The iPad has shifted from a recreational device to a multi-functional and powerful tool for business, school, work, and more.
Ever since I got my iPad, I was surprised to find myself being a lot more productive and efficient in my day-to-day tasks.
I originally got it for recreational purposes. I just wanted to doodle and heard the iPad paired with Procreate was optimal for drawing.
At first, I winced at the price tag. I didn’t know what I was going to use my iPad for besides drawing and maybe watching the occasional youtube video.
However, once I got my iPad, I found myself using it for so many other things.
The more I used the iPad and familiarized myself with it, the more I saw it as an amazing and versatile tool for productivity.
I even went paperless and saved a lot of money because of how powerful the iPad is.
To help you realize the full potential of your iPad, I will be going over 7 Key Ways to Use your iPad for Productivity.
1. Ability to Read on the iPad
Reading books, especially good books, is proven to make you more intelligent, relieve stress, and help you get ahead in your life and career.
However, paperback books are expensive and tend to create a lot of clutter if you don’t read the books a second time.
But with your iPad, you can create your own digital library for way less money and clutter.
There are many great reading applications for the iPad. I personally enjoy Kindle and recommend you to purchase a kindle membership if you are an avid reader.
I also recommend the Libby app, which is a virtual library that allows you to check out digital books, podcasts, audiobooks, and more! It’s completely free — you just need your local library card number to access the digital archives.
2. Digital Journaling
Journaling on the iPad is a whole new experience.
Journaling is an essential part of my daily routine — it helps me unwind, destress, and provides mental clarity.
After switching to digital journaling, I don’t think I can ever switch back to traditional, paper journaling.
I personally do my journaling in my all-in-one Digital Planner in the GoodNotes application.
When journaling on the iPad, I don’t have to worry about losing my journals, erasing, ink bleeding to the next page, and more.
Digital journaling is super simple, effective, and saves me so much time and money.
3. Effectively do School work and Study
It’s more and more common to see students studying only with their iPads. If you search on youtube, there are hundreds of digital note-taking and studying videos.
It is undeniable that there are more and more students going paperless, using just their iPads and their laptops.
This goes to show how great the iPad is for studying, typing essays, and just doing homework in general.
There are so many great applications to aid your studying. Some of my favorites are Quizlet, a flashcard application, GoodNotes, my note-taking application, and KeyNote, an app where you can create professional-looking presentations (all iPads come with this app!).
If you’re interested in going paperless as a student, you can sign up for my free 5-day Paperless Student email course. I will walk you through the step-by-step and help you easily transition to paperless. You’ll even get a free digital notebook by the end of it to try! 🙂
4. Efficient Video Editing, Drawing, Music Editing, etc.
I know I’m condensing a lot of the creative fields in this one point, but if I were to make a separate point for each, there would be way too many and this post would get quite long.
All I’m saying is that the iPad is great for creatives. I know I said I got it for my hobbyist art, but so many professional artists consider the iPad an essential device to their career.
A lot of other content creators I know also use the iPad for video editing, photo editing, audio editing, and so much more.
If you’re in a creative field, then I highly recommend you to invest in an iPad.
Personally, as a designer, the iPad is essential for me to prototype my designs. It also helps me so much with ideation and creating mockups.
5. Take your Video Calls Anywhere
Zoom meetings are becoming a regular thing in people’s everyday lives, whether you’re a student, business owner, working in an office job, etc.
With the iPad’s portability and crisp front camera and speakers, you can easily make video calls anywhere and anytime.
If you’re using video calls frequently, I recommend you to get an iPad stand (or a case that has a stand built-in) so you don’t have to hold it around all the time. But if you don’t have one, you can probably prop it up against the wall and be fine.
6. Taking notes
Note-taking on the iPad is a serious game-changer.
I talked about it before, but with digital note-taking, all my notes are in one place, my backpack is light as a feather, and all the digital note-taking features save me so much time.
To take notes, I swear by using a digital notebook with different tabs and sections. This helps me keep my notes organized and all in one place.
I used to have multiple digital notebooks scattered in GoodNotes, making it much harder for me to find the information I was looking for.
If you’re interested but don’t know which iPad to get, check out my blog post, Best iPad for Note-taking and Digital Planning.
Personally, this is my second favorite productivity iPad hack…I saved so much money and time with it.
7. Digital Planning
Last, but definitely not least, is the ability to digital plan.
I’m going to be real here, but digital planning is what grounds me. It sets me up for success in all areas of my life — my work, academics, goals, hobbies, health, and more.
It is my favorite way to use my iPad for productivity.
I was an avid paper planner but always ran into issues, such as the rising costs of planners, damaging/losing them, and more.
However, those problems immediately vanished when I took up digital planning.
Because I use an undated digital planner, I only had to buy it once and can now use it forever. I no longer have to drop $50 every year on a one-time-use paper planner.
I personally use the undated Clarity Planner (as photographed above),! You can find it in my shop. I also designed weekly academic digital planners specifically for high-achieving students.
If you’re itching to try digital planning, note-taking, or journaling, but you aren’t sure if you’re willing to buy just yet, no worries.
I definitely felt the same way. That’s why I designed a free minimalist notebook with functional hyperlinked tabs!
You can use it to create plans, take preliminary notes, journal, sketch, and more! It’s up to you on how you use it.
That wraps up my top 7 ways to use my iPad for productivity.
There are so many other ways you can use the iPad, but those are just a few of my favorites.
How do you like to use your iPad? Let me know in the comments below!
