Digital Planning - My New Obsession

Back when the dinosaurs roamed, and before breast cancer, I had a job. It was a demanding career that had me going in a million directions. Many times during the week, I attended meetings in different locations. So in the ‘90s, I carried a day planner. It was my bible. We all lived and breathed by it. It held college business cards, meeting notes, and the calendar in different formats.

At the time, we all had them. This was before laptops and cell phones were a thing. Mine was big, clunky, and proudly had my initials engraved on it. It was like carrying around a college textbook. Thinking about it now, it seems so primitive. But it worked.

Upping my organization game

Since then, I have caught up with technology and discovered digital planning. I think of it as if a diary and a google calendar had a baby. It’s more than just keeping track of appointments. I can manage my budget and track how much water I am drinking, my mood, and what needs attention around the house.

Tasks I want to accomplish are more manageable by planning when they happen. Recording significant things that occurred at the end of the day/week/month; makes looking back fun. For example, when my granddaughter took her first steps!

A creative outlet

The digital planner lets my creative side come out by using different widgets and stickers. I can also upload pictures and I can customize the aesthetic of the pages with how I feel or the time of year. It’s become a fun hobby, and it’s always with me. Because it's on every device, and I can easily share it with family/friends.

Did someone say free?

There are a plethora of different digital planners out there at a variety of price points. I can get everything I want or need (for free) using Canva. I used to use templates. I found two I liked, so I created my own using each element. I can make certain areas bigger or smaller and move things around to my liking.

The app I use for my planner is GoodNotes, but Notably is just as good. If you are an android person, Google Keep is fantastic.

Helping with memory loss

Like many of us living with cancer, my memory has suffered quite a bit over the years. There are some days I can’t recall what happened earlier in the week or even the previous day. I no longer feel overwhelmed if I don’t get to something or can’t remember what I did the day before. It is so satisfying to see all I have accomplished at the end of the day/week.

My next digital planning project is a digital recipe book!