Go Paperless With A Hyperlinked Tabs Digital Notebook

A digital notebook with hyperlinked tabs is a product to be used on an iPad or tablet in a pdf reading and editing software. They can be used with an apple pencil to create digital handwritten notes or be used with text boxes and typing. Digital notebooks replace physical notebooks so students have less to carry in their bags. It also reduces the impact on the environment as no paper is used. Digital notebooks are great because they are so customisable and easy to use. 

The benefits of digital notebooks with hyperlinked tabs

#1 Digital Notebooks Are Cost Effective

You can reuse your notebooks & add unlimited pages!

Once you have purchased a digital notebook you can use it within your preferred pdf reading app (I recommend goodnotes) as many times as you like. This means you can make one single purchase and use it for all of your subjects, unlike physical notebooks where you need to buy one for each subject! 

You also will never have the problem of running out of pages in your notebook as you can duplicate the page templates as many times as you like within your notebook. You could have 2 pages in your notebook or 500 pages! 

#2 Digital Notebooks Are Extremely Customisable 

If you purchase one of my digital notebooks you will notice that all of them come with 6 different cover page colours to choose from. On each cover there is also a blank space where you can write a title for the book or the name of the subject it is for. You can make it look aesthetic by using the same colour for your title as the cover page by using the eyedropper tool and doing a brush calligraphy or bubble writing title!

Another aspect of digital notebooks that I love is that I can add unlimited pages and easily rearrange them however you want. Unlike physical notebooks you never have to rip out pages, you can simply delete them, and you can also re-arrange your pages so your notebook is better organised. 

#3 Digital Notebooks Are Extremely Easy To Use

Digital notebooks have hyperlinked tabs located on the right hand side of the book on every page. These tabs are colour-coded and link to section dividers which organise your notes into topics. In my digital notebooks each divider has a blank section, like the cover pages, where you can write the title of the topic you are learning about. There is also a contents page at the front of the notebook where you can write what each colour tab symbolises as a topic. 

I really like how digital planners allow me to quickly jump between sections of my notes through the hyperlinked tabs. If you are already familiar with digital note taking on the notes app for example you will know how you notes can become really disorganised as it is one long scrolling page of notes. With a digital notebook you can organise your notes better into topics and easily go from one topic to another by clicking on the corresponding coloured tab. 

#4 Digital Notebooks Can Be Synced So They Are Accessible On All Your Devices

Have you ever rocked up to school and realised that you have packed your bag for the wrong day? Or even worse, forgotten all of your stationery?

If you use a digital notebook you won’t face that problem any more because they can be synced through icloud or a similar system so they are accessible on all of your devices. I personally use goodnotes and I have it installed on my ipad pro and iphone. This means I can access all of my digital notebooks from either of these devices, make changes and then they are quickly synced. 

#4 When You Use Digital Notebooks You Reduce Your Paper Wastage

A Small Step To A Cleaner Environment

The final benefit of digital notebooks is that you reduce your paper wastage significantly. You can add an unlimited amount of pages to a digital notebook which means that you never need to use another piece of paper to take notes again. 

How to use digital notebooks with hyperlinked tabs 

Purchase and download your digital notebook 

Firstly you need to purchase a digital notebook. I have my own digital notebook designs that feature 6 hyperlinked tabs – you can check them out here. Once you have chosen the right digital notebook for yourself, you need to download it onto your iPad and then upload it onto your preferred pdf reading and editing app. I recommend goodnotes or notability. 

Choose your preferred notebook cover colour

The next step is to choose your preferred notebook colour. Personally, I have organised all of my notebooks by colour I associate with the subject. On my online timetable for school each subject has a different colour so I have used the same or a similar colour for my cover page for each subject. Here is a screenshot of my digital notebooks in goodnotes. Notice how each notebook is for a different subject and has a unique colour.

Once you have chosen your colour, you can delete the excess notebook covers that you won’t be using for this particular notebook. At this point I also suggest renaming the pdf document’s name to the subject the notebook is for. 

Fill out the contents page

After deleting the covers that I won’t use for my notebook, I fill out the contents page. The purpose of the contents page is to make the navigation easier within your digital notebook. Each tab colour should correspond to a new topic and if you ever forget what colour is for what topic you can refer back to your contents page. Here is a screenshot of the contents page of my digital notebook I use for chemistry in goodnotes. I have labelled each section for the topics we will be covering this year. 

The contents page in the digital notebooks that I have designed is a table that has numbers 1 – 6 in circles down the left hand column. All you need to do is write the topic next to the coloured circle in the right hand column. 

Add topic titles to the dividers

My digital notebooks are kind of like digital binders. This means that each tab has a divider like you would find in a real binder. Each divider has a white circle where you can write the title of the notebook section, just like the cover page. 

Duplicate the page templates

The next step is to duplicate the page templates within your digital notebook and then place them between the dividers. Don’t worry if you don’t duplicate that many blank pages to start with as you can always duplicate a page that has been written on and then erase all of the writing or use the delete all tool. 

Start taking notes

Now that you have completely set up your digital notebook all you need to do is start taking notes. I love taking digital notes as it allows for so much creativity. You can use so many different colours, you are not only limited to the colours of the pens in your pencil case anymore! And you can add images and diagrams from the internet or draw your own! Also if you make a mistake it is so easy to erase it! And you can easily rearrange everything by using a lasso tool!

If you want to learn more about how to take effective notes I suggest that you go read my article about the 5 best note taking strategies. 

Types of digital notebooks 

There are many types of digital notebooks. I sell 4 types: lined page, grid page, dot grid page and blank page. They are all very useful for different purposes and subjects!

Lined page digital notebook

The lined page digital notebook is the most multipurpose digital notebook of them all and can be used for practically any subject at school. It comes with 2 lined pages options, either narrow lines or wide lines. It also has a margin on every page!

Grid digital notebook

The grid page digital notebook is also another very popular option and is great for maths and science based subjects. Obviously you can use it for any subject at all. Lots of people love the grid page option as it makes their handwriting really neat by having more guidelines than just an ordinary lined page. It comes with 2 grid page options, either small grid or large grid. 

Dot grid digital notebook 

The dot grid digital notebook is great for digital bullet journaling. The dots give you guidance in your notebook but are not as noticeable and prominent as grid lines. 

Also if you are interested in bullet journaling but don’t have time to draw up pretty spreads each month I suggest getting some printable pages instead. You should check out my year in pixels printable, birthday tracker printable and movie tracker printable to use in your bullet journal!

Blank page digital notebook

The final type of digital notebook that I sell is a blank page digital notebook. This digital notebook features blank pages with hyperlinked tabs going down the right hand side of each page. This type of notebook is great for people who want to draw on their ipad and keep everything all organised in one place!