Maximize Your Productivity in 2023: Our Top 5 Digital Planners

Last updated: January 23, 2023 5 min read

Many of you may have already ditched the conventional ‘pen and paper’ method for planning your day, while others are still clinging to it. But let us reiterate.

We live in a digital culture where almost everything we do is digitized or automated, including how we plan our days.

While some still prefer to use pen and paper, digital means are often more efficient. Pen and paper work fine but going digital can supercharge everything you do.

What you use to plan your day should be the same as the ease of use you experience using your modern mobile device. With digital planners, you should experience seamless processes that are easy to learn and initiate.

Using a digital planner to plan your day should feel like second nature, especially if you need to become proficient in modern technology. So how should you decide which digital planner is the best for you?

Your preference should be based on your needs. What tasks do you need to carry out every day? Can the planner integrate with and complement the tools you use?

Is it accessible in the cloud and available on multiple platforms and devices? Does the planner show all your tasks in one place? Is the digital planner of your choice smart?

Here is a concise list of some of the best digital planners you should consider for 2023.

1. ClickUp

ClickUp is both a digital planner and a project management tool that allows you to do a variety of to-do's all in one place. It boasts an all-in-one workspace where you and even your team can do all types of work without having to go outside the app.

For personal use (I.e., if you are a solo entrepreneur) it is best to use a personal account to disable team features. It is easy to customize for any need and does not require any coding or add-ons.

This platform has extensive layers and features at your disposal. The options are unlimited and yours forever whether free or in paid-for versions. ClickUp is available online, digitally, and as a mobile app.

ClickUp app

Some Key Features

1. Views: ClickUp has 15 diverse ways to view your day and work. Its Calendar view allows you to see your calendar by day, week or month. The Everything view gives you a comprehensive or general view of everything right across all levels of your company if you are using it for professional work.

2. Organization: Everything is set in a hierarchical order to give you more control over your plans or work. If you work with a company, it organizes your teams and departments in ‘spaces’, big projects into folders, and then further break down your tasks into lists. It even goes further to allow you to break down projects into subtasks and make checklists within your tasks.

3. Time tracking: Time can be tracked for everything in ClickUp and then you can view reports of said time anywhere.

4. ClickUp encourages team collaboration with the use of ClickUp docs. These documents can be connected to workflows to share and implement ideas with others.

Pricing

  • Free: Basic version. The best choice for personal use. It stays free to you forever.
  • Unlimited: As stated on their website, this version is best for small teams. $5 per person per month.
  • Business: For teams that are mid-sized. $12 per person per month
  • Business Plus: For multiple teams. $19 per person per month
  • Enterprise: For large teams. Contact sales.

2. Vineforce

Vineforce is a daily digital planner that helps you get more done in less time. At Vineforce, we take care of the complex technical backbone of the app so that your experience is easy, seamless, and natural.

This smart planner studies your activities and preferences to help make intelligent suggestions for planning your day.

It works with Microsoft 365 to help you build the perfect schedule by analyzing dozens of parameters - Emails, recent documents, task deadlines, meetings, and work hours, to name a few—and suggests what you should add to your day. It helps you to use the Microsoft 365 platform to get more done.

Aside from being a daily digital planner, Vineforce is a project management tool. With it, you can streamline all your workflows, collaborate seamlessly with a team, and manage them and their workload if you are a manager.

Vineforce app

Key Features

1. Daily Planning: Data from your Microsoft 365 account and daily activities are used to help you plan your day more effectively.

2. Manage your teams: With Vineforce, you have complete control over your remote team, no matter where they are located. It lets you stay informed with real-time visibility on who is available and when team members plan to take time off. You can easily create work schedules for everyone and monitor daily tasks and progress.

3. Organization: This app allows you to see all your tasks, breaks, and meetings for the day in one adjustable view. Join/reschedule meetings or postpone tasks as priorities change—export the history of tasks completed for the past day, week, or month. Any tasks you didn't get to today automatically roll over to the next day.

4. Prepare for what's ahead: You get a complete view of your upcoming tasks and meetings for the week or month in an easy-to-navigate calendar. You may also set up tasks or meetings ahead of time, and they will automatically appear in your "My Day" view when the day arrives.

5. Files and Links Management: You can access all your files stored in OneDrive, SharePoint, and email attachments from a single searchable interface and add shortcuts to frequently used files and links, making them easy to find. Share files with anyone without going to SharePoint or OneDrive.

6. Notifications and Reminders: Vinny, the Vineforce bot for Microsoft Teams, creates reminders to keep track of important activities. Vinny will let you know automatically about upcoming meetings, breaks, tasks assigned by teammates, and when it's time to sign out for the day. In addition, you will receive notifications on any device you have Microsoft teams installed.

Pricing

  • Free: 15-day trial period
  • Paid for subscription: $132 per user per year and $42 per user per quarter

Click here to learn more about Vineforce.

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3. Evernote

Evernote is a notetaking and task management digital planner designed to help you stay organized and on top of your tasks and appointments.

With Evernote, you can create notes, schedule appointments and meetings, set reminders, and keep track of your tasks and projects all in one place.

Evernote can be found as a desktop, mobile, and on web app. Below are some of the key features of Evernote.

Evernote app

Key Features

1. Note-taking: Evernote allows you to create notes using various customizable templates that can be reused repeatedly. These templates are available in several collections and categories, so you have a wide range to choose from for whatever aspect of life you need them for. For example, for school, work, or personal life.

2. Web Clipper: Evernote allows you to save anything you consider important that you find while researching or browsing online. You can save articles, web pages, PDFs, and screenshots straight to the app.

3. Connect Evernote to Google Calendar: Your notes from Evernote can be synchronized with your google calendar. With Evernote, you can add note details to your meetings in your calendar ahead of time and it even reminds you to do so before or after your meetings.

4. Document Scanner: You can scan anything with this planner. From your prescriptions to IDs and insurance documents to receipts and invoices. Even notes you have handwritten; Evernote makes it possible to always keep these documents with you.

Pricing

  • Free version available.
  • Personal: $8.99 per month. Can be used for your home and family use.
  • Professional: $10.99 per month. Personal use for work or at home.
  • Evernote for Teams: $14.99 per user per month.

4. Notion

Notion is a digital workspace for your documents, notes, and projects and a place for collaboration. You can use it for personal gain, for your team, or for your entire company.

The uses of Notion are extensive in nature and take time to be acquainted with as you build out your system in it. Notion is available as an online and mobile app. Below are some of its features Of Notion.

Notion app

Features

1. Customizable Workspace: Notion allows you to create a personalized workspace that fits your needs and workflow. You can create pages, sub-pages, and databases to organize your information and customize the layout and design of your workspace to your liking.

2. Notes and Wikis: Users can create plain text notes to capture ideas or valuable information or create more structured wikis to organize and present information more formally. This makes Notion an excellent tool for students or professionals who need to take notes or create study materials.

3. Collaboration: Users can share notes, wikis, and databases with others, making it a great tool for team projects or group work, as multiple people can work on the same materials and stay up to date on the progress of a project.

4. It allows you to secure your company information in one place and embed YouTube videos and attached files up to 5MB as a free user of the app.

Pricing

  • Free
  • Plus: For teams. $8 per month
  • Business: For companies. $15 per month
  • Enterprise: For advanced control. Contact sales

5. GoodNotes

This note-taking app allows you to jot down your notes using your handwriting. Its format is digital PDF which facilitates your handwritten notes for your customization. As a digital planner, you can use it to write down your tasks and plans for the day.

You may also organize your notes in folders and synchronize them to other devices to have them on the go. GoodNotes is flexible, allowing you to do many things as and feels like you are writing on paper. Below are some of GoodNotes' best features.

GoodNotes app

Features

1. Handwriting Recognition: GoodNotes allows you to write notes by hand using your finger or a stylus and converts your handwriting into digital text. This can be helpful if you prefer taking notes by hand or if you want to add an individualized touch to your notes.

2. Note Organization: GoodNotes allows you to create notebooks and organize your notes into folders, keeping them organized and easy to find. You can also add tags to your notes to make them easier to search for later.

3. It has a variety of canvas templates to choose from.

4. Automatic iCloud synchronization to all your devices.

5. Freely annotate PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, and articles, and sign documents using your own handwriting.

6. Sharing and Collaboration: Documents can be exported in PDF or image and shared with others.

Pricing

  • Free: This version allows you to only create your first 3 notebooks for free.
  • Full: One-time payment for unlimited notebooks and access to all features.

 

All these planners can be used solely for personal purposes or as project management tools for collaborative work with your co-workers. At the end of the day, you should decide the best option based on your needs, preferences, and budget.

There is no doubt a planner here did not catch your eye, offering, if not most, all the things you want from a digital planner to help you plan out your days.