Digtal vs. Paper Planner

In part 1 of the digital vs. paper debate, I shared all the fun planner/to-do apps I played with (all in the name of research of course). I found some great options, but even with all of those choices, I still don’t use any of them in my day-to-day scheduling.

• I must first start with all the benefits of going digital that originally spurred me on to the mega-search.
• I love how you can type in one task and set it on a reoccurring schedule.
• With a click of a finger you can organize your list by the type of task, your personal categories, and set its priority and due day. It keeps everything so tidy.
• Plus you can easily coordinate and share your schedule with coworkers or hubby.

But, after all the research and testing of the various apps, I was still missing something. Maybe it’s the visual learner in me, longing for a conventional planner with good old fashion written down tasks. I was nostalgic for the flipping of pages back and forth to view pending and accomplished tasks. I missed the quick chicken scratches just to get your ideas on paper.

It became even more clear to me when my grandma showed me her old calendar from 1968!

It was so interesting to look over her notes that read just like any busy mom with 5 kids today. Penciled in were a few doctor appointments and a reminded to renew her driver’s license.Don’t get me wrong, I promise I am not keeping my planners for prosperity’s sake, but there is something about the written word that is lost when you go digital.

More importantly, I was struggling to keep ideas in my head because I didn’t have a second to type them on the keypad (I don’t text therefore I am as slow as molasses on those tiny keypads). It resulted in brain clutter with ideas swirling all around; and that is the worst type of clutter!

I really wanted a digital planner to work, but it wasn’t working despite how good the list of pros looked (and yup I made the list of pro/ cons on paper).

I decided to continue my search so I headed to my local Office Depot to see what options were available for portable planners. There was no shortage of options, from Franklin Covey, Day Runner, Mead, and even an Office Depot brand. The cheapest was an $8.99 version that was so small I can’t even imagine how someone could write in it. I kept envisioning it collapsing in on your hand over and over while you were writing. I was stunned to see the price went up to $39.99 and even higher for a leather bound planner. Here is a Day Timer planner at the top of the price range.

It has served me well for the time being, but I wanted to alter it to make it closer to what I was looking for in the digital equivalent. In came durable filing tabs that I first used to spruce up the binder that organizes my recipes.

They are durable and perfect for my constantly used planner. I use them to mark where my current master task list is located as well as where the month views are.  My master task list is where I record my to do’s (my time-sensitive to do’s are written on their necessary day) I refer to when scheduling my week. I love that I can move the tabs around and add and remove tags so quickly.

I also use a binder clip to mark the current day and hold various slips of pending paperwork.

I added a front pocket to keep everything tidy because a planner stuffed with paper creates the image that you are disorganized (whether you are or not). Some may gasp at my unsightly pocket but I wasn’t interested in spending longer than 2 minutes making a pocket that only I would see (until now that is). Call me crazy.

For now, as a stay-at-home mom looking to pinch pennies in any place I can, I am proud to find creative solutions instead of dropping $20 (or more).

I have not completely abandoned my beloved planner apps. I still play around with some apps, mainly Pocket Informat. One day in the future I might make that big jump to go digital but until then I am satisfied with the paper option. It’s working for me.

We’re a month into the new year! Have you already ditched your first planner in favor of another option? Since planners are so personal, I would love to hear what works for you? Are you digital or paper? Do you have a specific app or web-based format that you use like Google Calendar, Outlook, iCal? Do believe a paper and pencil planner makes you look unprofessional in our extremely digital society? Add your comments below.