By How to choose the best digital agenda for you in 2023
You need to choose the best digital agenda planner that will last you the whole year (or at least a good part of it). So, I’m sharing with you the information to help you choose a model that suits you best!
Whether you’re new to digital planning or a true pro, each year choosing a new planner is a crucial step in keeping you motivated and organised.
In digital planning, we are spoilt for choice, which makes the decision to choose a digital planner a little more difficult.
I totally understand, it can be very overwhelming at first.
This article is here to give you the resources to understand the various digital agenda templates and make it easier for you to take action.
What is digital scheduling?
Are you looking for a new organizational tool and have just discovered digital scheduling?
Then the first thing you need to know is that digital planning is the use of digital planners on an Android or iPad tablet with a note-taking application and a stylus. Digital planners (or digital diaries) are PDF recreations of traditional paper diaries.
The idea of digital planners is to mimic the experience of paper diaries. So you have to enter your notes, tasks, projects and goals manually, preferably by writing them with a digital pen on a tablet. You use your interactive PDF diary with a PDF annotation application of your choice.
Digital agendas are not compatible to synchronise with applications like Google Calendar or Notion. This is for the simple reason that it is a PDF file. But also, this type of planning is aimed at the intentional need to refer to your diary to check your schedule or important annotations just as you would with a paper version.
This does not prevent you from using your Google Calendar in parallel for your appointments, for example.
WHAT IS AN INTERACTIVE PDF?
One of the most pleasant and positive things about digital diaries is that they are interactive! Digital diaries are designed with hypertext links that allow you to browse through the pages of your diary quickly and intuitively.
Each diary has tabs and buttons to access certain pages, such as months, weeks, days and other important pages. To use the hyperlinks, in most apps you have a “read only” mode that allows you to click on the links.
iPad and tablet compatibility
The question I get asked most often is about the compatibility of a digital planner with various brands of tablets, phones and computers.
Just like any other PDF file, you can open your digital planners and notebooks on any device. The only requirement is to have an application that allows annotation of PDF files. As simple as that.
WHY DO WE SUGGEST USING A DIGITAL AGENDA WITH A TABLET AND PEN?
The ultimate aim of digital diaries is to encourage fun use as you would with a paper diary. But with all the benefits of digital.
That said, you can use your diary by typing text rather than writing with a pen. It just depends on your personal choice and your willingness to invest in the tools.
SYNCHRONISING DIGITAL DIARIES
One of the reasons for choosing to switch to a digital agenda is the desire to synchronise agendas between the various tools you may have.
However, if you have a tablet, a phone and a computer that cannot sync the same app together because they are different brands, this could prevent you from syncing your digital diaries as well.
This remains a limitation that is ultimately associated with your personal tools and not the digital diaries as such.
This is not the main reason for switching to a digital agenda, but you will still be amazed by the many other possibilities of digital planning.
Which predefined models should be used in digital planning?
Like a traditional stationery store, a digital stationery store has different types of products. To help you choose the best digital planner for you, I present the available digital planning templates. Recognising these templates will help you make the transition from paper to iPad/tablet planning easier and smoother.
Digital diaries
Digital planners are perfect for those who like to write without having to lug around paper planners.
The two main categories of digital planners are dated and undated. Undated planners let you use them year after year and you add the dates yourself. Dated planners are tied to a specific year or period.
Digital planners can also have two different orientations: vertical or horizontal. The choice depends on your personal preference, some prefer portrait orientation, others landscape.
Like traditional stationery, digital planners are divided into weekly planners and daily planners. Sometimes you can find two in one.
Weekly planners are designed with only the planning pages for each week (in addition to the monthly pages). Weekly planning is simply organising events in your calendar in advance. This gives you an overview of what needs to be done and helps you to know your priorities and stay on track.
A daily planner in turn has a dedicated page for each day. This allows you to keep track of all the little details in your life. You’ll keep track of the little things and keep track of everything by writing in your planner.
Digital notebooks and notepads
Notebooks and notepads are designed for creative people, entrepreneurs, students. It’s the space to collect all the notes you need to take throughout the day to stay sane.
Personally, I love notebooks for writing down my thoughts throughout the day and making sure no ideas get lost. I also use them to plan my new products, or take notes from the online courses I attend.
How do I choose a digital planner for 2023?
Everyone is at different stages of life. We all have different planning and organisational needs.
As you can see, there are different types of digital planners and sometimes it’s hard to find your way around! To help you narrow down your choices, I have created a short questionnaire.
I suggest you write down the answers to the following questions, so that you can use them to refine your search.
The 7 questions to ask yourself
- Do I prefer a dated or undated planner?
- What will be the main purpose of my digital planner?
- Do I like writing on my tablet in portrait or landscape orientation?
- What types of pages do I need? Do I prefer to plan with weekly or daily pages?
- Would I like extra or specialised layouts?
- Do I prefer a pretty, colourful planner or a simple, clean one?
- What price range am I willing to pay?
- Once you have the answers to the above questions, you are ready to start your digital diary search.
Please note that most people have a few digital diaries/books/diaries for different things rather than just one.
Also, if you buy a diary but it doesn’t work for you, don’t give up on digital planning. It may take a few tries to find peace with your digital planner, but it’s worth it.
Which PiiMedia Planner digital planner should you choose?
The products in the PiiMedia Planner shop focus on entrepreneurs, professionals, designers, travellers and anyone else looking for a digital solution to be more productive.
With the digital planners you can efficiently plan your personal and professional projects. Digital Diaries also aim at an approach that promotes personal development and well-being.
Now that you understand the concept of digital planning, I will give you a short practical overview of our products. This guide will help you choose the ideal PiiMedia Planner for you.
DIGITAL PLANNER 2023
- Category: dated January to December 2023
- Primary Purpose: This digital planner is a must-have for professionals looking o stay on top of their business plans with personal life balance.
- Orientation: portrait/vertical
- Type of pages: monthly, weekly, daily
- Specialised pages: goals, finances, thoughts, notes, projects, clients, meetings, ontent creation, travel, books and podcasts, recipes and sports.
- Style: minimalist with coloured tabs or grey option.
- Main advantage: with a dated planner you have quick access to all daily pages with hyperlinks from the yearly and monthly calendars.
ESSENTIAL DIGITAL DIARY 2023
- Category: dated from January to December 2023
- Main purpose: perfect for organizing all aspects of your life and time management.
Orientation: portrait/vertical - Page type: monthly, weekly, daily
- Style: minimalist with grey tabs, yellow accents.
- Main advantage: with a dated planner you have quick access to all daily pages with hyperlinks from the yearly and monthly calendars. Does not have any specialised pages.
On the product page you will find more information about the Essential 2023 Digital Diary, as well as the list of included pages.
PERSONAL LIFE PLANNER (UNDATED)
- Category: undated digital planner
- Main purpose: to plan your professional and personal life with a versatile planner.
- Orientation: portrait/vertical
- Type of pages: quarterly, monthly and daily
- Specialized pages: daily routines, projects, clients, meetings, book notes, odcast notes, daily gratitude, mood tracking, workout diary, lists.
- Style: minimalist
- Color: color accents in green, yellow, purple and gold
ESSENTIAL DIGITAL PLANNER (UNDATED)
- Category: undated digital planner
- Main purpose: The Essential Planner is a personal digital planner perfect for organizing all aspects of your life. Super easy to use, this planner is aimed at those who are looking for a simpler, yet comprehensive planner.
- Orientation: Portrait/vertical
- Page types: monthly, weekly, daily, goals and monthly thoughts
- Annotations: 4 layouts
- Style: Minimalist
- Color: Black and white with coloured tabs and grey tabs
- Main advantage : An undated planner with more freedom without any specialised pages, just the essentials to plan your life.
90 DAY DIARY
- Type: undated digital journal
- Main purpose: To adopt journaling, to have a daily routine focused on your personal development, goals and thoughts.
- Orientation: portrait/vertical
- Type of pages: quarterly and daily pages
- Specialized pages: goal pages, weekly and monthly reflection pages, daily habit tracker
- Style: Minimalist
- Main benefit: a personal development journal, learn about yourself, develop your confidence, boost your creativity and motivation.
CAHIERS
Notebooks are perfect for organising your notes from classes, recipes, meetings, learning a new language, gathering your ideas, etc.
You have a few options in our shop with different section colours and with 12 sections to help you sort notes by sub-topics.
The 12 subject digital notebooks have an index and tabs with hyperlinks to each section. Each section has 4 page templates (blank pages, dotted pages, lined pages and squared pages).
Within each section, you can duplicate your favourite page as many times as you like to compose your notes.
For more information, look at the description tab in the product pages. And don’t forget to browse through all the photos. Discover all the notebook models available in our shop.
NOTEBOOKS
Just like notebooks, notepads are used to organise your ideas in a single file, but this type of product is organised differently. In notepads you will find an index that refers you to each individual page. This way each page of your notebook can be titled and easily found from your index.
Notepads are essential for small everyday notes that will usually only take up one page.
In the Essential Notepad you will find 4 modules with the 4 types of pages: blank pages, dotted pages, lined pages and squared pages.
DIGITAL STICKERS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE
Digital stickers are images in PNG format that can be used to decorate and personalise your diary or notebook. The Everyday Stickers collection also helps you plan your routine and add colourful notes to your schedule.
How do I use an undated digital planner?
Undated digital planners are diaries that do not come with a predefined year or period. You have free fields in the monthly, weekly and daily book pages to add dates yourself.
This makes undated digital planners an even more flexible tool, as you can start it at any time of the year, as well as use it from year to year.
As digital planners are PDF files, to use an undated digital planner from one year to the next, you only need to keep a copy and duplicate it each new year. Then add dates to the pages you use.
Which note-taking applications are best for digital planning?
In your quest to get started with digital planning, you also need to choose a PDF annotation app. Here is a list of our recommended apps for your iPad or tablet:
ON IOS ONLY
IOS AND ANDROID
Choosing the best digital planner for 2023
As a user of traditional paper diaries, if you are looking for a paperless lifestyle, then digital planning may be the best solution for you.
Or even if you have never used a paper diary in the past, digital planning is a whole new experience. Embracing them will help you achieve a whole new level of planning and goal setting.
The PiiMedia Planner digital planners will come with a user guide to help you get started.
I hope you find digital planning useful in your life. For me, it has been a complete game changer! I use my digital planners every day, and I am much more disciplined and on top of my life plans.
