Each year, I recalibrate my planning setup slightly, and 2023 is no exception! This year, the notable switch is from an assortment of paper planner to digital planning on my iPad. So, what’s in my 2023 planning line-up?
Digital iPad Planner
I briefly tried using an undated digital planner with the GoodNotes App in Fall 2021, and decided it wasn’t for me. In October 2022, I gave it a second try with a dated planner, which had the added benefit of links between all of the dates–so from the monthly, you can directly link to a particular daily and weekly view. I also watched a few GoodNotes YouTube videos and was able to change my settings to make it easier to write with an Apple pencil–and I’ve been hooked ever since!
The digital planners I’ve been using are the “Hybrid Weeks” from the DigiSparkles Etsy shop. This allows me to have a monthly, weekly, daily, and most importantly YEARLY spreads in one spot, and easily move between them with the links. The yearly spread is particularly important to me because it allows me to see the full picture of a semester or year, with all of the dance, work, and family events happening.
![](https://emmatrentman.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_0132-1024x768.png)
For me, the other main benefits of digital planning are being able to easily color code without carrying around a bunch of pens and being able to have multiple notebooks and planners on one device (for example, I use the same planner in a different color as my dance planner). It is more difficult to write on the glass surface, but since my handwriting is pretty terrible anyway I don’t see this as a huge disadvantage 😀.
Trello
I primarily use the ipad planner to plan my days, weeks, and months, and have switched back to Trello to keep track of all of the tasks and projects I need to keep track of throughout the semester. Once more, I set up a different workspace for the various areas of my life, with a main work board and other boards as needed for large projects and events. I really like the Kanban style lists for managing projects over time, and Trello does this really well!
Notion
This doesn’t mean I’ve entirely given up on Notion though! I still use it for tracking, particularly looking at trends across weeks, months, and semesters. Things I like to track include habits, books I read, and what I spend my time on. I track these on the daily page of my digital planner, and then log them in Notion weekly.
So, that’s my 2023 setup! Is there anything new you’re trying in 2023?
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