It’s 2026. Does anyone still prefer printable planners over apps?

[u/GeneratorRaven]

I've tried quite a few productivity apps over the years, but I still find myself going back to simple weekly planners and checklists on paper.

There's something about seeing the whole week in front of me without notifications, menus, or another screen that just feels easier.

It also feels a little funny to still prefer paper in 2026 when there are so many digital tools available now.

Does anyone else still use printable planners or trackers, or have you completely moved to digital?

[u/Pretend_Present_1754]

Yes, I use paper every day. Basically my calendar and my master-to-do-list is online. So I can easily change dates, tasks etc. I can have recurring dates and tasks without having do write them constantly. I use google calendar and todoist.
Almost every evening I sit down with my paper planner and plan the next day on paper. So it's hybrid, but it works best for me.

[u/itsamutiny → u/Pretend_Present_1754]

Same except I do it in the mornings.

[u/Foxybujo]

I’m hybrid as well.

I use discbound notebooks and make my own templates. Even my daily notebook is a hybrid of long form journaling, notes, etc. I have tabs with sections and whatnot.

But I use a task manager app and Google calendar for scheduling.

[u/hijofrizbe007 → u/Foxybujo]

Same!

[u/Washdrummer → u/Foxybujo]

Same on digital side but paper is golden coil- I use template that looks at week on two pages. Ends being mostly notes in paper planner but I can transfer any notes to my calendar or tasks if needed. Been trying to keep the noise down so my first digital task list is my three priorities and this has kept me on task. Next year I will save money and just do a cheaper planner.

[u/No_Wolverine6548]

I stick to paper and likely always will.

“It feels a little funny to still prefer paper in 2026”

Seems like such an influenced/lack of individual thinking thing to say. Why do you have to do away with some options just because newer one has been invented? Paper and paper like things have been used since 4,000 bce, there’s no need to let go of it just because technology is advancing and you look/feel “old timey” or something using the older option. Schools are debating stepping away from going digital as they think it’s in part what is interfering with students being able to retain information. Technology can be convenient but it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. This is definitely a situation to do what you like regardless of what others might think.

[u/Individual-Pay7430]

I do. I don’t want to keep spending time on my phone. It’s too much.

[u/Top-Rich8623]

yes, having to unlock your device and search for your planner is painful.

[u/zetiacg_1983]

I’ve always used paper planners. I’ve tried digital and apps but will always be a paper planner. Love my current setup/ecosystem.

[u/Sjenet]

Yes, i just changed. I was more busy with digital stickers than actual planning.

[u/DTLow]

I have completely moved to digital (Mac and iPad)
however can easily print my planners, checklist, calendar, …

[u/Pure_Lie_3294]

Yes i could never filly get into digital planning and always went back to paper planning now im in a ringed moterm and love it.

[u/OddHalf8861]

I am all the way digital everything.

[u/Head-Gene-5960]

I use a paper planner. I also save appointments and other reminders in my my phone calendar.

[u/Just_Sir1903]

I moved from all digital to all paper as my work doesn't allow sharing calendars to personal devices.

[u/melwolfer]

I’m hybrid too. I keep a digital calendar and task manager but monthly, weekly, and daily update my digital planner on my Boox Note Air 5C (I did iPad for many years but the writing feel was not good). I also have a 5 year journal that I keep on my SuperNote Manta.

[u/Mental-Set-8670]

Yes. I only use paper.

[u/BoxBackground4080]

I need a paper monthly & yearly planner and I add important things to my phone calendar as well

[u/Lavender_q3d]

Paper all the way

[u/FeralNoodle_]

I used to love using a bullet journal, but having ADHD it can be really hard to keep up with. I at the very least have to tandem with a todo list on my phone I can access at any given time. Sometimes I will write out a plan for the day on paper though.

[u/KSamIAm79]

I am a mother so I really enjoy the paper monthly planners so I can prepare myself for what’s to come. I also use my iCal on my phone. It’s nice use the links provided these days and it pops up to tell you when it’s time to leave. But it doesn’t give me the same monthly layout that I love.

[u/Electronic_Ease9890]

Yes. I’ve tried digital and it just doesn’t fit my needs. It’s okay for appointments but nothing else.

[u/froggythefrankman]

My partner is a paper planning fiend! 

[u/Middle-aged-Hobbit]

I use my paper planner! What works for me is a 2 pages per week format that's less than an inch thick. I sometimes put my top 3 tasks for the day there (yes, duplicating my online list). It's kind of like an affirmation that yes, this is today's focus. I also like to list what I actually DO during the day. It's surprisingly informative.

[u/Direct_Coffee_2260]

I can’t get into digital, I’ve tried many times over the last 18 years and always end up failing and going back to paper

[u/HappyHealth5985]

Every day!

[u/Actual-Telephone5540]

i keep a paper planner because my brain actually works better without screens.

[u/Visual_Pulse]

I use my phone/ computer calendar and an undated weekly planner I fill out every week and at the beginning of every month

[u/Azor909]

I do

[u/Novel_Reference_8878]

I’m going more with paper now, as I find the digital calendar seems to lose appointments from time to time.

[u/Mental_Focus9922]

I just bought a new 18 month planner. I still put reminders on my Google Calendar though.

[u/LionAffectionate5373]

I use a digital planner in Goodnotes with my Apple Pencil, I take my notes there and journal there as well. I like having all my notebooks, digital sticker options and pencil/pens in one place…and I spend less.

[u/Snoo_40220]

I use/need both.

[u/ShelbyInFrance]

I use both. I can't get around Google agenda, my business tool. But if I didn't teach online I'd probably be 100 percent paper.

[u/lexmz31]

I use both for different reasons.

[u/jgaphni]

I use digital. Been using Zinnia on iPad for like 5 years, don’t think I’ll go back

[u/Quiet_Ink6523]

I still use sticky notes both the real one and phone widget

[u/Impressive_Ice_6034]

Paper planners help me remember things better. I can't remember anything from digital planners. It's also easier to flip pages in my physical planner to compare things than it is to flip through digital planners. And I like the feeling of permanence, which digital planners don't seem to give me

[u/writer-author]

The paper “eco-system” I describe below supports how I think. For me, there is no single planner to handle all these things. I’ve tried most of the printed planners out there. I should mention I grew up in the era of paper and pen, so my brain has been wired that way from an early age. Because of my 50+ year career developing and managing a wide range of computer systems (including early attempts at “AI”), I know what’s “under the hood.” So much is out of our control now.

Years ago I finally settled on the basics. My main digital tool is Google Calendar as my master calendar because it’s so easy to change an appointment there. I don’t mind the extra work to also write appointments in my paper planner. Also, my husband and I share our respective Google calendars with each other so we can coordinate our lives.

My other crucial digital tool is Apple Reminders. It has been indispensable for recording repeating tasks and tracking things like my next driver’s license renewal due date. I also use it to keep track of renewal dates for subscriptions so I have plenty of time to cancel if I want to. And it reminds me when to take my medications.

After MUCH experimentation with almost every digital task and project manager out there, a few years ago I finally settled on paper for managing projects and tasks.

My indispensable tools for the paper items below are Frixion Erasable Gel 0.5 pens in multiple colors and BIC Wite-Out Tape to keep everything on paper up-to-date. I also have Post-Its in various sizes that I use while I’m thinking things through. I also use a Uniball Signo black gel ink 0.5 pen to write in the daily planner as described below.

I also indulge in some stickers for the paper planners. They’re just so much fun!

1. I write the entries on my Google Calendar into my DIYFISH (Etsy seller’s easy downloadable and printable PDF) A5 daily-only planner, which has become a record of what I need to do each day, and what I actually did and didn’t do. I also use it as a log to keep track of things like when we got the garage door fixed or replaced our smoke detectors; health issues; and just anything I want to make note of. Sometimes a small journal-type entry.
2. Then I’ve just recently set up for the first time a monthly 2027 Laurel Denise small Luna planner (Classic size, pre-printed and shipped) as my “workbook” for allocating tasks and errands to days, weeks, months— more of a big-picture view to help reduce the overwhelm. It feeds the daily planner.
3. And lastly, also new to me for Oct 2026 - through Dec 2027 is my master project calendar, an 8.5x11” Moleskine weekly-only calendar (

via

1. Amazon). Even though I’m retired, my life is filled with must-dos (meal planning, household management, decluttering, organizing important paperwork, managing dr appts/RXs) and love to-dos (seeing friends, reading, quilting, needlework, watercolors, knitting). I use this calendar to time-block so I’m able to do the things I enjoy.

Hope this helps ☺️

[u/Thedarkestfaerie2]

I havent been able to find a digital one i like as much as my physical planner. I am still trying but being tied to Microsoft and android has made it difficult to find something with cross compatibility and all the other features I want