Plan Books: Pen & Paper.. or Digital?!

I have mentioned my best friend and fellow teacher Jenn on this blog before. She graciously accompanied me to see my new classroom last week and patiently helped me map it out and plan a theme. She is a rockstar middle school math teacher in a neighboring Westchester school district. I've always strived to be half as good a teacher as she is. I keep trying to convince her to join the blog world! I think I am finally starting to wear her down! 

I mention Jenn because just today I was browsing Erin Condren's website carefully planning out which lesson planner I wanted to purchase. Jenn first introduced me to Erin Condren when she bought me a personalized wedding planner from the site two years ago when I was planning my wedding. I was instantly hooked. 

Fast forward to this afternoon, I send Jenn a picture of what I am thinking about purchasing from Erin Condren, but was discouraged because it is a little costly. Lakeshore Learning gives out teacher lesson planners for free for goodness sake! It is so cute though.. and I love the quote.. take a look for yourself:

Jenn loved the planner, told me a teacher's planner is her LIFE LINE, and that I am justified in purchasing it. (Hey, thats what BFF teachers are for, right?!) But for some reason I just can't pull the trigger. Then, Jenn drops a bomb on me! She switched to digital planning two years ago!? I couldn't believe my ears ... my Jenn has the cutest teacher handwriting, is *slightly* OCD about plans, and always has the sweetest plan books and accessories! She turned me on to Erin Condren for goodness sake! WHAT?! DIGITAL?! 

She immediately showed me what she uses, gave me a quick tutorial, and told me to go try it out. Hesitantly, I did. I signed up with CommonCurriculum.com and gave it a test run. Here's a screenshot of what it looked like when I began:

You can color code your subjects, move widgets around, view by day, week, or month, add personal notes, add CCLS, and even share your planner with others. Hmmmmmm. Is this the "way of the future"? Am I archaic for *gasp* hand writing my plans?! 

I am not sure how I feel about diving into the digital world of lesson planning. But then again, I do everything else on my computer/iPad/iPhone, why not go digital with my planning? I often find myself complaining of hand cramps when I have to write for extended periods of time and find myself thinking how much easier it would be if I could type...what's taken me so long to make the switch? Why had I never put this much thought into it before? Is this something that would impress my principal and colleagues at my new school? Am I ready for this?!

What do YOU use? Does your school require you to format your lesson plans a certain way? Let me know in the comments section!