Making Plans: 5 Reasons to Use a Planner

Recently, I committed to doing a new project that I know is going to tap my already limited time. A sense of panic immediately hit me and I started looking at ways to keep myself on task! Being a techie gal with my iPhone rarely more than an arm’s reach away, I evaluated dozens of productivity apps and software options. Ultimately, I surprised myself when I decided that planning on paper with a good, old-fashioned pen was going to work better then any high-tech equivalent I could find.

Here are my top five reasons why I decided that planning my life on paper was the way to go:

1. There is no learning curve. Would you rather spend your time reading productivity blogs and watching demos on YouTube or actually getting your stuff done and crossing it off your list? Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. I already know how to use a pen and paper!

2. You miss out on creative brainstorming. The physical act of writing a list connects your brain to your hand in a way that can inspire creative thoughts and generate new ideas. Keying in to-do’s on a sterile software just isn’t the same. Plus, it’s hard to doodle in the margin of an app!

3. You can make it your own. Apps are limited in their functionality. One app I looked at required buying another app to fulfill a functionality gap in the first app. Good grief! With the digital planner products from Scrap Girls, you determine the functionality of each page and make it fit the way your mind and life already work!

4. Software eventually becomes obsolete. Many apps are created by startups that go bust too soon. Do I really want to invest hours in learning a new program only to find out later that there are no updates, no support, and no bug fixes to keep it running? This thought actually stopped me in my tracks.

5. You’re creating memories each day. A paper planner is a tool to keep you organized, but it’s also a historical record for you and your family. At the end of the year or even five years from now, you can revisit your paper planner and remember what you did, what was important, and where you went. Your paper planner serves as a defacto journal for you!

If you aren’t keen on wasting untold hours trying to figure out how to become a more productive person, consider the simple solution of a paper planner. I promise, you’ll be ticking off your to-do’s in no time!