Typically, I keep an A5 ruled journal. I used to be selective about the journals I bought and what I wrote in them. Since I first started journaling, my collection of full – and empty – journals has grown over the last three years. I couldn’t believe how long it’s been. I thought to myself – “how much more can this collection grow before I run out of space?”

Around this time, I also saw more about digital journals and digital planners on social media. I was curious - fascinated! Especially when I’ve been keeping a digital journal of my own in MS Word for ages. At the end of 2020, I decided to give digital journaling a try.

And let me tell you, it was NOT easy getting my digital bullet journal set up.

While there’s a range of digital journals sold on Etsy or other by other content creators, I took the DIY approach. I created my own digital bullet journal PDF file and my own digital journaling stickers. So far, I’ve loved the experience of keeping a digital journal.

That isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy writing in my A5 journals anymore. I love them! But for daily journaling and planning, I’ve come to realize I prefer digital journals much more. And here’s why.

Repetitiveness

When I was writing in an A5 journal, I reached a point where every page, weekly, spread, and the monthly spread became repetitive. I wrote about goals, habits, daily logs. And when I didn’t fill them in every night, I felt terrible about wasting the pages. I love journaling about these everyday parts of my life, but I was missing creativity.

With a digital journal, I can still create the pages I need – and love – and there’s more space for creative pages and experimenting with different page layouts. It’s all digital! So I never have to worry about wasting pages. I can delete and add new pages on a whim. In this case, no permanence is a good thing.

When I keep all my tedious, daily shenanigans in my digital journal, it means I get to save my A5 journals for more creative projects, like art journaling.

Saving Money

I adore collecting stationery like pretty pens, collage kits, washi tape, and stickers. Sadly, these items don’t come cheap. I tend to wait until the end of the year when $20 journals drop to $5. It’s become an annual ritual for me. Even then, there isn’t a great selection of stationery stores to choose from where I live.

When I fill in the pages of my digital journal, physical stationery is never an issue. Of course, you need a tablet PC and a stylus pen, but after that, nothing more! With resources like Canva, Adobe Photoshop, and digital drawing apps, I can create my own digital stationery. I also never have to worry about printing photographs.

With a digital journal, you can save a great deal of money and a great deal of space when everything you need fits into folders on your devices.

More inspiration and creativity

I love creating aesthetic pages and collages in my A5 journal. Unfortunately, my printer at home hasn’t worked properly for months. It’s left my journal entries feeling very dull and boring – filling in the pages became less fun.

Like I said before, I can fill in the pages of a digital journal with my own stationery. Such as saved photographs, png transparent stickers, and digital drawings. I can layer and add unique colours. I get to develop my style and make the pages aesthetically pleasing.

Now that I have a digital bullet journal, I can’t imagine ever returning to an A5 ruled journal, at the very least for general things in my life. It’s convenient, creative, and affordable, once you have the tech you need and the journal PDF. Honestly, you don’t even need a journal PDF. You can use any online tool such as MS Word or PowerPoint, Google Docs or Google Slides, and Notion app. I hope you enjoyed reading this post and are curious about digital journaling. You can find resources and inspiration all over social media – especially on Pinterest.

Happy journaling!