Note taking on iPad? YESSS! Use your iPad to keep handwritten notes organized, all-in-one place...
Are your notes all over the place, in all sorts of notebooks
... or, scattered on dozens of post-its?
I hear you!
It's so frustrating to get them lost all the time as if they have a life of their own.
And those ink spots on the pages ... oh, those stains make you go mad during your meetings!
Why use a digital planner? To keep track of work notes with ease...
You have meetings from 9am to 6pm, and you need to keep track of the notes from each one. But the only thing you can find is a notebook with half-filled pages and a bunch of scribbled cross-outs.
And it's always the half-full notebook that never makes its way into its rightful place in your desk drawer or laptop bag.
Does this sound like you?
That's ok! These days, we're all using digital tools to help us stay organized and productive—whether it's calendar apps, to-do lists, virtual meetings…
... but we still need paper notebooks for meetings, brainstorming sessions, and just general jotting down of ideas.
But how do you make sure all those notes get into the right place?
How do you search through them and find that one idea that will help your team get ahead? Or how do you keep track of all those different thoughts that may come to you during a meeting?
What if I tell you that ...
... you've missed something surprisingly easy
... that can stop the madness of the messy notes
... and liberate you from this dangerous loop of perfectionism
I've seen it work for my customers and their remote teams. And I know it can work for you too!
Did you know that you can take notes inside a digital notebook on the iPad or android tablet?
It's the new way of better note taking on iPad. I'll show you how to...
End the frustration of messy notes or scattered to do list
Write private digital notes that you can easily find later
Magically find the notes that contain a keyword (like "urgent" or "meeting")
Erase mistakes as quickly as rubbing an eraser
Add endless pages or delete pages that you don't need
Plan the days, track the goals, craft meal plans and take action
Save your drawers (and your mind) from the clutter
Want to see if digital note taking on iPad is for you?
Read the article to know what you through what you need to get started. And you'll get a copy of my best Digital Planners.
Digital Planning is like writing in your paper notebook, except you're using the iPad and the apple pencil to take notes. You can write on it, and you can flip the pages. You can take handwritten notes and erase them.
And all you need to get started is an 11-inch iPad or smaller, with minimum 128GB of storage, the Apple Pencil or Stylus, and an annotations app (I love Noteshelf).
I have shared here the tools and steps to take notes on the iPad.
Taking notes on an iPad is a game-changer for anyone who wants to save time if they know how to do it right!
My clients save up work hours using my digital templates each week, but don't take my word on it - hear what others have said!
So, grab a coffee and let's talk about digital planners
Although I love paper planners, they do have their limitations.
The digital journal format is gaining in popularity and provides several advantages that go beyond those of traditional paper planners.
So, what are digital planners?
In short, a digital notebook is a customizable and flexible way to plan your days and weeks. They come in many different shapes and sizes and allow you to take your work with you wherever you go.
A digital planner looks like a paper notebook, but it's digital.
You can use it on your iPad and write on it with an Apple Pencil. This can help you be more organized with your goals, daily tasks, to-do lists, and important appointments.
Listen...
A digital journal may look and feel like a traditional planner, but, it technically is a PDF file that you'll import in one of the best planner apps for iPad to take notes and make plans on the go!
A PDF planner also has navigation via hyperlinks and that will totally change the way you are using a notebook.
What to use a digital planner for?
It may be helpful to take notes for projects, activities, and appointments and save them all in one place, easily searchable and accessible. With a digital planner app, you can drag and drop handwritten notes, duplicate pages, or erase digital notes in seconds.
Note taking on iPad using digital templates is becoming increasingly popular among company owners, managers, team leaders, stationery enthusiasts, and creative people. Because digital planning is exciting, it improves productivity and is fun.
- write endless notes, create unlimited digital planners, add additional pages with ease
- delete, move change notes without leaving any ink mark
- easily search through your digital notes by "keyword"
- add voice recordings to your digital notes
- easily share notes with colleagues or family
When taking notes on an iPad you can use various planner templates, like monthly pages (not connected with the google calendar), weekly pages, daily pages, todos templates, meal plans, long-term planning, etc.
So your iPad can be...
- a fantastic bullet journal,
- your favorite mood tracker notebook, or
- your best online weekly planner, or electronic day planner
- your meal planning coach, or
- your accountability buddy
If you're looking for a way to be more organized and productive to create better to-do lists and keep track of goals and habits, I have the sweetest solution. Claim access to my BESTSELLING digital planners DEMO templates and try them today. I have other online planner templates in the Vault, but I trust that if you only try these digital notebooks for a month, you'll love how easy it is to use them and how much time they save you.
How does taking notes with iPad works?
A digital planner is NOT the same as your old, bulky printed calendar; it's instead a PDF file that you can open and edit on your apple devices using a notes taking app.
You can use this type of digital template on the iPad or Android tablet; however, the best handwriting experience is on the iPad (with an iOS planner app), followed by the Samsung Galaxy Notes (with an Android planner app).
To work, find a PDF template that you like, add it to your note taking app, and start taking notes on the iPad. Use the hyperlinks to jump between planner pages and enjoy the built-in page templates to customize your notebook's pages.
Want more? I wrote a detailed article about the best digital note-taking apps. Check it out.
Is the digital planner a perfect planner?
The straight answer: NOT YET.
There's something you should know before anything.
Although some people say digital planners are calendars, don't get misled. A digital planner in PDF format is not a calendar app. It DOES NOT integrate with Google Calendar Events to display your important events or daily schedule; it DOES NOT send notifications or reminders either.
The note-taking apps must implement this function because the PDF planner alone can't do that.
The good news...
... these limitations made me think about designing a better note-taking app to take digital notes and connect them with the google calendar.
Fingers crossed that I raise enough money to do it!
What is the best app for note taking on iPad?
The best apps for taking notes on iPad are the ones that fits your needs.
And if finding the best app for note taking on an iPad seems like a challenge, you're absolutely right. It is. But I'm here to help!
#1 Best app for taking notes on iPad
Notability
Notability app is a beautiful writing tool that enables you to embed pictures, highlight PDFs, and even record voice notes. This planner app comes with various layout choices that will make handwriting appealing and fun. You can organize your digital notes using digital "Dividers" and "Subjects," making notability apps great for a student planner. Finally, Notability allows you to export and share your notes in different ways (Google Drive, Dropbox, and AirDrop).
#2 Best app for taking notes on iPad
Noteshelf
Noteshelf is my favorite note-taking app for the iPad because of its easy-to-use interface. I use it to annotate PDFs, keep track of my weekly tasks and multitask with the iPad's split-screen. Like in Notability, you can also record voice notes with your handwritten digital notes, which is excellent for recapping a lecture or meeting later.
Handwriting recognition software can identify characters in 65 different languages, making it helpful for non-English speakers. Plus, It allows you to export your notes to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Evernote. Lastly, users of the Apple Watch app will be able to use the app's ability to take voice notes using the Noteshelf Apple Watch app.
#3 Best app for taking notes on iPad
Goodnotes 5
The Goodnotes note-taking app has everything you need to take notes, including switching between Viewing Mode and Editing Mode, which you may find helpful during your workflow. You may choose from a library of layouts and templates or create your own. Plus, Good notes allows you to modify the sensitivity and palm recognition of the pen.
However, what makes Goodnotes 5 stand out is the Elements feature, a digital stickers book where you can save digital stickers to use inside the planner.
What other tools do you need to use a digital planner?
A digital or electronic planner is simply a PDF file designed to work as a planner inside a tablet. So I'll recommend you grab an iPad (iOS14+) and a matching Apple Pencil to get started. Yes, you can also use your iPhone and Mac, but to enjoy the best planning experience, it makes sense to use an iPad Pro or similar.
Ps: Don't forget you need to add it to the note-taking app to work.
What is the best iPad for note-taking?
The best iPad for note-taking is easy to carry around, has a good size screen (at least 9.7inch), and has about 10-hour battery life.
Unlike the other tablets, the iPad is designed for note-taking. This device can easily replace your paper notebooks once you become familiar with the unique touch screen and the functional Apple Pencil.
I have tested an iPad standard 9.7inch (2018), and the iPad Pro 11inch (2021). I can tell you can do the job with the standard version, but taking notes on the iPad Air or iPad Pro is like playing in a different league.
Improve your writing!
To improve your writing, you'll need a Paperlike screen protector. In my experience, the Paperlike brand has a significantly different and superior feel to the other protectors I've tried.
Nothing feels EXACTLY like a pen on paper to me, but Paperlike does a fantastic job enhancing the pen-to-tablet connection.
Furthermore, you can apply a rubber tip to the stylus and improve your writing. Due to their rougher texture, matte screen protectors will rub the rubber tip away more quickly, necessitating frequent replacements. Even though matte screen protectors like the Paperlike might be harsh on your stylus tips, I still believe it's worth it.
Also read 5 Best iPad Accessories In 2023: From Keyboard To Earbuds to boost your digital planning experience.
What is the best iPad note-taking template to use?
If you're looking for a note-taking app that will let you create default notebooks, there are plenty of options. The best app for note-taking on iPad will come with basic page templates (like a Cornell note page or a simple lined page) that you can use for endless notebooks.
BUT... If you want to be more productive, you need to get a planner that has links between pages so you can move quickly from section to section.
I am talking about the PDF digital planner templates!
So look for PDF planner template that:
- has low size (ideally, a 1500-page PDF document should have below 6MB)
- was created professionally (so you don't get pixelated pages), and
- fits your iPad screen properly without many empty spaces around the pages.
Can I design my own planner?
What apps can I use to build my digital planner?
Creating your digital planner design with hyperlinks might take some time, but you can do it using a few design tools. Create a customized digital planner from your favorite software (Keynote app, Powerpoint, Canva, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, or Google Slides) and export it as a PDF for use with your preferred notes application such as Notability, Goodnotes, or Noteshelf.
Just, listen...
Suppose you don't want to spend all the summer doing this....
You can choose between my professionally designed digital planners, like the Outline Planner, the Meeting Book, the Project Book, or the People Book, or get them all when you sign up for my Vault with digital notebooks..
Finding the best iPad note-taking templates that meet your needs at work can be difficult.
There are hundreds of different digital planners to choose from and you may spend hundreds of $$$ and a great deal of time to find your professional planners mix to use at work.
So, I am taking the pain away: you can try my best iPad note taking templates for FREE.
What is the most popular digital planner?
Among my best digital planners, the Outline Planner (a dated planner / monthly planner / weekly planner / daily planner) is the most popular Life-Work Planner for iPad from the Vault. It is followed very closely by the Projects Book and the Meeting Planner.
If you're searching for the best digital tools to be more organized and productive, I can help you scribble your top priorities. You'll appreciate how simple it is to use them and how much time they save you.
Digital planners are an important tool for anyone looking to be more productive.
Whether you're a student, business professional, or stay-at-home mom, a digital planner will help you get more done.
I want you to love your notes, too ... So, I'm ready to give you my best Outline Planner templates to try for free.
It can be the solution to your daily chaos.
Teachers, social media managers, artists, fitness lovers, busy entrepreneurs, working professionals, and active grandparents rely on the outline planner's structure for getting things done and supporting dreams along the way.
You'll see how they work.
If it's not for you, you've only wasted less than an hour. If it's for you, you'll save hours of work and release your mind of stress.