Since elementary school, I have been a paper planner girl. If you also went to school in the early-mid 00s, maybe you also had the standard issued planner from Premier Agendas. I actually still have a stack of mine in storage at my parents’ house because I am not at all crazy. In college, I took my paper planner game very seriously. I had many that I loved– from Lilly Pulitzer to Kate Spade. At some point in my 20s, I completely switched to digital. I would still keep the occasional notebook next to me at my desk for notes and to-dos. Then it really was entirely digital.
I still live and breathe by my digital systems. Logistically, I need most everything available on digital. Appointments in my digital calendar. My email inbox. My Google Sheets for tracking my editorial calendar and campaign scheduling. I need it to be available and editable for the most flexibility.
But I craved the feel of a paper agenda. At the beginning of last year, I splurged on an iPad determined to turn it into a digital version of an agenda. I really thought I was going to be able to do it. It did prove a little more challenging though. Nothing felt right or worked the exact way I wanted it to work. It was frustrating. I was trying all the digital planners and downloading the apps and using a screen protector that mimics paper and watching tutorials on Youtube. But I kept finding myself at a loss. It just wasn’t the same.
It finally dawned on me that I was trying soooo hard to turn my iPad into a notebook when what I really needed was… a notebook.
I decided to start the new year with a plain notebook and immediately I was like, yep, this is exactly what I needed all along. In tandem with my digital systems (see above), it fills the gap of that paper-vibe I was craving.
Usually, I would run out and buy a new notebook, like I would buy new workout clothes, to try to inspire myself to adopt the habit. Instead, I dug through my collection of notebooks that I already have accumulated. It’s nothing fancy– just a paper notebook where I can keep track of running daily– and long term– to-do lists.
Every week, I start fresh. I write down everything coming up: big plans, what I want to wear, what we’re having for dinner, my workout schedule, my hair wash schedule (lol). Then I map out as many to-dos as possible and break larger projects into smaller tasks.
Each morning, I review and tweak. I cross things out as I go. I circle what didn’t get done so I can “drag” it to the next day. And there’s something deeply satisfying about watching the list shrink.
In an age where everything is becoming more and more digital, I love that the solution to my “problem” was simple. Not another app. Not a more optimized system. Just paper.
If that’s not a metaphor for life, I don’t know what is.
PS: The iPad isn’t going to waste. While it didn’t work as my digital planner, I use it every single day. It’s a total workhorse and I love bringing it along with me as a laptop alternative– paired with the Magic Keyboard, it really can do so much. If I didn’t have to edit photos and videos, I think I could use it as my daily computer. Right now, it lives next to my laptop as a second screen while I work (I accidentally discovered Sidecar one night and never looked back). And since we don’t have a TV in our room (zero wall space), it’s what I use to watch shows while I knit or needlepoint.
