What You Need to Start Digital Planning in 2026: A Beginner-Friendly Guide

Hi friend! I’m so glad you’re here! If you’re brand new to digital planning, I know it can feel overwhelming. There are devices to choose from, apps to compare, and suddenly people are talking about “layers,” “stickers,” “hyperlinked tabs,” and you’re just thinking… I literally just want a planner I can write on.

I promise—starting digital planning is much easier than it looks.

As a digital planner and sticker creator on Etsy, I work inside these apps every single day, and I want to walk you through exactly what you need, what to download, and how to get started confidently.

Let’s take it step-by-step!

What You Need to Start Digital Planning

Great news—you really only need three things:

1.  A Device

Here are the most common options:

iPad (most popular)

·      Best beginner-friendly choice

·      Works with Apple Pencil

·      High-resolution screens

·      Smooth writing feel

If you ask me what MOST digital planner users choose—the answer is almost always iPad.

Android Tablet (Samsung, Lenovo, Amazon Fire)

·      A great alternative

·      More budget-friendly

·      Paired with stylus options like S-Pen

If you're already an Android user—you’ll love the ecosystem connection.

Touchscreen Laptop or 2-in-1 Devices

·      Surface + stylus

·      Lenovo Yoga

·      Modern touchscreen laptops

Not as common, but works!

2.  A Stylus

This is what makes digital planning FUN—writing feels natural and smooth.

Apple Pencil (my favorite)

·      Very precise

·      Pressure-sensitive

·      Connects perfectly with iPad

Alternatives:

·      Logitech Crayon

·      S-Pen (Samsung devices)

·      Surface Pen

·      Generic stylus

You truly don’t need the fanciest stylus to start—but I recommend choosing something rechargeable with a fine tip.

3.  A Digital Planning App

This is the app you use to:

·      Write

·      Place stickers

·      Create hyperlinks

·      Organize pages

·      Import planners

And here’s where opinions come in…

There are LOTS of apps—but I want to focus on just the two I personally recommend most:

⭐ GoodNotes

⭐ Noteful

Both are amazing, but they feel different and work differently—so let’s compare!

GoodNotes vs. Noteful — An Honest Comparison

I’ve used GoodNotes for years, and recently I’ve been testing Noteful—and I genuinely love both, but in different ways.

Let’s look at them side-by-side!

Noteful — My Current Favorite

I’ve been using Noteful lately and honestly—I’m loving it.

Here’s why:

Writing feels extremely smooth

·      The ink just glides.

·      No lag.

·      Looks great whether you zoom in or not.

It feels just like writing on real paper but with way more benefits like:

Layers (THIS is huge!)

Layers allow you to separate planning elements like this:

·      Layer 1 → decorative planner paper

·      Layer 2 → decorative stickers

·      Layer 3 → another layer of decorative stickers

·      Layer 4 → writing

Meaning…

·      You can delete stickers later without erasing writing

·      You can turn off a layer to “clean up” your spread

·      You can experiment with layouts without commitment

If you like decorating or customizing—layers are a dream.

Tags & Page Pinning

No need to scroll through 200 pages to find your:

·      Health tracker

·      Meal planner

·      Vision board

·      Budget sheet

You simply pin or tag pages and jump straight back to them. Makes life easy!

Sticker placement feels intuitive

·      Dragging images is smooth

·      Cropping is simple

·      Transparency works beautifully

If you love stickers (like I do)…Noteful supports creativity effortlessly.

Noteful is Best for you if:

·      you decorate heavily

·      you like reorganizing spreads after they are designed

·      you want a “clean workspace”

·      handwriting and aesthetic layout matter

GoodNotes — Classic and Well-Established

I will always recommend GoodNotes, especially for beginners who want familiar structure.

Here’s why many people still start with this app:

Great Long-Term Organization

Folders, subfolders, archiving—very clear and structured.

Perfect if you:

·      store multiple planners/notebooks

·      keep journals

·      take notes for work or class

·      organize notebooks by year

Search features

GoodNotes excels at finding things.

You can search:

·      typed text

·      handwriting (yes, handwritten!)

·      titles

·      labels

That’s impressive.

Familiar workflow

·      GoodNotes feels like a classic notebook shelf.

·      You don’t need to learn concepts like layers or tagging.

·      Open notebook → write → flip tab → done.

Best for you if:

·      you want simple organization

·      you don't decorate much

·      you prefer traditional notebook structure

·      you want great search features

So Which Should You Choose?

Let’s summarize clearly:

Feature	Noteful	GoodNotes
Writing smoothness	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Layers	YES	No
Best for creative planning	YES	Kind of
Sticker management	Excellent	Good
Organization	Tags + pins	Folders
Beginner ease	Medium	High
Best for multiple notebooks	Good	Excellent

How to Actually Start Digital Planning

Here’s your beginner setup checklist:

Step 1: Download your planner

Choose one you love! Things to look for:

·      Hyperlinked tabs

·      Monthly/weekly/daily links

·      Notes pages

·      Extras like budget, goals, habits, etc.

(Pro tip: many of mine include this!)

Step 2: Import your planner

Inside your app, tap:

·      “Import” or “New Document”

·      Choose your planner PDF from your files

·      Open it

That’s literally it.

Step 3: Duplicate a "fresh" version

This is important!

·      Keep a blank original so you can use the digital planner over and over (especially if it’s undated)

·      Duplicate before using

·      Name new version like:

·      2026 Planning

·      Personal Planner

·      Work Planner

Step 4: Add your first page elements

Examples:

·      Monthly dashboard

·      Grocery list

·      Goals page

·      Budget overview

You can add:

·      Stickers

·      Handwriting

·      Typed text

·      Widgets

·      Digital Inserts

Step 5: Get into a routine

Digital planning is the most effective when you get into a routine. Find a pace that works best for you. Whether it’s filling out your planner before bed, in the morning with a cup of coffee, or on on your lunch break. Here are some ways to check in with your planner to remain consistent:

·      Weekly planning reset

·      Daily task review

·      Monthly goal check-in

·      Habit tracker

Consistency is what makes digital planning magical.

 

Picking a Planner or App

I’d love to help guide you!

You can:

·      Browse my Etsy shop

·      Message me for app recommendations

·      Ask for layout advice

Digital planning is meant to:

·      simplify life

·      keep you organized

·      help memory retention

·      make planning fun again

I cannot wait for you to dive into it!

If you’re ready to start, you can grab:

·      My undated digital planner (perfect for starting right away)

·      Digital sticker packs (functional, decorative, themed collections)

Whatever you choose — I promise you will love digital planning once you get started!

Planning for the Holiday Season: My Cheerful, Chaos-Friendly Guide Using Digital Planner Stickers

Daily page in my 2026 digital planner.

The holiday season is officially here, and if your life looks anything like mine, that means we’re entering the magical stretch of the year where sports schedules, school events, holiday parties, cookie baking, and meal planning all collide in one festive tornado. As a mom of two teens, a full-time working woman, and someone trying to kick off a health journey before the new year (because why wait?), December is always a little wild—but in the best, most colorful way.

That’s exactly why I lean so heavily on digital planning this time of year. My planner becomes my safe haven, my creative outlet, and the one place where everything in my brain comes together neatly—even when life doesn’t. And this season, I’m doing something new and fun: I’m trying Noteful for the whole month of December! So far, I’m loving how clean, flexible, and surprisingly cozy it feels to plan in. There’s something joyful about opening my iPad first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee, seeing my pages decorated with fun pops of color, and knowing I’m (mostly) on top of the holiday madness.

Let’s talk about how I’m planning my way through the merriest—and busiest—time of year.

1. Start with a 2026 Digital Planner (Yes, Really!)

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: “Sarah… why 2026? We haven’t even finished 2025!”But hear me out.

Using my 2026 digital planner now helps me capture all the bits and pieces of holiday planning that will matter later. Kids’ school calendars, recurring events, holiday traditions I want to remember, even notes about what gifts worked—and what absolutely did not—go straight into next year’s pages. Future me deserves the help.

And let’s be honest, there’s something so soothing about flipping through a fresh digital planner that isn’t overflowing yet. The blank space feels like hope.

2. Festive Digital Planner Stickers Are 100% Essential

If you’ve been here long, you know I truly believe that digital planner stickers count as holiday magic. Is it technically necessary for me to decorate my pages with gingerbread cookies, twinkly lights, or tiny mugs of hot cocoa?Absolutely.

Adding stickers is what makes planning fun—and fun is what makes planning stick.

Plus, on the days when everything feels chaotic, seeing a cheerful little snowman in the corner of my weekly spread reminds me to breathe, slow down, and appreciate the cute moments hidden in the messiness.

3. Map Out the Big Things First

With so much happening in December, I start by dropping the major dates into my planner:

• All the kids’ sports practices and games

• Work events and deadlines

• Holiday parties (which always seem to overlap!)

• School concerts and themed spirit days

• Family traditions

• Travel plans

• Gift shopping

• Baking and cookie swaps

• The list goes on and on...
  

Once those anchors are in place, I can build everything else around them. It gives me such a sense of calm to see it all laid out visually. It’s like I’m saying, “Okay December… I see you. Let’s do this.”

4. Meal Planning: Holiday Edition

Meal planning in December is its own special sport. There are so many extras:cookie baking, holiday brunches, post-game snacks, potlucks, and the random “Mom, I forgot—I need 48 cupcakes for tomorrow” surprises.

In my digital planner, I dedicate full pages to meal planning and prep:

• Family dinners (simple ones during busy weeks)

• Holiday meals (with ingredient lists!)

• Cookie baking days

• Party food contributions

• Freezer meals for nights I know I’ll be exhausted

  
  

I also add a separate grocery list with checkboxes because nothing sparks joy in my soul quite like checking a box after picking up a bag of flour or the fancy butter I decided I “needed” for cookies.

5. Make Space for Your Health (Before January!)

I’m working on kicking off my health journey before the new year, and I swear this is the first December where it actually feels doable.

My digital planner tracks

• Daily movement

• Water intake

• Meals and points

• Simple notes for how I’m feeling

• Intentional reminders to take care of myself

It's nice to see how even small things add up:a morning walk, stretching before bed, choosing a protein-forward meal amid all the goodies. It feels good to make a commitment to myself now instead of waiting for January 1st when the pressure is high and the motivation is low.

Creating budget pages in my digital planner helps keep my budget just a little bit healthier this time of year.

6. Take Advantage of Digital Planning’s Flexibility

One of my favorite things about digital planning is that nothing is permanent. If plans change—and they always change in December—I can simply move things around:

• Drag and drop events

• Add new pages

• Duplicate spreads

• Move meal plans

• Jot down reminders

• Decorate only when I have energy

• 
  

And if something didn’t happen? Delete it. Move on. No eraser crumbs, no guilt.

I also love having everything in one place. My planner, stickers, notes, gift lists, budgets, party menus—it’s all cozy and contained inside my iPad.

7. Don’t Forget to Plan for the Fun Stuff

One thing I’ve learned: December should never feel like one giant to-do list. That’s exactly why my Mrs. Claus Planner exists—she’s the magical little home where I keep all things holidays tucked into one cheerful place.

Inside, I have all things Christmas including my daily scrapbook pages which I'm calling “Merry Moments.” Amongst those Merry Moments pages are also all of my pages to plan the necessities of a fun and festive holiday season:

• Watching Christmas movies with the kids

• Driving around to see holiday lights

• Hot cocoa nights

• Family game nights

• Baking cookies in our pajamas

• Decorating the tree

• Quiet evenings reading under a blanket

  

  A simple to do list is sometimes all you need!

8. Give Yourself Permission to Keep It Simple

This is something I’m always teaching myself: the holidays don’t have to be perfect.They don’t need to be Pinterest-worthy or flawlessly planned. Your digital planner is a tool—not a scorecard. Some days you’ll meal prep like Martha Stewart. Other days you’ll order pizza and call it good. Some weeks you’ll decorate your digital planner with five layers of digital planner stickers. Other weeks you’ll just write “Tired. Surviving.”

Both are okay. Both are real. Both are welcome.

Final Thoughts

As I settle into Noteful this month, cozying up with my digital planning routine as the rain falls outside, I’m reminded that planning is truly an act of kindness to myself. It’s how I stay grounded in the busy seasons, how I keep the joy at the center of the holidays, and how I make space for the things that matter most.

If you’re feeling the December chaos brewing, take a deep breath, open your planner, and start with one small thing. You’ve got this.