There's a Bonus. Custom Productivity Templates for Your iPad. If you want to use custom productivity templates on your iPad, we've put together a free, walkthrough guide along with two of our in-house templates that can help you get started. MetaMoJi Note, previously Note Anytime, is a powerful notetaker, PDF annotation. Download GoodNotes 5 App 5.6.32 for iPad & iPhone free online at AppPure. Get GoodNotes 5 for iOS - Handwritten Notes & PDF Markup latest version. Transform your iPad into smart digital paper. Goodnotes planner app allows users to download electronic planning templates that are customizable and free to use! OnPlanners Goodnotes Templates Each planning template comes with a hyperlinked structure that allows you to easily organize your pages by clickable tabs, subjects, and dates without having to worry about any of your content.
Digital planners are becoming more and more popular with many in the planner community moving over from paper to digital for their planning. There are so many benefits to using an iPad for planning, and I'm excited to talk with you about these today.
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I'm in love with my iPadand any chance I can get to use it, I'm all in, especially when I also get to use my Apple Pencil! Using a digital planner on my iPad combines my love for my iPad with my love for planning and journaling. I feel like I'm winning 🙂
What is a Digital Planner?
A digital planner is a file that you use in a notes app on your tablet that looks very much like a paper planner. It's typically a PDF file with hyperlinked tabs to keep you organized so you can skip to different sections of your planner, just like with a paper planner!
Using a digital planner is different than just uploading a printable PDF to your iPad because of the organization involved. Usually there is some kind of dividers or table of contents section that helps you get to the pages you want without having to endlessly scroll through everything to find what you're looking for.
It's pretty neat. When you click on a divider in your planner, it immediately jumps to the section of the planner PDF that you want.
What Digital Planner Do You Need?
There are a ton of options when it comes to using a digital planner. If you do a search for 'digital planner' on Etsy, you'll see a variety of different planners you can purchase and download. You can also go to my shop and purchase one of the digital planners I created.
There are so many beautiful planners to choose from and it can be overwhelming to find exactly what you're looking for. You want a planner that will fit your needs. Here is one of my favorites.
Some questions you may wish to ask yourself as you start to look into purchasing a new planner are:
Do you prefer a structured planner?
Do you prefer to use a bullet journal, which allows you to create your own journal spread? This is often my preference, so I created some digital notebooks which include just dotted paper to bullet journal in.
Do you prefer some kind of combination?
With so many digital planners out there, you're likely to be able to find one (or many) that works for you. If you don't find one that fits your needs, you can learn to make your own. You can create one very easily by signing up for this digital planner template kit. Everything is already done for you, you just switch things up a bit to make it unique to you. It's so easy!
If you really want to learn how to make things custom to you, I recommend this course on creating passive income with planners. You learn how to make printables and digital planners that you can then create a business out of. This is where I learned how to make the planners I sell on my Etsy shop. Even if you choose not to sell planners, it's incredibly fun to learn how to make them.
Benefits of Using a Digital Planner
If you're like me, you love using paper and pens for your planning and journaling. It's hard to imagine that you'd get the same enjoyment from using a tablet. You have to try it though to be a believer! Sign up for my free digital planner download to try it out.
Here are the benefits of switching over to a digital planner:
Less paper clutter: As my planner obsession has increased throughout the years, I have acquired more paper, stickers, and notebooks than I know what to do with. Sometimes it's hard to find what I need since I try to use so many planners at once. When you use a digital planner, everything you need is all in one place.
Easy to fix mistakes: Since it's digital, if you mess up, it is really easy to erase your mistakes and start over. Instead of crossing out an appointment that was cancelled, you can just remove it from your spread. I love this about digital planning because I like my pages to look pretty. Crossing out a cancelled appointment is always annoying to me.
Another great thing about digital planning is that if you write something and it doesn't really fit well where you put it, you can easily move what you wrote within your planner. In other words, you don't have to rewrite something. Instead, you can select it and change the size of your writing or even move it to a different area.
Since so many people become intimidated with the prospect of starting a new journal or planner, using a digital planner is a great option because you can erase anything you need to easily!
Less to carry around with you: Instead of carrying around your paper planner and possibly a binder and other items you use in your day to day, all you need to do is to carry around your tablet. Since the iPad and other tablets have become smaller and smaller over time, this is super convenient. I haven't done this myself but I read that you can also look at your planner on your phone if you have your notes app on there as well!
You have everything with you in one place: I think this is my favorite part. When you use a digital planner, you can have everything you need in one place without adding bulk and without trying to figure out where you can possibly fit it all. Digital planners allow an essentially unlimited amount of pages, allowing you to expand your planner to be whatever you need it to be. (The size of your planner is limited by the size of the storage allowed on your tablet).
In addition to your planner, you have access to other apps you might use throughout the day. For instance, you have your planner, your email, the internet, word processing apps, and so much more right there with you. You can even take a break from work and read a book or watch some Netflix right there on your iPad.
That's a versatile planner!
Save money! This one mostly applies if you already have an iPad or tablet. I was going to say it only applies; however, I know that some of us planner people, myself included, spend a ton of money on planner supplies…so who knows, maybe an iPad is cheaper than all the notebooks and such you purchase. haha
But really, if you want to have a colorful planner and not use a ton of printer ink, this is the way to go. A digital planner can be as colorful and bright as you want without worries of spending a lot on ink or wasting paper. This also applies to stickers. You can use digital stickers in your planner over and over again after purchasing (or making) them once.
If you purchase an undated digital planner you can also use that over and over again.
You can create your own Digital Stickers with my new online course. Sign up for a free trial of Skillshare to watch for free!
You get to play with your iPad: I love my iPad. I'm not even kidding, I could play with my iPad for hours. Having my planner on my iPad gives me more excuses to use it. I'm good with that!
You can make money by making and selling planners: If you want to learn how to make digital planners, they are a hot item that you can sell on shops like Etsy. Here is the course I took to learn how to make my own planner pages and digital planners. I highly recommend it. Alternatively, they also have a digital planner template you can purchase and change up a bit to make your own. They did most of the work for you and you can sell it once you fix it up a little. Pretty cool! I've learned so much from these ladies.
What Supplies Do You Need for Digital Planning?
At it's most simple, you'll need the following items to start digital planning:
- A tablet with a notes app such as Goodnotes or Notability
- A stylus (which is like a pen you write with)
- A digital planner file/PDF
That's it! You can get more fancy if you want. Here is the setup I use for digital planning:
Goodnotes Desktop App
I use this iPad Pro model because I absolutely love the size for planning. It has a large screen but is still light enough to carry around. I even read with this in bed. Have I mentioned that I love my iPad?
As an aside, you can also use other models of iPad. You just want to make sure that it is compatible with the Apple Pencil or other stylus. I've seen several people use this less expensive version of the iPad.
I also recommend purchasing the Apple Pencil. Though it is more expensive than some other styluses, nothing compares. If you ever want to do lettering or drawing with your iPad, I highly recommend using the Apple Pencil. I use the 2nd edition of the Apple Pencilsince it's the one that works with my iPad. If you purchase the cheaper iPad, you will need the 1st edition of the Apple Pencil since the newer one will not work.
I have both Apple Pencils and they both work great. I don't think you're really losing anything if you use the older version of the pencil. The main difference (in my opinion and use) is the different method of charging.
I also use a screen protector from Amazon that makes my screen feel a bit more like paper. Although a lot of people swear by the Paperlike version of the screen protector and report it feels just like paper, I've always used this inexpensive version, which I absolutely love. My lettering and handwriting improved substantially on my iPad when I started using this screen protector.
Some people say that using this type of screen protector causes your stylus nib to wear down quickly, but I have not really experienced this myself. I don't think I've ever changed my stylus nib. I do have two Apple pencils though (my husband was worried I would lose one and be sad so he bought me another one haha). The good news is you can buy a pack of nibs and replace them pretty easily. You just twist the old one off and put the new one on.
I have several different digital planners. The one I love the most is the one I made for myself, which you can purchase on Etsy.
How To Use a Digital Planner
Ok, so you have all the things. Now what?
The first thing you want to do is to get your planner over onto your iPad (or other tablet) and open it with your app. I use Goodnotes, so that is the program I will discuss. I created a video for you to show you how to get your planner onto your iPad, and how to use it once it's there:
You can purchase the digital planner I show in the video here. When you download your purchase, be sure to save it to a cloud service such as iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive. This makes it very easy to import your planner into Goodnotes. Another option (the one I prefer actually) is to use Airdrop to send your planner from your Apple computer to your iPad.
Since you may not have an Apple computer, I chose to use the cloud service to show you how to import the video.
Once your PDF is uploaded into the cloud, go to your iPad and open the Goodnotes app. You should see a title called 'New' with a plus sign next to it. Click on the plus sign and find your digital planner in your files.
Your digital planner will open up right in Goodnotes! You can rename it or leave it named as it is. Be sure to watch the video I made for you so you can see how to use the planner.
Free Digital Planner PDF
In case you want to try out a digital planner before purchasing, I created a free digital planner download for you to try. Enter your name and email below and I will send you the free digital planner. Then, follow the directions in the video to start planning today!
You may also be interested in the following posts:
Marlena is the blogger behind apenandapurpose.com, where she writes about using journaling for self improvement and reaching goals in life and business. Using her experience as a Licensed Psychologist with a Master's in Business, she teaches people how to break through negative thoughts and fear to do what matters. For more about me read my about page.
Sketchnoting is a powerful way to take visual notes that help you retain more of the information you hear. You've probably seen sketchnotes before, like this one I did during a Focus Course live event:
But if you're like me, you might have thought to yourself, 'there's no way I can create something like that.' I understand — sketchnoting can be pretty intimidating when you're just getting started.
But I'm living proof that anybody can do it.
My sketchnoting journey
A while back, I came across a study that showed that students who took longhand (analog) notes using pen and paper retained more information than those who typed (digital) notes using a laptop. The study found that laptop (digital) note-takers ended up transcribing the lectures they attended verbatim rather than putting it into their own words, causing them to process the information at a much shallower level that was ultimately detrimental to long-term learning.
I'd never really been much of an analog fan, but I did find myself wanting to retain more information from the talks and lectures I was attending. The tipping point for me came when I was trying to reflect on what my pastor had preached the previous Sunday and I couldn't remember what it was! I knew I had copious notes in my digital notebook, but it obviously wasn't helping me live my day-to-day life like I wanted it to.
At that exact moment, I decided I needed to give sketchnoting a try – even though there were several things that terrified me about it.
#1: 'I'm not an artist!'
This isn't false humility; it's a fact. My first sketch note was a bunch of words and a couple of stick figures:
But shortly after I started the experiment, I read The Sketchnote Handbook by Mike Rohde. I would argue that Mike is an artist (so on the surface we don't have a lot in common), but I was impacted by an idea that he shared in the book that gave me permission in my own head to try (and fail) with sketchnoting:
Ideas, not art.
The point being that your sketchnotes are intended for an audience of one. The point of the sketchnote is to help you retain the information, not be put on display in a museum or shared via social media. Don't fall into the trap of comparing your notes with others. The goal is not to make something beautiful — the goal is to capture the ideas as they come to you.
It doesn't matter what your sketchnote looks like. What matters is that you made it.
#2: 'I can't keep up!'
Even though I was trying out sketchnotes as an alternative to verbatim notetaking, I was still worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with what the other person was saying.
What I found was that while I didn't record every thought or idea, I did naturally attach to some over others. I focused on capturing those ideas that jumped out at me, forcing myself to create an image associated to the idea and then capture it on paper. Yes, I didn't get everything, but that was okay. I found that the images and ideas I did capture stuck with me for a much longer period of time, which is exactly what I was hoping for when I started.
The Transition to GoodNotes
I took sketchnotes with a Rhodia Webnotebook and Pilot G-2 gel pens for several years. Honestly, I had no intention of switching to digital. I enjoyed the feel of pen on paper, and my notebooks never ran out of battery.
But I was intrigued by the 10.5' iPad Pro and the increased refresh rate. I had used an Apple Pencil on an iPad Pro previously, and while the lag was significantly better than other digital systems, it still wasn't where I wanted it to be for sketchnoting.
But the shiny new iPad changed all of that.
Around the same time, GoodNotes had undergone a pretty substantial update and I decided to give sketchnoting on the iPad one more try.
Immediately, I was hooked.
GoodNotes instantly felt familiar to me. It gave me all the tools I needed to not only make sketchnotes, but take them to the next level. Here's a couple of examples:
The Pen tool gave me an almost infinite number of styles and colors to choose from, resulting in much more colorful sketchnotes than I had ever created previously. (And as an added bonus, they weren't going to explode in my backpack like my gel pens did on a flight once.)
The Shapes tool helped me bring much more consistency to my sketchnotes. By being able able to draw basic geometric shapes and have them snap into place, my sketchnotes all of a sudden looked a lot more professional.
Even though I had gotten used to using pens and embracing the flow of the message instead of obsessing about how perfect my marks were, the Undo feature saved my bacon whenever I really made something ridiculous by allowing me to quickly try again.
In addition to using multiple pen colors, I started coloring in my sketches using the Highlighter tool. I started using this all the time for lettering, drawing the block letter outline of important words and then shading them with the highlighter after.
In addition to feeling like the right tool for the job for me, I also found a couple additional benefits of keeping my sketchnote library inside of GoodNotes:
I never run out of notebooks or pages. If I needed a new page, I could just swipe from right-to-left in GoodNotes to create a new one.
My entire library is on my device. I didn't need to look through all my old notebooks on my bookshelf, and I always had everything with me on my iPad.
I can search my notes to find something specific. GoodNotes automatically applies Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to my documents, which means I can search my entire library for a specific word and instantly find it.
Some Tips to Get You Started Sketchnoting on iPad
I also use a screen protector from Amazon that makes my screen feel a bit more like paper. Although a lot of people swear by the Paperlike version of the screen protector and report it feels just like paper, I've always used this inexpensive version, which I absolutely love. My lettering and handwriting improved substantially on my iPad when I started using this screen protector.
Some people say that using this type of screen protector causes your stylus nib to wear down quickly, but I have not really experienced this myself. I don't think I've ever changed my stylus nib. I do have two Apple pencils though (my husband was worried I would lose one and be sad so he bought me another one haha). The good news is you can buy a pack of nibs and replace them pretty easily. You just twist the old one off and put the new one on.
I have several different digital planners. The one I love the most is the one I made for myself, which you can purchase on Etsy.
How To Use a Digital Planner
Ok, so you have all the things. Now what?
The first thing you want to do is to get your planner over onto your iPad (or other tablet) and open it with your app. I use Goodnotes, so that is the program I will discuss. I created a video for you to show you how to get your planner onto your iPad, and how to use it once it's there:
You can purchase the digital planner I show in the video here. When you download your purchase, be sure to save it to a cloud service such as iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive. This makes it very easy to import your planner into Goodnotes. Another option (the one I prefer actually) is to use Airdrop to send your planner from your Apple computer to your iPad.
Since you may not have an Apple computer, I chose to use the cloud service to show you how to import the video.
Once your PDF is uploaded into the cloud, go to your iPad and open the Goodnotes app. You should see a title called 'New' with a plus sign next to it. Click on the plus sign and find your digital planner in your files.
Your digital planner will open up right in Goodnotes! You can rename it or leave it named as it is. Be sure to watch the video I made for you so you can see how to use the planner.
Free Digital Planner PDF
In case you want to try out a digital planner before purchasing, I created a free digital planner download for you to try. Enter your name and email below and I will send you the free digital planner. Then, follow the directions in the video to start planning today!
You may also be interested in the following posts:
Marlena is the blogger behind apenandapurpose.com, where she writes about using journaling for self improvement and reaching goals in life and business. Using her experience as a Licensed Psychologist with a Master's in Business, she teaches people how to break through negative thoughts and fear to do what matters. For more about me read my about page.
Sketchnoting is a powerful way to take visual notes that help you retain more of the information you hear. You've probably seen sketchnotes before, like this one I did during a Focus Course live event:
But if you're like me, you might have thought to yourself, 'there's no way I can create something like that.' I understand — sketchnoting can be pretty intimidating when you're just getting started.
But I'm living proof that anybody can do it.
My sketchnoting journey
A while back, I came across a study that showed that students who took longhand (analog) notes using pen and paper retained more information than those who typed (digital) notes using a laptop. The study found that laptop (digital) note-takers ended up transcribing the lectures they attended verbatim rather than putting it into their own words, causing them to process the information at a much shallower level that was ultimately detrimental to long-term learning.
I'd never really been much of an analog fan, but I did find myself wanting to retain more information from the talks and lectures I was attending. The tipping point for me came when I was trying to reflect on what my pastor had preached the previous Sunday and I couldn't remember what it was! I knew I had copious notes in my digital notebook, but it obviously wasn't helping me live my day-to-day life like I wanted it to.
At that exact moment, I decided I needed to give sketchnoting a try – even though there were several things that terrified me about it.
#1: 'I'm not an artist!'
This isn't false humility; it's a fact. My first sketch note was a bunch of words and a couple of stick figures:
But shortly after I started the experiment, I read The Sketchnote Handbook by Mike Rohde. I would argue that Mike is an artist (so on the surface we don't have a lot in common), but I was impacted by an idea that he shared in the book that gave me permission in my own head to try (and fail) with sketchnoting:
Ideas, not art.
The point being that your sketchnotes are intended for an audience of one. The point of the sketchnote is to help you retain the information, not be put on display in a museum or shared via social media. Don't fall into the trap of comparing your notes with others. The goal is not to make something beautiful — the goal is to capture the ideas as they come to you.
It doesn't matter what your sketchnote looks like. What matters is that you made it.
#2: 'I can't keep up!'
Even though I was trying out sketchnotes as an alternative to verbatim notetaking, I was still worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with what the other person was saying.
What I found was that while I didn't record every thought or idea, I did naturally attach to some over others. I focused on capturing those ideas that jumped out at me, forcing myself to create an image associated to the idea and then capture it on paper. Yes, I didn't get everything, but that was okay. I found that the images and ideas I did capture stuck with me for a much longer period of time, which is exactly what I was hoping for when I started.
The Transition to GoodNotes
I took sketchnotes with a Rhodia Webnotebook and Pilot G-2 gel pens for several years. Honestly, I had no intention of switching to digital. I enjoyed the feel of pen on paper, and my notebooks never ran out of battery.
But I was intrigued by the 10.5' iPad Pro and the increased refresh rate. I had used an Apple Pencil on an iPad Pro previously, and while the lag was significantly better than other digital systems, it still wasn't where I wanted it to be for sketchnoting.
But the shiny new iPad changed all of that.
Around the same time, GoodNotes had undergone a pretty substantial update and I decided to give sketchnoting on the iPad one more try.
Immediately, I was hooked.
GoodNotes instantly felt familiar to me. It gave me all the tools I needed to not only make sketchnotes, but take them to the next level. Here's a couple of examples:
The Pen tool gave me an almost infinite number of styles and colors to choose from, resulting in much more colorful sketchnotes than I had ever created previously. (And as an added bonus, they weren't going to explode in my backpack like my gel pens did on a flight once.)
The Shapes tool helped me bring much more consistency to my sketchnotes. By being able able to draw basic geometric shapes and have them snap into place, my sketchnotes all of a sudden looked a lot more professional.
Even though I had gotten used to using pens and embracing the flow of the message instead of obsessing about how perfect my marks were, the Undo feature saved my bacon whenever I really made something ridiculous by allowing me to quickly try again.
In addition to using multiple pen colors, I started coloring in my sketches using the Highlighter tool. I started using this all the time for lettering, drawing the block letter outline of important words and then shading them with the highlighter after.
In addition to feeling like the right tool for the job for me, I also found a couple additional benefits of keeping my sketchnote library inside of GoodNotes:
I never run out of notebooks or pages. If I needed a new page, I could just swipe from right-to-left in GoodNotes to create a new one.
My entire library is on my device. I didn't need to look through all my old notebooks on my bookshelf, and I always had everything with me on my iPad.
I can search my notes to find something specific. GoodNotes automatically applies Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to my documents, which means I can search my entire library for a specific word and instantly find it.
Some Tips to Get You Started Sketchnoting on iPad
Here are some additional tips if you're going to give sketchnoting on iPad in GoodNotes a shot.
Use basic shapes to compose your sketch note. Most sketch notes are comprised of just a few simple shapes: circles, squares, triangles, lines, and dots. Use these basic elements and building blocks when composing your sketchnote and it'll make the process much easier – especially at the beginning.
Use dot grid paper. Dot grid gives you enough reference to help you in using the basic shapes that comprise a sketchnote, but don't force you to be as rigid as solid lines.
Don't go nuts with detail. Try to find the flow with what the speaker is saying. You can always come back and add more detail and color later if you want.
Stick with it! Your beginning sketchnotes might just look as bad as mine. That's okay. Remember, you're creating ideas, not art. Keep with it. Before long, your sketchnotes will evolve and you'll find your style.
If you want to learn how to utilize GoodNotes to its full potential, we've got a new course coming that has two parts:
- In-dept screencasts to master all the tips, tricks, ins, and outs of GoodNotes.
- Our in-house library of custom digital templates that you can import and use on your iPad.
Punch in your email below and we will: (a) send you two of our custom productivity templates right now to get started, and (b) let you know as soon as our GoodNotes course launches.
Wait. There's a Bonus….
Custom Productivity Templates for Your iPad
If you want to use custom productivity templates on your iPad, we've put together a free, walkthrough guide along with two of our in-house templates that can help you get started.
We'll show you…
- How to create and save custom page templates.
- How to use those page templates to transform GoodNotes into your own productivity notebook (or any other type of notebook replacement).
Plus, we also have included two of our custom productivity templates for you to get started with.
This guide is available for FREE to our email subscriber community. And you can get it right now.
How To Get Goodnotes For Free On Ipad
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