamless switch ever.
WHAT IS DIGITAL PLANNING?
Digital planning imitates a physical planner experience but, on your iPad/tablet.
It is highly customizable—you can endlessly erase, select & move whatever you like around. You can add pages, text boxes, digital stickers, pictures, etc.
A digital planner is made to suit your needs, style and theme. You can change inserts on a daily, weekly & monthly basis. On some days, a horizontal weekly layout works for me & other days, I prefer a vertical weekly layout.
WHY A DIGITAL PLANNER?
- Highly customizable- discussed in previous Q (What is digital planning?)
- Portable- I take my iPad everywhere I go rather than a bulky planner or even worse, 2 bulky planners. It has my budget planner & my life planner all-in-one. AND I’m also able to see my digital planner on my phone too!
- Good for the planet- Let’s be real, as much as we like paper, everything is becoming digital.
- One price, PDF forever- once you buy an undated digital planner, you can download it over & over again year after year instead of constantly buying new paper planners from Target.
WILL YOUR PRODUCTS WORK ON MY DEVICE?
They are PDF documents so they can be opened on any device that is compatible with opening PDFs.
In order to write in them, you will need an app that allows you to annotate PDFs as well as a device that supports the use of a stylus.
I use the Goodnotes 5 app (which I highly recommend), since it syncs to all my apple devices.
WHAT APP DO YOU USE?
I use GoodNotes 5, there is an iOS version of the app available for Mac computers/laptops & iPhone too, so it will sync to all your devices.
I’ve heard that Notability, Xodo and ZoomNotes are good too.
As long as the app that you are using allows you to annotate PDFs, you should be able to write in the planners.
DO I HAVE TO REPURCHASE A PLANNER EVERY YEAR?
The best thing about digital planners is so long as it’s undated (which mine are), you only have to purchase one and you can use it over and over again.
You can either wipe your used version clean OR you can download a clean copy from Etsy at any time (as long as you were logged in to your Etsy account for your purchase).
Another option is to make a copy of your planner after you download it but before you write in it, that way you always have a clean copy.
HOW DO I ACCESS MY PURCHASE ON ETSY?
Go to Etsy.com, click on your account photo on the top right corner drop down menu, click Purchases and Reviews, click Download Files.
If you were not logged in when you made your purchase, you can access the download from the email Etsy sent you after your purchase was made.
DOES THE DIGITAL PLANNER SEND ME ALERTS FOR EVENTS?
No, digital planners imitate the experience of using a paper planner so alerts or pop up reminders do not occur when using one.
DOES THE DIGITAL PLANNER ADD UP THE NUMBERS FOR ME IN THE EXPENSE TRACKERS?
No, since the digital planner mimics the experience of a paper planner, it does not add up numbers for you.
CAN I ADD/RENAME TABS?
No, the tabs cannot be edited.
CAN I WRITE IN MY DIGITAL PLANNER?
Yes, I’ve only ever used Goodnotes 5 app.
Make sure the writing tool is on in the upper right corner. Click the pen tool, choose the color you’d like & start writing/drawing.
CAN I TYPE IN MY DIGITAL PLANNER?
Yes, I’ve only ever used Goodnotes 5 app.
Make sure the writing tool is on in the upper right corner. Click the type box tool, choose the color & font that you’d like to use & start writing/drawing.
HOW CAN I ADD FONTS?
The digital products I’ve created support the use of any fonts, but you have to make sure the program you are using to edit the products supports use of fonts.
CAN I EDIT/USE THE DIGITAL PLANNER ON MY PHONE?
Yes!
WHY CAN’T I CLICK MY TABS?
I have only ever used Goodnotes 5 so I recommend Youtubing tutorials for the app that you’re using.
In Goodnotes 5, make sure that the writing tool is turned off to enable clicking on the tabs (the pen with the line through it in the upper right hand corner).
WHAT TOOLS DO YOU USE?
TABLET: iPad 6th generation*
TABLET COVER: This one from Amazon*
STYLUS: Digital pen * (Currently saving up for the Apple pencil)
APP: GoodNotes5 (I’ve heard that Xodo is good for Android, but I’ve never tried it)
PLANNER: The Budget Planner, The Life Planner
*affiliate link
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