Easy Digital Planner

I’ve always been a hard-core paper planner girl, but if I’m being completely honest they’ve just gotten so expensive! I decided that it was time to find a digital planner that actually works for me so I’m currently testing one out and so far it’s been really great. Right now I’m using Structured, and there are a few reasons why I picked this one to start the transition.

First, I wanted something inexpensive. Structured can be used completely free, or you can pay an annual fee for additional features. At the moment the free version seems to be enough for my needs, and it doesn’t get much better than free! There were other options that definitely fit my aesthetic and visual needs better, but with a $50 dollar annual fee I may as well just pay the same amount for a new paper planner each year.

I also wanted something extremely easy to use. I tried a couple of other options, including setting up calendar templates in One Note, and none of them were super intuitive. I don’t want to have to learn something new and Structured couldn’t be easier. It works similarly to the iPhone calendar app, or Google calendar, but the interface is a lot cleaner and it’s way more visually appealing. I also love that each task has a little bubble next to it so that you can check them off as you complete them.

Another important feature is the ability to create notes for any of the tasks throughout the day. When I put “grocery shopping” on my schedule I can also enter my entire grocery list so all I have to do at the store is open that task on my phone. Similarly, if I have a bunch of errands to run, I can list them as “run errands” and then go in and note where I need to go. This has eliminated the need to create these same notes in my phone’s notes app, so I’m not constantly going back and forth between apps.

One of my main concerns is that I have a bit of a photographic memory, and I’ve always been able to visualize my paper planner spreads so that I have a good understanding of what might be happening each week or month, without having to get out my planner and look at it (if that makes any sense). I’m a very visual person, and it was important that I be able to support that. So far I’ve been finding that when I have my schedule right on my phone, I don’t have to rely on my memory as much. I’m hoping that this will mean I can give that brain space to other things!

I would definitely recommend Structured. There are a couple of features that I would love to see added, like a better option for a monthly or weekly view. I also wish that there were more icons available in the free version. So far I’m not sold on paying for the additional features, but I can see how they might be helpful – being able to repeat tasks like you currently can in the iPhone calendar, and copying entire days. I might just be too cheap to justify spending money when I can enter all of that myself. Even If I do decide to upgrade, it’s still much more affordable than my paper planners that I was buying every year!