Are you new to the world of digital planning? In a time where technology is seamlessly woven into every aspect of our lives, it’s no wonder that the art of planning and organizing has also found its digital counterpart. If you are an absolute beginner and do not know where to start, then you’ve come to the right place!

How to Get Started with Digital Planning for FREE

In this beginner’s guide, we will show you how to start digital planning for FREE. Watch our tutorial video to get started and keep reading for more detailed information. Whether you’re a student, a professional, an entrepreneur, or simply someone seeking better organization, this guide will equip you with the basic know-how and the tools to start digital planning with confidence.

Why Digital Planning?

Digital planning offers a streamlined, efficient, and space-saving solution to help you manage your schedule, tasks, goals, and more. A lot of planner lovers have shifted to digital for its convenience and flexibility. It is easier to erase, make changes, and customize layouts with digital planners compared to paper ones. Did we also mention that you can reuse digital stickers again and again? 

If you’re into keeping memories, it can also be like your digital notebook, journal, and planner rolled into one. You can add photos of your day and any keepsake you want to record, write about your thoughts, highlights, and simply anything under the sun. It is much more cost-effective than having to print pictures or polaroid shots.

Since smartphones, tablets, and PCs are very much a part of our everyday lives, it is now easier to have access to a planner on our preferred device/s. Some planners also have the option of syncing it with your device’s calendar or reminders to help you manage your schedule and optimize your productivity.

What is a Digital Planner?

So, what exactly is a digital planner? You may ask. Simply put, it is a digital version of a paper planner that helps you manage your time and tasks and keep personal analogs. Is it a stand-alone app? Is it a file you can open on a particular application or program? Well, the answer is yes as there are so many types of digital planners available online.

There are digital planner apps ready for download whether for free or for a fee as well as different digital planner file types you can open in a variety of applications. But, the most commonly used ones are PDF file types which you can import on a PDF annotation app or a note-taking app. To read more about digital planners, its benefits and key factors to consider before buying or getting one, check out our previous blog.

What You Need to Get Started with Digital Planning

To start off with digital planning you need a tablet and a stylus. Why a tablet and a stylus? Can’t digital planning be done with a smartphone or a laptop or PC? Yes, you can still do a lot of useful planning with your smartphone like an iPhone but the screen may be too small. On the other hand, tablets like iPads are easier to bring and work with in using a planner app or a PDF planner using a PDF annotation app like Acrobat Reader, Notability and GoodNotes. 

However, we recommend the best experience in digital planning and that is done with a tablet and a stylus – specifically with an iPad and Apple Pencil. These are portable and more convenient to bring around for school or for work. It also recreates and even enhances the paper planner experience, for all you planner lovers out there. If you want to learn more, read our post about which iPad is the best one for digital planning. 

Choosing a PDF Annotation App

Once you have your devices ready, now it’s time to choose a PDF annotation app for your PDF planner. We recommend using PDF planner because it’s very easy to customize and it also gives you a lot of room to express your creativity. You can create your own layouts, add digital stickers from different sources and even photos from your gallery. You can also draw doodles and use your own handwriting instead of using text. With a PDF planner, you have a free hand on how your planner spreads would look like and how you would utilize the space. 

Two of the most popular PDF annotation apps for digital planning are Notability and GoodNotes. However, if you are a newbie, you can start with a free one called Collanote compatible with Apple devices. It is a powerful note-taking app, PDF reader and annotator, whiteboard and digital planner – all in one. Also try out writing with a stylus using this app as it provides a great handwriting experience with its low latency. 

Importing a FREE Monthly Planner

When you have downloaded this free app, you can then import a PDF planner. You can start with a free monthly planner by DigiSparkles. Visit the freebies section and sign up with your email to get access to our free planner and digital stickers. After signing up, you will receive another email with a link to your downloads. You get to choose between a Hybrid Weeks portrait planner or a landscape one. 

If you’re curious why it’s called a ‘Hybrid Weeks’ planner, it’s because its inspiration is a popular Japanese notebook or planner brand called Hobonichi Techo known for its minimalist and functional design. 

Our free planner has a monthly page, vertical weeks, horizontal weeks, daily pages and extra sections for habit trackers and finances. It is also fully hyperlinked for easy page navigation. Once you have imported this free planner, tap on the links with your finger to move across pages and tap on tools with your styles to start planning. 

Try it out today!

Why not try out digital planning for a month for free? Afterwards, you can move to a more advanced digital planner and app like GoodNotes. Find out more and read our post on How to Use a Digital Planner and Best Tips on Getting Started. You may also want to check out our FREE digital planners and other freebies here.

We hope this beginner guide has helped you with getting started with digital planning. Feel free to message us for more questions on digital planning or our digital planners. We’d be glad to help you out! You can also check out our Instagram and Facebook page for planner spread inspirations, tips and updates.