Walking into a bookstore in early January, you can’t help but notice the shelves that are packed full with colourful daily planner notebooks. They vary in size and thickness, sporting vibrant colours or minimalistic designs. Pretty, one might think. But ultimately, what part do they play in our daily lives now that we’re at an age where people prefer smartphones and tablets over traditional pen and paper?

Surely it’ll be a waste as traditional paper planners are no longer relevant in this day and age… right?

That’s where you’re wrong folks.

While digital planners are convenient, daily planner notebooks are just as advantageous. Don’t believe us? Well here are our top  5 reasons why you should still get yourself a daily planner notebook! 

Creative Freedom.

Unlike digital planners, a paper planner notebook can afford you with the more creative freedom to create and develop a note-taking system that best works for you. As different people think and process information differently, a paper planner will allow you to note down your information in the forms of lists, mind maps and even doodles. 

Plus, if you’re multilingual and tend to include a mix of English and other languages into your personal notes (so that you can understand them better), you won’t have to deal with auto-correct changing your words and throwing whole sentences out of whack!

Show off your personality!

At work, it can be hard to let your personality shine through when everyone is dressed practically the same or using similar devices. This is where the daily planner comes in handy! As mentioned before, daily planners can come in a range of different colours, patterns, styles, and designs. 

A brightly coloured planner or one with a chic pattern can really showcase your fun style and big personality. On the other hand, a sleek, elegant and refined-looking planner can lend an aura of professionalism while simultaneously helping you to keep track of tasks. 

Additionally, when you’re in a meeting, it’s far more acceptable (and polite!) to use pen and paper to jot down meeting notes, remarks and ideas as opposed to whipping out your phone, tablet or laptop.

Less Time-consuming.

As opposed to wasting your time and energy scrolling through your smartphone (and sometimes getting side-tracked by the other apps and notifications), it’s much more efficient to just scribble down your notes in a paper planner instead.  

Honestly, why bother wasting so much mental energy going through your phone, launching your app and keying in a bunch of information that you don’t really even need when you can just reach out for a pen and write down ‘‘Meeting @ 2 pm’ on your planner. No muss, no fuss. 

Compliments your Digital Devices.

Digital devices like smartphones and tablets are becoming commonplace in households and in the workforce. With these devices, comes the apps; digital planners, progress trackers, an app for mindfulness, you name it, there’s probably an app for it. But be that as it may, having a paper planner alongside your digital devices isn’t a bad idea.

 For one, even if you did back up your data onto your smart devices, there’s always a chance of it running out of batteries because of how frequently you use it. With a planner at hand, you can still jot down important notes while your device gets charged. Plus, it can also give you time to relax your eyes from always having to look at a screen!

Versatile. 

While physical paper planners can be a little limited (ex. they can’t do things like sync up with someone else’s calendar or schedules!), they can be pretty versatile in their own right. If you’re using your phone, chances are you’re going to be using different apps for different things (like the calendar app may keep your schedule but you might need a separate app for your to-do lists and goal tracker). 

With a paper planner, you can practically fit practically everything into one place; from to-do lists, notes, assignments and phone numbers to goal trackers, ideas, doodles and more. Plus, planners can also be just as portable as your phone!  

So in summary, planner notebooks are still pretty useful to have on hand. They’re great for note-taking during meetings or sketching out ideas when you’re out and about. Most importantly, they’re versatile and don’t necessarily need to look professional and boring. If you can’t seem to find a planner that suits your personality, why not design one yourself HERE.