Let me ask you: Are you a paper girl or a digital-all-the-way die-hard?
I’d have to say I love paper – but I refuse to use a traditional planner.
Instead, I live by my digital to-do lists, menu plans, and Gmail calendars.
If you’re curious about why I made that choice, keep reading….
Love that delete button
My top reason for preferring electronic to paper when it comes to task lists is that I love deleting what I’ve finished.
Crossing or scribbling out paper lists just doesn’t give that clean aesthetic.
I know, call me crazy – it’s a personal quirk!
But if you’ve ever groused about the state of your formerly-pretty lists, mourned the end of the day solely because your to-do art got covered up, or wished there was a way to snip out the “done” items….
Give digital a try! You might just love the result.
Keep the cute journals for your personal musings (after all, we don’t want to squelch art!), and let the task list stay bare bones.
Perpetual customization
Number two on my list for digital chores is slightly more expected: Digital to-do lists are endlessly customizable.
- Didn’t get to everything today?
- Decided to grill hot dogs instead of cook pasta a la pesto for supper?
- Chose to have a movie-and-pajamas date with the kids?
No biggie. Just cut/paste those reminders and chores to tomorrow’s list, and you’re set.
Digital to-do lists: endlessly customizable, no cross-outs, and always at your fingertips.
I like to pre-plan my week.
But as all moms know, life gets in the way of our perfect outlines. (And then we have to clean up the messes!)
Electronic menus, task lists, and reminders allow me to easily shuffle around my notes-to-self.
- I can switch tonight’s meal out for the entree two days ahead if I suddenly need the crockpot meal this evening.
- If I need to make an emergency grocery store run (when I was planning to use that transit time on a house project!), I can quickly look over the upcoming days’ chore load, find something to trim, and substitute my delayed project. (Without creating cross-outs on my pretty paper!)
- And if I’m really too tired this month to take on the task of photo album organizing, a click of my fingers snoozes it till next month – and all my getting-organized plans with it.
Adapting to life’s chaos couldn’t be easier!
I’m thrilled with the flexibility afforded by my digital-only scenario.
Save on space
Third and finally, employing a digital task list is very paper saving (not to mention space!).
(Con: It does require frequent access to a digital device.)
This one cuts both ways, I’ll admit. If you’re in the middle of a digital detox, you probably shouldn’t convert your entire reminder system to something electronic.
But. On the other hand, since we’re so tied to our digital devices…. Why not make the most of it?
If you’ve got your phone in your pocket already, why not add your day’s tasks, the meal plan to thaw (and prep) for dinner, and your pop-up calendar reminder that goes off every Wednesday?
It’s just being smart with your time. And effort. Oh, and ease of access.
So. Should you use a paper planner or go digital?
It all depends on your top priority. If you love the feel and use of actual paper products, fill up that journal and have fun.
If you’re like me, and you want the neatest, most sleek-and-minimal aesthetic possible (and don’t mind being tied to a digital device), then go electronic.
It’s all about which way works best for you – as it should be.
After all, if you’re not using that to-do list, is it really doing you much good?
Give it a try in the other dimension (physical vs. electronic) if you can’t ever seem to get anything done.
Or confirm yourself in your life-long affinity for paper products/love affair with digital if you’ve got a system that works.
Do you need to make any changes to your to-do list today?
