A digital planner is a PDF file with hyperlinks and tabs that allow you to jump quickly to a particular page. You can write on the digital planner with a stylus and decorate it with digital stickers.

To get started with digital planning you’ll need the following:

• A tablet with a stylus pen (e.g. iPad & apple pencil, or Samsung tablet & S pen)

• A PDF annotation app (my favorites apps are Goodnotes for iPad, and Penly for Android)

• A digital planner

I recommend you choose an iPad that’s compatible with the Apple pencil. The size of the iPad is a personal choice. I prefer using my digital planner on the 12.9 inch iPad pro due to the larger screen, but if you need to carry it around with you then you may want to choose a smaller iPad for portability.

You can use Apple Pencil (2nd generation) with these iPad models:
– iPad mini (6th generation)
– iPad Air (4th generation and later)
– iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later)
– iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later)

You can use Apple Pencil (1st generation) with these iPad models:
– iPad mini (5th generation)
– iPad (6th generation and later)
– iPad Air (3rd generation)
– iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st and 2nd generation)
– iPad Pro 10.5-inch
– iPad Pro 9.7-inch

I recommend the following accessories:
– A paper feel matte screen protector for iPad users. It makes the writing experience much better in my opinion.
– A silicone case for your Apple pencil or stylus pen. The extra grip helps with handwriting.
– A bluetooth keyboard if you want to type in your digital planner. I personally do a mix of handwriting and typing.
– An iPad/tablet stand. This is particularly useful for propping up your screen if you are typing on an external keyboard.

To use a digital planner, you will need a separate PDF annotation app.

My favorite app on the iPad is Goodnotes. On the iPad other apps include Notability and Noteful.

My favorite Android app is Penly. You can create custom hyperlinks and batch import stickers, and there’s even some undated digital planners included within the app so there is no need to purchase a separate digital planner.

Goodnotes app does not come with digital planners. To use a digital planner in Goodnotes, you have to import the planner file into the app separately.

To get a digital planner on Goodnotes, you can tap on the Share icon and share the file to Goodnotes app.

A digital planner is a personal choice but here are the key things you should look for in any digital planner:

• Fully hyperlinked for ease of navigation. All daily and weekly pages should be hyperlinked so you can jump to them directly.
• Lag free when you tap on the hyperlinks.

Digital planners come in many different daily and weekly layouts, so make sure to choose the right one to suit your needs or choose a digital planner bundle that includes multiple layouts so you can try out different ones to see what works for you.

Depending on what app you’re using, you can normally share the digital planner directly to the app.

OneNote app can be used for digital planning but it doesn’t come with any digital planners, so you will need to import a OneNote planner into the app. OneNote is great for syncing across multiple platforms however the app isn’t made for digital planning and I personally don’t find it as easy to use as other apps.

I love digital planning on my Samsung tablet with the S pen and Penly app. Penly app allows you to create custom hyperlinks and batch import stickers, and there’s even some undated digital planners included within the app so there is no need to purchase a separate digital planner.

Another popular choice is the Mi Pad and smart pen.

On Android you can also use OneNote app which is great for syncing across multiple platforms, however the downside is that OneNote planners work slightly differently to PDF planners and I personally don’t find them as user friendly.