Hey! In this post, I am going to break down the differences between digital and paper planning and hopefully, it will help you find some clarity in which one suits you best. There are many pros and cons in both methods and soon you will find out which one fits you best. The post is split up into two parts - digital and paper and within each part is in-depth points about the pros and cons of each method.
Digital Planning
Pros:
Flexibility
Digital Planning is really easy to edit and make changes to. For example if an event has been postponed to the following week it is really easy to move around on a digital calendar. It makes a busy life more flexible without the mess of crossing out or erasing, making it seamless.
Easy access
Digital Planning apps and websites are generally available on all devices, so you can access your plans from any device - anywhere, anytime. For example you have just been asked if you can go to the doctors at four but you might have another appointment at that time, but its super easy to pull out your planning app on your phone when you do not have you laptop on hand. This makes it easy to check your to do list and calendar whenever you need to instead of having to remember your calendar when your planner isn't with you.
Efficient
Digital planners usually don't have many way of making sure your planner is super appealing to the eye because it is simple and that makes it more efficient. Instead of spending more time making sure your planner looks as pretty as Pinterest you will be spending more time ticking things off your to do list.
Cons:
Restricting
Digital Planning can be restricting at times in many ways. Sometimes people enjoy using their planner as a way of expressing creativity such as a bullet journal. Digital planning does not allow you to draw and doodle around your plans because of its straightforward nature.
Unreliable
Technology is definitely not the most reliable thing at the moment. With its recent test in online work and school due to COVID-19 it has been something we are very grateful for but it still does display issues that we can all agree are annoying. For example you have just sat down for ten minutes to bring your planner up to date after the day - going through your to do list, adding new events etc. Then, your wifi drops out just as you were finishing up and once the wifi comes back you realize everything you just did -did not save.
Paper Planning
Pros:
Relaxing
Paper planning is a great way to take a break and take time out of your day to just sit down and catch up in your planner. It makes an obvious break between your busy life and a calm time looking through your planner. This type of thing is not very available when you always have a way of looking at your planner on your phone, tablet, computer etc. This is because you can catch yourself up whenever you need you don't need to allocate time to just sit and relax.
Creative
In paper planning you have the ability to be as creative or as not creative as you like. You have the option to make your planner unique and creative if you want to. In google calendar for example the furthest you get to making your planner unique is changing the colour of an event.
Cons:
Can be time-consuming
Paper planning can often make people feel that their planner needs to look amazing and this can make it less efficient. It can take away the importance of the planning and productivity aspect of your planner and add to distraction. Whereas in a digital planning system there are less ways of getting sidetracked from the purpose/goal.
Portability
When you need your planner on hand its hard to carry around a bulky notebook in most circumstances. Carrying around a planner as opposed to your phone which you may already carry around with you is definitely a hassle.
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