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In the comments, share a link to your favorite digital time or task management apps, if you have one. Or... you can share a link to your favorite paper planner!

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Do you prefer paper or digital for keeping track of schedules and to-do lists?

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Digital vs. Paper Planning: Pros and Cons

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Digital vs. Paper Planning: Pros and Cons

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Both digital and paper planning methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Read this article comparing the two approaches.

Did the article make you want to try anything differently?

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We've always relied on calendars, datebooks, and personal planners to schedule activities, reminders, and goals. Over the last couple of decades, many have increasingly turned to digital planners and calendars rather than paper ones to keep their personal and professional schedules on track. But that doesn't mean the two need to be mutually exclusive. While both types of planners have their pros and cons, you can have the best of both worlds and use paper and digital planners together. Read on to determine the best approach for you.

The Pros and Cons of Digital vs. Paper Planners

Digital or paper planner loyalists have their reasons for sticking with one planner type over another. After all, planning is a personal habit, and we all have to go with the version that works best for us. Below are the pros and cons of both options.

Digital Planners

Digital planners typically operate as mobile or web-based applications on phones, tablets, and computers.

Pros:

Portability: Digital planners are usually accessible from a smartphone, which you can easily slip into your purse, backpack, or pocket and be on your way.

Automated notifications: You can turn on notifications for a digital planner, which lets you receive automatic reminders before an event or a deadline.

Shareability: A digital planner can typically be shared with others, such as family members or a personal assistant. Under some sharing permissions, you may even be able to let others set up appointments with you.

Cons:

Technical errors: If you use multiple operating systems, such as macOS at work, Microsoft Windows at home, and Google Calendar on your smartphone, you may be juggling multiple systems. If you're unable to sync them, it's easy for things to slip through the cracks.

Electronically reliant: Depending on a digital planner means that you're in trouble if you run out of battery or can't connect to Wi-Fi.

Lack of privacy: Digital planners can compromise your privacy. If your device or planner app doesn't have a secure password or two-step security, you could be susceptible to data breaches.

Screen fatigue: Spending more time online comes at a cost, and screen fatigue is a big one.

Paper Planners

Paper planners come in a range of styles, sizes, and formats. There are daily planners, weekly planners, monthly calendars, and even planners with additional features such as goal-setting and productivity pages and space for daily reflections.

Pros:

Easy to use: Paper planners don't require technical know-how. You just open them up and write down your goals, important dates, and events - anyone can use them.

Privacy and control of information: Your planner is yours and yours alone. If you want to restrict access to it, keep it in a private place, such as a locked desk drawer or cabinet.

Improves your memory: Researchers say writing by hand helps improve learning and memory.

Helps you reach your goals: You are 42% more likely to reach a goal when you write it down.

Customizable: The best planner is one customized to your specific needs. With paper planners, your options are nearly endless. Nowadays, you can choose your cover design, layouts (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.), and even the planner's subject matter (academic, everyday, wellness, faith, etc.).

Cons:

Portability: Unlike a phone, which you likely have on you most of the time, a planner is an additional item to carry. Ensuring you have a tote or bag with space for a planner, or investing in a pocket planner instead, will make it easier to remember to bring your planner book with you wherever you go.

Lack of automated reminders: You'll be responsible for checking your paper planner throughout the day to make sure you are on schedule.

Can't be automated or shared: Paper planners can't be integrated into company workflow tools or electronically shared with others.

Tips for Using a Digital and Paper Planner Together

While each type of planner has its benefits and drawbacks, you don't have to choose just one type. It's pretty simple to learn how to use a paper planner and digital calendar together - and no, it doesn't have to be tedious! Here are some tips for getting started:

1. Set different intentions for each planner.

If you use both your digital planner and paper planner for the same things, it's bound to get tiring recording identical information in two places. But if you set unique intentions for each planner, you're more likely to find joy (and organization).

Consider using your digital planner to keep track of events that will take place throughout the workday, especially if it's important that your boss and colleagues be able to see your schedule. But for things like friends' and families' birthdays, your grocery list, or long-term goals, make your paper planner your go-to. This approach will also help keep your personal and work life separate, making it easier to disconnect and focus on your personal needs once the workday is done.

If you're a student or a teacher, you may find you prefer a paper planner tailored to your needs, such as an Academic Planner or a Teacher Lesson Planner, and a digital planner for personal commitments. No system is wrong, as long as it works for you!

2. Invest in a portable planner.

For those days when you don't want to lug your laptop around or need a break from screen time, a portable planner, such as our PetitePlanner, is the perfect solution. Use it to keep track of any items that come up during the day, such as that maintenance light that just popped up on your car dashboard. Stuck in the carpool line? Use your paper planner for some quick journaling or to jot down what you're grateful for that day. You'll be surprised at the inspiration that comes when you set pen to paper.

3. Use a desk pad.

To get work done, it's sometimes essential to disconnect from our devices. Otherwise, the temptation to refresh our email every two minutes or click through our various opened tabs is too strong. To ensure you can disconnect without missing anything important, consider using a desk pad to jot down upcoming meetings or calls noted on your digital calendar, so you'll know when you need to log back on. This will allow you to safely disconnect and get work done without missing something later in the day. Your workload will thank you!

4. Schedule time for calendar syncs.

While it's important to keep your personal and work or school life separate, sometimes it's inevitable that they'll overlap. Set aside time each week to update and sync your planners. For instance, if you're taking a few days off for a vacation, you'll likely need to record that in both your work and personal calendar.

There's no reason to take an either-or approach to planning. By integrating your paper and digital planners, you can reap the benefits of both! If you've been using digital planners for a while and are considering a change, check out our planner collection today.

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Pros and Cons of Digital and Paper Planners | Erin Condren

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Digital planners are becoming increasingly more popular. Learn how to use a digital and paper planner together to achieve your goals and reap the benefits of both. Learn more today!

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Read this brief page, "Identify Your Time Management Style" and then answer the poll. In the comments, tell us... do you like living with this style, or does one of the other styles sound better to you?

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The Importance of Time Management in College

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The Importance of Time Management in College

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Good time management skills can help you reduce stress, improve academic performance, and create a better work-life balance. Open the link to read sections 3.1 and 3.2 in College Success. Then, comment below with one takeaway from the section.

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3.1 The Benefits of Time Management - College Success | OpenStax

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This free textbook is an OpenStax resource written to increase student access to high-quality, peer-reviewed learning materials.

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Common Time Management Challenges for Students

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Common Time Management Challenges for Students

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College students often face unique time management challenges, such as balancing multiple classes, extracurricular activities, and social life. What's your biggest time management challenge, and how has it affected your college experience so far?

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There are numerous apps designed to help students manage their time more effectively. Visit this page and take a look at the apps in at least one productivity category.

In the comments, tell us which one(s) you want to try. Download one and give it a try!

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How much time did you spend procrastinating today?

It doesn't matter how smart you are; if you can't get yourself to buckle down and actually do your work, you'll never achieve your goals. Of course, the portion of your brain that's focused on the long term knows this well - but it doesn't always steer the ship. Social media sites, cat videos, and random urges to Google "how much does a chimp bench press" often put your short term-focused lizard brain at the helm, breaking your concentration and destroying your productivity in the process.

This collection of resources will help you to fight against those distractions, improve your actual ability to focus, and boost your overall productivity. The end goal: Accomplish more in less time. If you can master your productivity, you can get a ton of stuff done and still have free time left over every single day.

Best Tools and Apps to Keep You Productive

Stay Motivated and Build Self-Discipline

Make the Most of Your Time

Attain Unbreakable Focus

Our Best Podcast Episodes on Getting Things Done

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How much time did you spend procrastinating today? It doesn't matter how smart you are; if you can't get yourself to buckle down and actually do your

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Time Blocking - especially helpful for ADHD!

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Time Blocking - especially helpful for ADHD!

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Watch this 1-minute video on how to use Google Calendar for time blocking. This is a great strategy for everyone, but people with ADHD often find it particularly effective. You will be doing this in your module assessment, so pay attention! For more detailed information on this topic, refer to this article.

In the comments, tell us what you think of this strategy!

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Procrastination is a common obstacle to effective time management. Read section 3.3 of College Success to learn about why we, as humans, procrastinate. You have to know the why before you can attempt to fix it!

After watching, reflect on your own procrastination habits. What triggers your procrastination, and how does it impact your studies?

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Estimated completion time: 13 minutes.

The Reasons behind Procrastination

There are several reasons we procrastinate, and a few of them may be surprising. On the surface we often tell ourselves it is because the task is something we do not want to do, or we make excuses that there are other things more important to do first. In some cases this may be true, but there can be other contributors to procrastination that have their roots in our physical well-being or our own psychological motivations.

Lack of Energy

Sometimes we just do not feel up to a certain task. It might be due to discomfort, an illness, or just a lack of energy. If this is the case, it is important to identify the cause and remedy the situation. It could be something as simple as a lack of sleep or improper diet. Regardless, if a lack of energy is continually causing you to procrastinate to the point where you are beginning to feel stress over not getting things done, you should definitely assess the situation and address it.

Lack of Focus

Much like having low physical energy, a lack of mental focus can be a cause of procrastination. This can be due to mental fatigue, being disorganized, or allowing yourself to be distracted by other things. Again, like low physical energy, this is something that may have farther-reaching effects in your life that go beyond the act of simply avoiding a task. If it is something that is recurring, you should properly assess the situation.

Fear of Failure

This cause of procrastination is not one that many people are aware of, especially if they are the person avoiding tasks because of it. To put it in simple words, it is a bit of trickery we play on ourselves by avoiding a situation that makes us psychologically uncomfortable. Even though they may not be consciously aware of it, the person facing the task is afraid that they cannot do it or will not be able to do it well. If they fail at the task, it will make them appear incompetent to others or even to themselves. Where the self-trickery comes in is by avoiding the task. In the person's mind, they can rationalize that the reason they failed at the task was because they ran out of time to complete it, not that they were incapable of doing it in the first place.

It is important to note that a fear of failure may not have anything to do with the actual ability of the person suffering from it. They could be quite capable of doing the task and performing well, but it is the fear that holds them back.

The Effects of Procrastination

In addition to the causes of procrastination, you must also consider what effects it can have. Again, many of these effects are obvious and commonly understood, but some may not be so obvious and may cause other issues.

Loss of Time

The loss of time as an effect of procrastination is the easiest to identify since the act of avoiding a task comes down to not using time wisely. Procrastination can be thought of as using the time you have to complete a task in ways that do not accomplish what needs to be done.

Loss of Goals

Another of the more obvious potentially adverse effects of procrastination is the loss of goals. Completing a task leads to achieving a goal. These can be large or small (e.g., from doing well on an assignment to being hired for a good job). Without goals you might do more than delay work on a task-you may not complete it at all. The risk for the loss of goals is something that is very impactful.

Loss of Self-Esteem

Often, when we procrastinate we become frustrated and disappointed in ourselves for not getting important tasks completed. If this continues to happen, we can begin to develop a low opinion of ourselves and our own abilities. We begin to suffer from low self-esteem and might even begin to feel like there is something wrong with us. This can lead to other increasingly negative mental factors such as anger and depression. As you can see, it is important for our own well-being to avoid this kind of procrastination effect.

Stress

Procrastination causes stress and anxiety, which may seem odd since the act of procrastination is often about avoiding a task we think will be stressful in itself! Anyone who has noticed that nagging feeling when they know there is something else they should be doing is familiar with this.

On the other hand, some students see that kind of stress as a boost of mental urgency. They put off a task until they feel that surge of motivation. While this may have worked in the past, they quickly learn that procrastinating when it comes to college work almost always includes an underestimation of the tasks to be completed- sometimes with disastrous results.

Strategies for Psyching Ourselves Out and Managing Procrastination

Now that you understand a few of the major problems procrastination can produce, let's look at methods to manage procrastination and get you on to completing the tasks, no matter how unpleasant you think they might be.

Get Organized

Much of this chapter is dedicated to defining and explaining the nature of time management. The most effective way to combat procrastination is to use time and project management strategies such as schedules, goal setting, and other techniques to get tasks accomplished in a timely manner.

Put Aside Distractions

Several of the methods discussed in this chapter deal specifically with distractions. Distractions are time-killers and are the primary way people procrastinate. It is too easy to just play a video game a little while longer, check out social media, or finish watching a movie when we are avoiding a task. Putting aside distractions is one of the primary functions of setting priorities.

Reward Yourself

Rewarding yourself for the completion of tasks or meeting goals is a good way to avoid procrastination. An example of this would be rewarding yourself with the time to watch a movie you would enjoy a fter you have finished the things you need to do, rather than using the movie to keep yourself from getting things done.

Be Accountable-Tell Someone Else

A strong motivational tool is to hold ourselves accountable by telling someone else we are going to do something and when we are going to do it. This may not seem like it would be very effective, but on a psychological level we feel more compelled to do something if we tell someone else. It may be related to our need for approval from others, or it might just serve to set a level of commitment. Either way, it can help us stay on task and avoid procrastination-especially if we take our accountability to another person seriously enough to warrant contacting that person and apologizing for not doing what we said we were going to do.

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3.3 Procrastination: The Enemy Within - College Success | OpenStax

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There are several reasons we procrastinate, and a few of them may be surprising. On the surface we often tell ourselves it is because the task is someth...

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Overcoming procrastination requires self-awareness and practical strategies. Some techniques include breaking tasks into smaller, manageable parts, using the 'two-minute rule,' and creating accountability systems. Share a strategy you've used successfully to combat procrastination, or one you'd like to try.

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Watch this 1-minute video to learn a super effective strategy for defeating procrastination (no frogs are harmed with this strategy!). For more on this technique, refer to section 3.7 of College Success.

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Eat That Frog Brian Tracy Motivational Quote #shorts

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Developing good time management habits can help reduce procrastination in the long term. Read this article on habit formation and its role in time management. Then, identify one new habit you'd like to form to improve your time management skills. How do you plan to implement it?

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5 Simple Habits That Will Boost Your Time Management Skills

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Simple, everyday routines can help us improve our time management skills, starting from some few, easy productive daily habits.

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The Eisenhower Matrix, also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix, helps you prioritize tasks by urgency and importance. It divides your activities into four quadrants. Watch this 3-minute video from John Green on why and how to use the matrix. For more explanation on how to use the matrix, refer to section 3.5: Prioritization in College Success.

Briefly sketch out the quadrants on paper or think about it. If you had to guess, which quadrant do you think you currently spend the most time in? If it's not Q2, what could you change to get more of your to-do list there?

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My 2-minute video here will show you how you can subscribe to your Brightspace calendar in your Google calendar. I think you'll find this feature very useful!

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Watch this 7-minute video to learn about the Pomodoro Technique, a fantastic and easy strategy to implement that will help you stop procrastinating AND helps you learn more effectively and efficiently.

Give it a try and then come back and tell us how it went!

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My #1 Method for Stopping Procrastination

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To-do lists are a simple yet powerful tool for managing your time and tasks. However, not all to-do lists are created equal. Read this article on how to create effective to-do lists. Do you like using to-do lists?

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How to Write Better To-Do Lists as a Student

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Students have many tasks to keep track of, so making to-do lists is an obvious choice. Here’s how to make your to-do lists better.

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What did you like most about this lesson?