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Setting Up & Using an iPad Digital Planner with GoodNotes and Good Mondays

Overview & Purpose

  • Creator demonstrates a step-by-step guide for setting up and customizing a digital planner on an iPad.
  • Emphasis is on leveraging GoodNotes + a premade planner from the shop Good Mondays for:
    • Academic organization (college-oriented examples)
    • General life management (wellness, finances, vision boards, etc.)
  • Applicable to anyone with an iPad, not just students.
  • Underlying philosophy: breaking annual goals into monthly, weekly, and daily micro-goals to stay realistic and accountable.

Required Tools & Initial Setup

  • Hardware / OS
    • iPad (model not specified; any recent iPad capable of running GoodNotes suffices).
  • Software
    • Latest version of GoodNotes
    • One-time purchase fee of 10.
    • Lifetime updates (speaker has had it 5–6 years; still receives every update).
    • Optional design tool: Canva (for creating vision boards).
  • Digital Assets
    • Planner & notebook PDFs purchased from Good Mondays (linked in speaker’s bio).

Downloading & Importing the Planner

  • After purchase you’ll have a planner file (typically a PDF or GoodNotes package).
  • Tap the Share / Arrow icon on iPad → scroll to GoodNotes in the share sheet.
  • Choose “Import as New Document.”
    • GoodNotes opens automatically, showing full planner.
    • You can scroll through every page immediately.

Customizing Planner Cover

  • Default cover = plain black.
  • Good Mondays bundle provides multiple custom covers in various colors.
  • Workflow to swap covers:
    • Navigate to a cover you like → tap three-dot menu (•••) → Copy Page.
    • Go back to front of document → tap “+ / Add Page” → Paste Page.
    • Delete the original black cover (••• → Move Page to Trash).
  • Outcome: visually personalized planner (e.g., pink cover).
  • Rationale: sets a motivating aesthetic tone, sparks joy when opening notebook.
  • Planner includes a clickable directory page.
    • Acts as hub for monthly tabs, wellness, finances, vision board, etc.
  • Hyperlinks save time: tap a section label to jump instantly.
  • Ethical & practical note: digital TOCs reduce paper waste and enhance accessibility vs. printed planners.

Monthly Planning Framework

  • Each month (e.g., January) provides dedicated pages:
    • Monthly Goals page with three goal slots.
    • Each slot broken down into:
      • Action Steps (granular tasks)
      • Target Date (deadline for each step)
    • Monthly Wellness
    • Prompts to design Ideal Morning / Day / Night Routines.
    • Space for extra wellness objectives (exercise, hydration, mindfulness, etc.).
    • Monthly Finances (implied by transcript; track expenses, savings, etc.).
  • Speaker’s strategy: specific monthly goals > broad annual goals because:
    • Easier to monitor progress.
    • Allows mid-year course corrections.

Wellness & Vision Board Sections

  • Wellness tab every month encourages holistic approach (mental + physical health).
  • Vision Board page is intentionally blank for creativity.
    • Recommended method: design collage in Canva → export → import into planner page.
  • Vision boards act as visual affirmations—link to cognitive psychology principle of visualization increasing goal attainment probability.
  • Main Monthly Calendar View includes:
    • Standard grid (days 1–31).
    • Sidebar for Action Items / critical tasks.
    • Every date cell is hyperlinked → tap to jump to that day’s detailed page.
  • Example: Tap 15 in January to open the page for January 15.

Weekly Planning Workflow

  • Speaker’s routine = “Plan the week → then plan the days.”
  • Process:
    1. In monthly calendar, select Week 4 (example: week that includes 20 January – start of semester).
    2. Weekly Overview page contains:
    • To-Do List
    • Optional Grocery List
    • Large open space for daily notes/blocks.
    1. Fill in general commitments first (classes, work shifts, sorority events).
    2. Serves as a blueprint before drilling down into hourly schedule.

Detailed Daily Planning Workflow

  • Tap a date to enter Daily Layout featuring:
    • Hourly scheduler from 6 AM – 11 PM ( default = one-hour increments; can toggle to half-hour blocks ).
    • Meals tracker (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks).
    • Priority List (top-three or more key tasks).
    • To-Do List (secondary tasks).
    • “Currently…” prompts (listening to, reading, etc.)—useful for memory keeping or mental-health check-ins on weekends.
  • Flexibility principle: choose granular scheduling only on busy days; lighter annotation on low-pressure days.
  • Practical implication for students: avoids timetable clashes, ensures adequate study blocks and rest.

Integration with External Calendars

  • Planner supports syncing with Google Calendar and Apple Calendar.
    • Enables two-way updates.
    • Helps catch conflicts early; e.g., moving a time block in GoodNotes reflects in digital calendar.
  • Example scenario: reschedule club meeting; change inside planner auto-pushes to phone notification.
  • Real-world benefit: single-source-of-truth for time management across devices.

Practical Tips & Philosophical Rationale

  • Digital vs. Paper:
    • Infinite undo, duplication, and hyperlinking not possible on paper.
    • Eco-friendly (no physical waste) yet still allows handwriting (stylus) for cognitive retention benefits.
  • Custom Covers & Vision Boards:
    • Personalization boosts intrinsic motivation (Self-Determination Theory: autonomy + relatedness).
  • Monthly specificity:
    • Aligns with SMART goal framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).
  • Hourly tracking encourages time-blocking, shown in productivity research to increase deep-work periods and reduce procrastination.

Key Numerical References (Wrapped in LaTeX)

  • GoodNotes one-time cost: 10
  • Speaker ownership duration: 5–6 years.
  • Hourly schedule range: 6 AM → 11 PM.
  • Sample date jumps: January 15, Week starting 20 January.

Connections & Further Learning

  • Related previous content (implied): earlier iPad study videos improved speaker’s college life—mirror community pedagogy.
  • Beyond academics: planner scales to career professionals, parents, freelancers.
  • Ethical angle: sharing resources (link in bio) fosters community support & knowledge democratization.
  • Suggested follow-up topics:
    • Advanced GoodNotes features (OCR, sticker sets, handwriting search).
    • Using Shortcuts app for automated planner backups.
    • Comparative review: GoodNotes vs. Notability vs. Apple Freeform for planning.