Digital planning has absolutely changed the way I plan and organize my personal and professional tasks. I'm so excited to share this process with you!
All you need for this class is your iPad and a stylus. If you are an Android user and want to try it out, make sure you have a tablet compatible with a stylus. Also, it is important to get the right apps, for design you can use any slides software like Keynotes, Power Point, Google Slides, etc. Or Photoshop. I'll give you my planner to download, and some brushes that will make designing your planner easier. I’ll be using the Apple pencil and the app Procreate, but there are many other programs you could use to design your planner. I like to use the app Goodnotes to store my planner, but there are other planner apps like Notability that you could use as well. As long as the program works with PDF files, you can use it with this process. If you prefer to work on paper though, you could print out your planner pages and add them to a binder.
How to make a digital planner with hyperlinks using the app Keynote on your MAC computer.
You can use the digital planner in the app GoodNotes and Notability. If you are an Android user try the apps Xodo and Metamoji. You can follow the same steps to create a digital planner in the iPad Keynote app.
1. We are going to create the front cover of the planner.
Open the Keynote app on your computer and select the white standard presentation. Delete the text that appears in the document. On the top right of the screen select the format tool > in the background options select a color or an image as the back cover of your planner.
2. Save this dot paper pattern on your computer. Go to the folder where you saved the dot paper, drag and drop it into the keynote app. If you are not a fan of dot paper, here is a big collection of paper patterns.
3. Select the dot paper > on the left side of the screen select the arrange option > rotate the image 90° and move it to the left side of the document. If the dot paper is too wide, right-click it and select the edit mask to crop the sides of the dot paper.
4. Now let’s give your paper some dimension. In the toolbar of the Keynote app, select format > style > add a border and a shadow to the paper to make it look more realistic. Play around with the settings until you like the way your paper looks.
Use the shapes options in the toolbar to decorate your planner. Remember that you can use any shape to give your digital planner pockets, borders, etc.
5. Before we start making the other pages of the planner, let’s create the back cover of the planner. In the left side of the screen right click on the small icon of the planner and duplicate it. Select the duplicated page, select the dot paper pattern and move it to the left side of the document. Now we have the front and the back covers of the digital planner.
6. Now we are going to create the pages of the planner. In the top left side of the toolbar, select the “+” sight (add slide) > select the blank option. Change the color or image of the background of your planner. Drag and drop the dot paper pattern into the keynote app.
7. Use the white dots on the corners of the paper to resize it. Use the options in the format tools to add a shadow and a border to the paper to make it more realistic.
8. In the toolbar select the shapes option > choose the line and place it in the middle of the page (see image below). Use the format and style options in the toolbar to change the color of the lines to gray and add a shadow.
Now we are going to add hyperlinks to the planner. I like to put the index at the bottom right in all my planners. You can use words or images that when you click on them they will take you back to the index of the planner. On this page, I put the word “index” at the bottom right > right-click on the text box > select add link > slide> choose what page in the document you want that link to take you when you click on it. I want that link to take me to the first page of my planner.
Duplicate this page as many times as you want. Note: I make all my digital planners up to 100 pages because when you add images, drawings, and fonts to the planner the GoodNotes app or Notability app starts to slow down or freeze as it needs to load everything that you put in the planner.
9. I use the first page of the planner as the index. Use the text box option to type the number of pages that you want on your planner > right click on the numbers and select the add link option > select slide > choose where you want that number to take you when you click on it. For example, I want the numbers 1 and 2 (picture below) to take me to the pages 1 and 2 of my planner which is slide 3 in the keynote document.
10. Another popular way to create links around the planner is by placing tabs on the borders of the planner. In the toolbar select the rounded rectangle from the shapes options and place it on the edges of the planner. Right-click on the shape and choose the send to back option. Right-click on the shape again and select the add link option > select slide >
> choose which slide you want that tab to point to when you click on it.
EXPORTING THE PDF PLANNER:
When you finish making the digital planner save it as a PDF. In the toolbar of Keynote select file > export to > PDF > image quality best > save the pdf file to Dropbox or your favorite cloud folder.
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