The market for digital planners is a crowded one. There’s no shortage whatsoever of shops selling digital planners for iPad and, more specifically, for Goodnotes. If you would like to fact-check this statement, try and google “digital planner” and the results you’ll see will be enough proof.
Last week I was talking to a Planjuli Customer over a video call, showing them around our new Academic Digital Planner for students and the customer said something along the lines of:
There’s plenty of competition for digital planners but there’s no denying your products have a premium edge to them that’s tricky to find in others.
Quite flattered, I then pondered on it: it wasn’t the first time someone would mention they found Planjuli amongst many other brands. And that there there was a certain something - a je ne sais quoi if you may - that made them choose us despite us being the new kid on the block.
Now, with a heart of full of gratitude for all of you, brave Achievers, who choose and use Planjuli digital tools, I would like to bring anyone happening to be reading these lines behind the scenes. I’ll explain exactly why I decided to take the plunge and founded Planjuli in early 2022, even if I knew very well there were already a huge offer of digital planners and productivity tools.
A digital planner shop born because “the day came when the risk to stay stuck in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom”
I feel the need to start off with this quote, written by the magical Anais Nin, which brilliantly expresses my point of view. As a prolific planner, iPad lover and - dare I say it - achiever in progress, I felt like I was constantly working around existing solutions and customising them to the point they could have just about been a blank canvas to start with.
So the question popped up in my thoughts:
Why don’t I create a brand of digital planners that work straight away, focus on productivity and are visually pleasing in an elegant, timeless way?
And in fact, I set out to make it happen. I mostly worked around three non-negotiables:
Focusing on productivity and facilitating it
I knew I wanted to build layouts in a way that would naturally and effortlessly facilitate productivity. No frill, no fluff, only a simple pure structure that would enhance the way people plan with a planner. The layout needed to be so precise and thoughtful that it would take off people’s shoulders the weight of overwhelm that sometimes occur when you sit down and plan something big. It would need to ease people into planning and, more importantly, be in equal part exciting and relaxing so that they would actually stick to it and make things happen in their personal and professional life.
Infusing the tool with the Make Things Happen vibe
Can a tool inspire a certain mindset? Yes, if it’s built for it. I don’t think you should use tools that require you to focus on them and spend time on them rather than on your actual goals. If you’re happy with spending hours in your week applying the cutest digital stickers to your daily planning spreads, then by all means do it. But if you use a digital planner as a strategic tool that helps you plan for success and make things happen, then you’ll love and match the Planjuli vibe. Our digital products help you get clear on your goals, they work straight away and they allow you to move forward taking step after step until you achieve what you set out for.
Making the digital planner aesthetically inviting and visually appealing without the obnoxious frills
I wanted a tool that I would be comfortable taking out in public in a work meeting. I wanted something a student would keep on their tablet screen with no awkward screen locking when someone would come up at their desk. I wanted elegance, simplicity and delicate beauty with no over the top exaggerations. (A little disclaimer: I am Italian, born and bred in Milano, so I might have just used the sense of style you acquire quite naturally in this surroundings!). Planjuli digital planners come in different soft shades that complement virtually any preference:
- a soft pink for a slightly feminine look
- a soft neutral for a timeless classy attitude
- a soft green for a touch of discreet vibrancy
The keyword here is balance. Visually appealing yet solidly structured. Elegant yet immediate to use. Sophisticated yet approachable.
Feel free to take a look at the features our products all share.
I’m looking forward to next opportunity to speak to an Achiever that mentions they found us after quite a search! It might as well be you :) If you have some questions about our digital planner shop or about some specific products, please do get in touch.
Let’s make things happen!