Want To Be An iPad Girl? The Top 5 Hacks For Productivity

If you’re like me and you scroll through TikTok for hours, I’m sure you’ve come across the iPad girl. This is the girl who has her life organized and is so put together whether she’s in university, her career, or building a business. 

She’s the do it all girl.

The iPad girl aesthetic embodies the art of blending technology with your personal style and using the iPad as a productivity powerhouse for your everyday tasks.

As we embark on a new year, many of us are setting our sights on maximizing productivity and seeking innovative ways to reach our goals in 2024 so let’s talk about the hacks that will give your work life a major upgrade.

I have the iPad Air 5th generation and here’s how I’m channelling the iPad girl spirit in 2024 with these top 5 productivity hacks:

Customize Your Screens

There’s something about customization that adds joy to any experience. Creating a custom lock and home screen is the first I did on my iPad. Personally, it serves as a digital moodboard through the widgets while also curating my top apps and displaying important information front and center.

I love Widgetsmith for creating a workspace that is inspirational and boosts productivity. Here’s an example of inspo I found on Pinterest.

Multitask With Stage Manager 

Picture this: a multifunctioning workspace you can tailor on the go.

The kind of flexibility Stage Manager offers to seamlessly multitask with many screens is amazing. You aren’t constrained to a single screen like traditional tablets. Here you can resize windows, see everything at once, and have more control over your workspace.

As someone who is constantly on the go, the iPad is easy to carry and functions like my laptop so I can easily carry it and work wherever I go.

Embrace Digital Planning

Digital planners are the essence of the iPad girl trend. Whether you’re in school or a professional in your career, leveraging apps like GoodNotes, Notability, or Notion (which is my personal favourite) is going to be key. 

An all-in-one platform for creating custom dashboards, taking notes, inputting data and creating to-do lists, using Notion on my iPad has changed the way I plan and organize my tasks. If you want to save time, there are tons of free templates to choose from. Here’s the planner I’m using:

Leverage Apple Pencil

To get the full experience of the iPad as a productivity tool for your day-to-day, using the Apple Pencil will be key. Whether you want to journal, take notes, or brainstorm ideas, the pencil’s precision elevates the iPad’s functionality. 

No more carrying multiple notebooks or losing sheets of papers, this year we’re embracing digital planning and notetaking using the pencil.

Bonus tip: you can easily convert handwritten notes to text by double-tapping on the text if you’re using the Notes app.

Use the iPad as a Second Display

While I absolutely love using my iPad on its own, one of the most useful functions is using it as a second display screen which can extend or mirror your macbook. This is an awesome hack to increase productivity as it allows you to multitask, expands your workspace and offers a dual screen set-up no matter where you are.

As a working professional, I thought a lot about how the iPad can be useful and whether it’s worth it or not. If you’re looking for an easy to carry device that is intuitive and impactful for your everyday tasks, I would highly recommend it. There are endless possibilities for creating, collaborating, and organizing.

It’s not just a tablet, rather a catalyst for creativity and productivity for both students and working professionals. —Farah Khan