11 Reasons You Should Ditch Your Smartphone For A Planner

There are real benefits to putting down your phone! Plan, organize, and capture the moments of your life’s story with an AT-A-GLANCE® planner.

1. Paper planners don't require Wi-Fi so they never (ever ever EVER) drop service at an inopportune moment.

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That thing where you’re meeting an important person at a coffee shop you’ve never been to before and your phone decides to call it quits while you’re trying to find the address? Yeah, it doesn’t happen with paper planners.

2. Ditto: batteries.

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A paper planner will never abruptly stop working on you because no batteries means no problems.

3. Handwriting can help you remember things more clearly.

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Research suggests that writing by hand can help you process and restructure information as you take it in, which can aid in memory and understanding.

4. Let's be real: You've probably installed and abandoned more "productivity" apps than you can count.

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There's nothing simple or efficient about juggling half a dozen different task-specific apps in an effort to "stay organized."

5. Looking at screens all day every day hurts your eyes.

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Seriously. Digital eye strain is real, and it's caused by prolonged exposure to screens. Give your eyes a rest by using a paper planner.

6. There's a paper planner for every #aesthetic.

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When it comes to filling a paper planner, you’re the creative director. Want a blue to-do list and red appointments? Go for it! Think stickers would be helpful to mark important dates? Have at it! You aren’t limited by the design choices of an app designer you’ve never met.

7. Notifications are great...in theory.

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Sometimes you get too many notifications. Other times you get none. Rarely do you get exactly what you need, when you need it. Add to that phantom vibration syndrome — aka feeling your phone buzz when it hasn't — and notifications start to seem like more trouble than they're worth.

8. One word: doodles!

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Doodling isn't just fun — research suggests it can also help you remember things! A 2009 study in Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology found that doodlers had an easier time recalling dull information than non-doodlers.

9. You will never experience an unwanted interface overhaul with a paper planner.

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Remember that app you loved until they ruined it with a bad update? Paper planners don't betray people like that.

10. Paper planners are a mixed media experience.

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You can quickly and easily add memorabilia to a paper planner. Want to save a receipt? Add a sticky note? Include a photo or two? You can do that, no scanning or uploading required.

11. Planners are a physical record of your life.

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When you've finished with a planner everything you did that year — who you met, where you went, what you did — has been preserved. A full chapter of your life has been saved and you don't have to worry about it disappearing into the digital abyss.

Ready to put your plans to paper? Stay organized with AT-A-GLANCE® appointment books, calendars, notebooks, and more!

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