All y’all know I started using a planner a few years ago and finally figured out exactly what I needed in my life to find what many call Planner Peace. I absolutely LOVE working in my planners every day, it calms my demons and keeps my anxiety under control. Well, having TWO completely full A5 Wide planners and everything that I use in them close at hand in the BAT is more than challenging.
So, I started looking at Digital Planners, I watched so many YouTube videos, joined a dozen or more Facebook groups, and just researched and learned everything I thought I could possibly need to work in and create a digital planner that I’d always have at my fingertips while in the BAT.
In the beginning I got pretty disillusioned because most of what I found was geared for iPads and iPencils. With me being an Android girl, I thought I was doomed before I even got started. I didn’t give up though and I finally began to find the right combination for use on Androids. Back to more research, more videos and different Facebook groups, more learning new designs and I’ve found the niche I was looking for.
I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money, Gods know I’ve got a ton invested in the paper planners I use, I needed something I could use with the apps already installed on my Galaxy S8+ tablet, keyboard and Spen. I found a simple to use app that had a basic planner, downloaded that, joined the FB group that goes along with said app and began creating the inserts that I can customize to the things I’d been using in the paper planners.
I’m not close to being finished with the creation process. I have made basic pages that are easily tweeked using Excel and Powerpoint, I’ve had to give myself a quick refresher course on Hex codes for color and remembr how to use hyperlinks, imported some free download fonts and feel confident my new planner will be complete and ready to use for the upcoming year.
Is it perfect? Not by a long shot. However, going digital gives me the ability to change things, add different pages and sections without spending money on alternate inserts within a paper planner. All it cost me now is time, frustration and humbling myself to ask for help from others in the FB group when I hit a snag and can’t find a workaround.
Am I happy with how it has turned out so far? Yes! Going digital also gives me the ability to add or remove sections and pages with just a few keystrokes, no waiting for the mail to arrive and being able to keep my mind occupied and active without putting a dent in the bank account, LOL!
Back to the question in the title of this post … Paper or Digital?
There are so many things I love about paper planning. I’ve invested so much time and money not only in the inserts but also my Silhouette and sticker paper to be able to make my own planner stickers (I’ve still got all those saved on the computer, so I may go back and see if I can figure out how to use them for digital planning). I have 4 A5 Wide paper planners I used on a daily basis that I reduced to just two so I could take them on the road with me. I don’t plan to get rid of them any time soon, but some changes WILL have to be made with them going forward (I’ll let you know about that in the next post), cause I’m not going to have as much room in the future.
I’m going to say with confidence that I’ve been converted to the world of Digital Planing. At this point I give it a big TWO THUMBS UP!! I’ve even contacted the place where I bought all my paper inserts to ask if it would be possible to convert her work to digital to go along with the printed and printables she already makes. That suggestion is “on her list” and I’m hoping it will happen sooner than later.
Digital planners can be as minimal or as decorated with stickers and widgets as any paper planner, so I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything. I’ve seen some planners that look even better in digital format than some of the paper ones I’ve seen. All at a huge fraction of the cost. I’ve even figured out how to create a Digital Scrapbook. I can happily say I have found a way to keep all my pictures at my fingertips instead of scrolling endlessly through my camera roll on my phone to find the one image I want to share with someone, LOL!!
So, yeah, I’m a Digital Planner Convert!!
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