Digital Day Planners Vs. Paper Calendars: Which Is Right For You?

By Author: William Hauselberg
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Well-kept personal planners and organizers can help you remember everything from important appointments to loved one’s birthdays. And with so many calendar options available, it’s important to know the benefits and limitations of each when making a decision. Personal calendars can generally be divided into two categories: electronic calendars and paper day planners. The one you choose will depend on your organizational needs.

Benefits of a paper day planner

The traditional paper appointment book is a classic method for keeping your life in order. Consider the benefits of paper day planners when choosing your type of calendar.

• Durable and reliable

If you take your day planner on the go, there’s a high likelihood it’ll get jostled around in a bag or encounter the occasional coffee spill. If that’s the case, a paper appointment book may be for you. Traditional appointment books can withstand drops, spills and scratches better than electronic devices. Plus, they never have to be plugged in.

• Inexpensive

Paper personal organizers are a fraction of the cost of most electronic ...
... calendars. The lower price is especially beneficial if your day planner is lost or stolen.

• Easy to use

While electronic personal organizers come with a learning curve before they can be used quickly and fluently, paper day planners couldn’t be more straightforward. They require no technical knowledge or user manuals—just a pen or pencil.

Benefits of an electronic personal organizer

Digital day planners have become increasingly popular with the introduction of smartphones. They offer several advantages over paper appointment books. Before making a decision, though, it’s important to make sure digital day planners offers the features you need.

• All-in-one device

While stand-alone digital personal organizers, also called PDAs, are still available, most smartphones and tablet computers come with similar features built in. Using the digital day planner in your smart phone means one less item to carry around. If your phone or tablet computer can handle email, Internet, contacts and appointments, then you have the benefit of keeping all of your important information in one place. Most all-in-one devices do more than keep track of appointments and send email. In fact, many come with built-in calculators, stock tickers, weather reports, sports scores and just about anything else you might need on the go. If you’re comfortable using digital devices and prefer to travel light, using the electronic day planner on your smart phone or tablet computer may be the way to go.

• Almost unlimited archive and storage space

While most paper appointment books and desktop calendars have to be replaced every year or two, digital day planners have no definitive start or end date. If you stay with the same software platform, you can potentially look back to past appointments without digging through paper records. Even if you change devices, many software platforms will transfer your day planner data to your new device, so the digital upgrade is seamless.

• Online backup

Many people are so reliant on their personal organizer that losing it can be tragic. Digital day planners solve this problem with online backup. Certain software platforms store your calendar and contact data on remote servers or ‘cloud servers.’ So, if your digital day planner is ever lost, stolen or damaged, your calendar information can be simply downloaded onto your new device.

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