What could your life look like if you had adulting all figured out? Navigating the labyrinth of bills and responsibilities can sometimes feel like an intricate dance. The constant juggle between work, relationships, self-care and the pursuit of creativity may put you in a state of fatigue—call it survival mode—struggling to meet your goals while days, weeks and months fly by.
What you’re missing is a system. A way to check in, make progress day-to-day and keep sight of what you want to achieve. The first few months of each year bring with them a fresh sense of possibility—and with your new iPad, you have everything you need to optimise your life in one handy device.
Beyond its glossy aesthetic, the iPad is the perfect tool for any multitasking creative. From planning your schedule each morning to a guided meditation session each night, it can take you through each day like a trusty personal assistant.
Of course, like any instrument, it takes some configuration before you find out the best way to utilise its power. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to digital planning—and with the level of customisability offered to you in the iPad, half the fun lies in finding the apps, accessories and tools that best suit you.
Remember: the key to effective digital planning is consistency, and you are more likely to be consistent with habits that you enjoy. Below, find a comprehensive guide to everything to take note of as you embark on your digital planning journey this year.
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Find the right digital agenda
The ever-growing list of digital planning apps on iPad means that you have your pick of the lot, so take some time to go through a few options that stand out. If you’re big on notetaking (especially for school), Goodnotes is a popular choice for good reason. With an uncanny ability to convert handwriting to text—and cute virtual notebook cover options—it simplifies the note-taking experience, ensuring that you no longer have to shuffle between physical notebooks. Its latest update, Goodnotes 6, now supports more gestures with the Apple Pencil, such as Scribble to Erase and Circle to Lasso.
If your day to day involves a long list of tasks from multiple projects, Notion’s organisational prowess remains hard to beat. Behind its sleek design and sophisticated UI experience, the app offers a highly flexible interface for taking notes and creating to-do lists, letting you organize your tasks into tables, kanban boards and calendar views. From meal plans to bullet journals, there is no template you won’t find in Notion’s library.
Still not quite what you’re looking for? Try Sunsama, a beautifully designed organisational haven which makes planning feel like meditation. While Sunsama’s iPad app is not a standalone replacement for its desktop version, it serves as a companion with lighter functionality—good for on the go or right before you turn off the lights.
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Create a digital scrapbook
Nothing inspires creativity like a blank slate. Having a dedicated space for you to jot down ideas, leave half-finished sketches or brain-dump at the end of every day is a simple way to lessen your mental load while keeping your creative juices flowing, The benefit of doing this digitally is the ability to seamlessly build upon past ideas and creations without running out of space—or losing a thought.
Apple’s native white-boarding app, Freeform, offers an infinite canvas jam-packed with functionality. With a variety of brush styles and colour options; the ability to draw anywhere on the canvas with either your finger or Apple Pencil; and support for a wide range of files, including photos, video, audio, PDFs, web pages, map location links and sticky notes, the ways in which you can use Freeform to create your own personalised board are limitless. Whether you’re project-planning, rendering your future home or vision-boarding for the year ahead, there is no better tool—especially since boards are synced across all your Apple devices.
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Customise your iPad inside and out
Writers and artists will attest to the fact that not all surfaces are made equal. If you’re craving a more analogue feel under your Apple Pencil, try Paperlike’s iPad screen protector. As its name suggests, the product emulates the stroke resistance of real paper, bringing the comfort and precision of paper to your digital workflow. The result is a (fully recyclable) matte screen protector that allows you to create neater strokes and straighter lines—all without compromising screen clarity.
When it comes to your iPad, customisability doesn’t stop with just the hardware. You might already know how to change your wallpaper and set font preferences, but don’t underestimate the power of widgets. To fully optimise your digital planning experience, customised widgets (from size to functionality) are your secret weapon. Handpicking interactive widgets for your home screen allow you to get tasks done with just a tap. Right from a widget, you could mark a Reminder as done, play a podcast episode or turn on your living room lights—all without opening an app.
