There are many advantages to digital planners. By creating your own, you are able to have one that is specifically tailored to your needs.

Choosing the Right Tools

When it comes to creating a simple digital planner, choosing the right tools is key. Here are some options to consider:

Digital Planner Apps

There are many digital planner apps available that offer a range of features and customization options. Some popular options include:

GoodNotes: This app is great for creating handwritten notes and includes a variety of templates for creating digital planners.

Notability: Similar to GoodNotes, Notability also offers handwriting capabilities and a range of templates.

OneNote: OneNote is a versatile app that can be used for note-taking, planning, and more. It offers a range of customization options and is available on multiple platforms.

Graphic Design Tools

If you want to create a more visually appealing digital planner, graphic design tools can help. Some popular options include:

Canva: Canva is a user-friendly graphic design tool that offers a range of templates and customization options.

PowerPoint: Not just for making slide presentations, PowerPoint is fairly easy to learn for making digital planners

Adobe InDesign: This professional-level design tool offers more advanced customization options but has a steeper learning curve.

Affinity Publisher: A more affordable alternative to Adobe InDesign, Affinity Publisher offers many of the same features and is easier to learn.

Note-Taking Apps

If you prefer a more minimalist digital planner, note-taking apps can be a good option. Some popular options include:

Evernote: Evernote is a versatile note-taking app that can be used for planning, task management, and more.

Google Keep: Google Keep is a simple note-taking app that allows you to create to-do lists and reminders.

Simplenote: As the name suggests, Simplenote is a minimalist note-taking app that is great for creating simple to-do lists and notes.

Ultimately, the tools you choose will depend on your needs and preferences. Consider what features are most important to you and try out a few different options to find the one that works best for you.

Creating Your First Digital Planner

If you're new to digital planning, creating your first digital planner can seem daunting. However, with the right tools and a little bit of creativity, you can easily create a simple digital planner that meets your needs.

The simplest digital planners consist of a single page. Here is a tutorial from Creative Fabrica that shows you how to make one on an iPad: Get Started With Digital Planning.

If you don’t have a subscription to Creative Fabrica, get yours here:

Designing the Layout

The first step in creating your digital planner is to design the layout. You can start by deciding on the number of pages you want your planner to have. For example, you may want a monthly calendar, weekly planner, and daily planner pages. Once you have decided on the number of pages, you can start designing the layout of each page.

You can use a tool like Canva or PowerPoint to create your digital planner pages. These tools offer a wide range of templates that you can customize to meet your needs. You can also create your own templates from scratch if you prefer.

Adding Interactive Elements

One of the benefits of digital planners is that they allow you to add interactive elements to your planner pages. For example, you can add clickable links to your planner pages that take you to other sections of your planner or to external websites. You can also add checkboxes, dropdown menus, and other interactive elements to your planner pages.

To add interactive elements to your digital planner, you can use a PDF editor like Adobe Acrobat or GoodNotes. These tools allow you to add interactive elements to your PDF files easily.

Customizing the Appearance

Another benefit of digital planners is that you can customize the look of your planner to match your personal style. You can choose from a wide range of colors, fonts, and graphics to create a planner that is uniquely yours.

When customizing the appearance of your digital planner, it's important to keep in mind the overall theme and purpose of your planner. For example, if you're creating a planner for work, you may want to choose a more professional and minimalist aesthetic. On the other hand, if you're creating a planner for personal use, you may want to choose a more colorful and playful aesthetic.

Testing Your Digital Planner

Now that you have created your digital planner, it's time to test it out to make sure it's functioning properly. Here are a few things you can do to test your digital planner:

1. Check the hyperlinks: Make sure that all the hyperlinks in your digital planner are working correctly. Click on each link to ensure that it takes you to the correct page or section.

2. Test the functionality: Go through each page of your digital planner and test out the functionality of each element. Make sure that you can add and delete entries, change the font size and color, and navigate through the planner easily.

3. Check for errors: Look for any spelling or grammatical errors in your digital planner. These can make your planner look unprofessional and may confuse users.

4. Get feedback: Ask a friend or family member to test out your digital planner and provide feedback. This can help you identify any issues or areas for improvement.

Sharing Your Digital Planner

Once you have created your digital planner, you may want to share it with others. There are a few ways to do this, including publishing platforms and social media promotion.

Publishing Platforms

One option is to publish your digital planner on a platform that allows others to download and use it. Some popular options include:

Etsy: You can create a listing for your digital planner on Etsy and sell it to others. This is a great option if you have put a lot of time and effort into your planner and want to earn some money from it.

Gumroad: Gumroad is a platform that allows you to sell digital products, including planners. You can set your own price and keep a percentage of the profits.

Dropbox: If you want to share your planner for free, you can upload it to Dropbox and share the link with others. This is a simple and easy way to share your planner with a wide audience.

Social Media Promotion

Another way to share your digital planner is through social media promotion. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Use hashtags: When you post about your planner on social media, be sure to use relevant hashtags. This will help others find your post and your planner.

Share images: People are more likely to engage with your post if it includes images. Share screenshots of your planner and include a link to where others can download it.

Collaborate with others: Reach out to other digital planner creators and see if they would be willing to share your planner with their audience. This can be a great way to get your planner in front of new people.

By using publishing platforms and social media promotion, you can share your digital planner with others and help them stay organized and productive.

Maintaining Your Digital Planner

Once you have created your digital planner, it is important to maintain it to ensure that it remains functional and useful. Here are some tips to help you maintain your digital planner:

Regularly Update Your Planner

One of the benefits of a digital planner is that it is easy to update. Unlike a paper planner, you can easily add, delete, or modify entries in your digital planner. Make it a habit to update your planner regularly, ideally at the same time each day or week. This will help you stay on top of your tasks and appointments.

Back Up Your Planner

It is important to back up your digital planner to ensure that you do not lose any data. You can back up your planner to the cloud or an external hard drive. This will ensure that you can access your planner from any device and that you do not lose any data if your device is lost or damaged.

Customize Your Planner

One of the benefits of a digital planner is that you can customize it to suit your needs. You can add sections, change the layout, and modify the colors and fonts. Take some time to customize your planner so that it reflects your personality and preferences. This will make it more enjoyable to use and help you stay motivated.

Use Reminders and Alerts

Most digital planners come with reminders and alerts that can help you stay on top of your tasks and appointments. Set up reminders and alerts for important tasks and appointments, and make sure that they are set to go off at a time that is convenient for you. This will help you stay organized and ensure that you do not forget anything important.

Keep Your Planner Organized

A digital planner can quickly become cluttered if you do not keep it organized. Use folders, tags, and categories to help you keep your planner organized. This will make it easier to find what you are looking for and ensure that you do not miss any important tasks or appointments.

Understanding Digital Planners

If you're looking for a way to organize your life, a digital planner might be the solution you've been searching for. A digital planner is a paperless version of a traditional planner that you can use on your tablet or iPad.

Instead of writing on paper, you can use a note-taking app like GoodNotes or Notability to write on a PDF file. Digital planners for PC’s are becoming more available, using Microsoft’s OneNote.

Advantages

1. Customizable. You can change the layout of the document, move pages up and down, delete or duplicate elements, add new templates and create brand new pages and sections with a click of a button. This means you get endless layout possibilities with a digital planner!
2. Productivity Features. You can use hyperlinked tabs to quickly jump between sections, and you can use different layouts to organize your notes and tasks in a way that makes sense to you.
3. Easy to Use. Digital planners can be really useful for people who like to journal. You can use a digital planner to keep track of your thoughts, ideas and goals. And because they are digital, you can easily search for and find specific entries.
4. Cost. Inexpensive and free options are available and you can use them on your existing tablet or iPad. You can use One Note planners on your PC. Plus, because you're not using paper, you’re helping the environment and saving the cost of printer paper and ink.
5. Versatile. Whatever your path in life: student, professional, homeschooler or just someone who wants to keep track of their life, a digital planner can be the perfect solution for you.

Why Choose Digital Planners Over Paper Planners

Customizable and Personalized

Digital planners offer a high level of customization that paper planners can't match. You can choose from a wide range of templates, layouts, and designs to create a planner that is perfect for your lifestyle, habits, and preferences. You can add your own images, stickers, and notes to make it more “you”.

Productivity Boost

Digital planners have features that can help you boost your productivity. You can set reminders, alarms and notifications to keep you on track with your tasks and deadlines. You can also track your progress, set goals and analyze your productivity using built-in logs and reports.

Financial Management

Digital planners can help you manage your finances. You can create budgets, track your expenses and monitor your savings using finance-related templates and tools. You can also use it as a business planner or project planning tool.

Reusability and Portability

Digital planners are reusable. You don’t have to replace them every year. You can use the same planner for multiple years and update it as needed. Digital planners are also portable, and you can access them from any device with an internet. You can also back them up to avoid losing your data.

Flexibility and Dark Mode

Digital planners offer more flexibility than paper planners. You can easily rearrange your schedule, to-dos, and notes without having to tear out pages, erase or cross out anything. Easily switch to dark mode to reduce eye strain and improve readability.

Exploring the Features of Digital Planners

Here are some of the key features you can expect to find in a digital planner:

1. Customization
2. Hyperlinks & Tabs
3. Scheduling Tools
4. Note Taking & List Making Tools
5. Meal Planner & Trackers
6. Erase & Undo Features

Customization

One of the biggest advantages of digital planners is the ability to customize them to your specific needs. You can choose from a wide range of templates, stickers, and designs to create a planner that reflects your unique style and personality. You can also add your own images, graphics, and text to make it even more personalized.

Hyperlinks and Tabs

Digital planners often come with hyperlinks and tabs that make it easy to navigate between different sections and pages. This makes it easy to find what you're looking for quickly and efficiently. You can also use hyperlinks to link to external resources, such as websites or documents, that are related to your tasks or goals.

To-Do Lists and Schedules

Digital planners come with a variety of tools for creating and managing your to-do lists and schedules. You can create daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly schedules, and set reminders and alarms to help you stay on track. You can also use the planner to track your progress towards your goals and objectives.

Notes and Lists

Digital planners also come with tools for taking notes and creating lists. You can add text, images, and graphics to your notes, and organize them into different categories and sections. You can also create lists for tasks, goals, and other important items, and set reminders and alarms to help you stay on top of them.

Meal Planners and Trackers

Many digital planners also come with tools for meal planning and tracking. You can create menus, grocery lists, and recipes, and track your progress towards your health and fitness goals. You can also use the planner to track your water intake, exercise, and other important health metrics.

Erase and Undo

Digital planners often come with an erase and undo feature that allows you to easily correct mistakes and make changes to your planner. This makes it easy to keep your planner looking neat and organized, even if you make a mistake.

Overall, digital planners are a versatile and flexible tool for managing your daily life. With their customizable features, hyperlinks, tabs, and tools for creating schedules, notes, lists, and trackers, they are a great choice for anyone looking to stay organized and on schedule with their goals and objectives.

Free and Paid Digital Planners

Free

Free digital planners are a great way to try out a digital planner tool without spending any money. Many free digital planners come in PDF format, which you can use with a tablet and a stylus.

Some of the most popular digital planner apps include GoodNotes, Notability, and Xodo. These apps allow you to import PDF files and annotate them with your stylus. With GoodNotes and Notability, you can also create your own templates and customize your planner to suit your needs. Noteshelf is another popular app that allows you to create your own templates, and it also includes tabs for easy navigation. One Note, for PC's, is included with Windows.

Paid

If you're looking for a paid digital planner, there are plenty of options available as well.

Here are a few of my favorite sources for paid digital planners:

PLR Planners

Createful Journals

PLR of The Month

The above links are affiliate links, so I receive a little financial compensation if you buy through the links. They are friends of mine who produce quality work.

When you’re considering the purchase of a digital planner ask yourself if you need it for a specific purpose. What is your style? Some people prefer a minimalist layout, while others want a planner that's highly customizable. Some digital planners are designed specifically for business planning or finances, while others are designed for meal planning or fitness tracking.

There’s a digital planner available for every need.  Take time to explore different options, read reviews, and try out different layouts to find the best digital planner for your needs. Remember to back up your planner regularly, so you don't lose your important to-dos and notes.

How to Get Started with Digital Planners

Here are some tips to help you get started with digital planners:

1. Choose Your Device and App What device will you be using? Digital planners can be used on tablets, such as the iPad or Android tablets. Research the many apps available, such as GoodNotes, Notability, or Xodo. Consider your budget, device and the features you need when choosing an app.
2. Create or Organize Your Planner Once you've chosen your app, you can either create your own planner or use a pre-made one. Many digital planner creators sell customizable planners on Etsy or their own websites. You can also find free digital planners online. If you prefer to create your own planner, you can use a PDF file or create from scratch using PowerPoint, Keynote or Affinity Publisher.
3. Customize Your Planner One of the benefits of digital planners is the ability to customize them to fit your needs. You can change the layout, add tabs, create index pages, and more. You can also add photos, stickers, and other elements to make it your own.
4. Get Organized Digital planners are a great productivity tool, if you to use them effectively. Use the planner to organize your to-dos, schedule, and notes. Use it for meal planning, habit tracking, and more. Be sure to back up your planner regularly, so you don't lose any important information.
5. Take Advantage of the Features Digital planners have many features that paper planners don't. For example, you can use hyperlinked tabs to quickly navigate between sections, erase mistakes easily, and use dark mode to reduce eye strain. You can also use a stylus, such as the Apple Pencil, to write and draw in your planner.