The 1 Tool That Organized My Life: Digital Planners & Paper Planners
Planners are critical for managing a mom's busy schedule.
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As a young mom, I quickly realized that there was no way that I would ever be able to remember all of the doctor's appointments, school dates, and ball games/practices for my entire family. In fact, my refrigerator soon looked like a military command post. Compounding the problem was a general lack of sleep and mom brain and life got messy FAST! When I started using a planner (first I used paper planners (like this one from my friend Kimmy over at She’s In Her Apron) and then evolved to digital planners), I started taking back control.
Paper Planners became a lifestyle.
For a while, a small pocket paper planner seemed to do the trick but it evolved into a full-color detailed paper planner that could be customized for any and all situations. With the scaling up of the planner came supplies needed to color code and track a number of things.
Digital Planners covert a younger generation to planning.
Since then, the next generation of planners, the digital planners, busted onto the scene. Probably the original digital planner was the Blackberry but it never really crossed over into the Mommy world.
That all changed with the ipads, apple pencils, and android devices. Suddenly college students stumbled upon new apps that were perfect for note taking and got creative with designing student planners.
A tablet with a stylus or iPad and Apple Pencil changes everything!
Adding to this craze was the ability to sell digital products on sites like Etsy and information sharing like YouTube. College students became entrepreneurs. Young moms who had digital student planners began life planners and thus the newest generation of planners began to take root.
What makes digital planning so appealing?
Convenience: It is easier to take a digital planner anywhere and everywhere as many people already own a tablet of some type and use it for fun.
2. Overall cost: Although the initial investment to get started is high with the cost of the tablet and pencil adding up, a majority of the population already own a tablet, and still some own both the tablet and the pencil/stylus. Once the equipment is purchased, the cost to plan can be much cheaper with the ability to reuse digital products continually vs paper planners and stickers having a one-time use.
3. Storage: Digital products do not clutter up a home or office and rarely do files take up too much storage on the device. No stacks of sticker books, pens, cutting boards, etc.
4. Flexibility: Digital Planners can be customized by adding pages, rearranging pages, and purchasing products without the need to visit a store. There is no limit to the "pen" or "highlighter" color selection.
Why aren't more people making the switch?
Despite to the rise in digital planners, many moms just don't know digital planners are out there. If you are not around someone with a digital planner, stumble upon it online, or on social media, you may not have even heard of it.
Digital planning is a "local" market by small creators, which is a beautiful thing!
Because there are no big companies selling these on amazon. The only product at Walmart you can get for it would be the tablet or stylus. The demand for more accessories has started to show up in these stores, like Bluetooth keyboards for easier journaling, paper-like covers for tablets, pencil skins, and tablet covers for a decorative look.
How can you find out more about digital planners?
In fact, one of the easiest places to learn more and to see it in action is to check out some YouTube videos from different creators who walk you through setting it up, plan with me, or tips and tricks videos.
A word of caution: Because there is no return policy with digital products so do not go crazy buying a ton of stuff until you find someone (in real life or via YouTube) who can SHOW you how to get things set up and how to use them.
Additionally, certain apps are needed depending on the brand of tablet you use. My first digital planner was not easy to use at all but I just picked a cute one that was cheap and ended up wasting my money. Once I did some research and found a creator I really enjoy I have been a happy planner ever since!
Conclusion: Although I do make plan with me YouTube videos, at this time I do not sell any type of digital products. I am passionate about digital planning and write this to encourage mom's to ditch the paper and go digital!
UPDATE: As of November 2023, I have begun selling digital planner created specifically for home management. Please visit the shop or check me out on Etsy. 
