We have the technology to create paper-free lifestyles and work spaces. So why do we continue to use, send, pile, file, and keep indefinitely all this pulp?
It's what we know, so it's comfortable.
It's convenient, so we do it.
And for some of us (like me), it's fun.
But what if we were to make digital "paperwork" comfortable. What if we were to make digital paperwork convenient, so convenient in fact that even post it notes wouldn't be in such demand?
I am mulling over the idea of taking my partially-digital life up to a new level. I am not yet considering a Kindle (you can buy ebooks on amazon.com and read them on your PC, so I would not use a Kindle at this point), but I am seriously thinking that paper processing, retrieval, and storage takes up a chunk of every day, and I have better things to do with my time. And frankly, processing paper is not as fun as it used to be: there's just too much of it, much more than even a decade ago, in my experience.
Heck, the amount of paperwork in my own life has doubled in the past 12 months, and that is why I'm considering increasing and improving how I take advantage of technology to "declutter" paper processing. But I still am not a Kindle person. (Wink!)
Some environments seem to require paper, such as medical offices, schools, law, property management, and government (ugh!). However, my former family physician's office went almost completely digital a few short years back. Aside from the initial learning curve of the office staff, it works. They save time, money, and storage space. Day after day; year after year.
Well who among us wouldn't like to have more time, more cash, and more room in our offices and homes for working and living?
If you are a manager or business owner, you could be the catalyst for paper-reduction at work. And regardless of your employment status, you can definitely begin to reduce the amount of paper you keep in your personal life; it's totally under your control!
If you need a few ideas to start with, here are some I do or will begin doing this week:
~ Send as much correspondence via email as possible.
~ Scan and email documents that require your signature, if possible. (Oops! I just snail mailed one today that I could have scanned and emailed back.)
~ Liberally use your bookmarks tab, rather than printing off all your favorite bits of info from websites you frequent.
~ Take advantage of on-line banking and pay your bills this way every month.
~ Request that your recurring monthly bill statements be sent via email to you.
~ Most of the businesses you frequent on-line will keep your account info available on their websites, so you don't have to print off a receipt every time you make a purchase on-line. If it's the first time you're ordering from a particular site, you may want to copy and paste your receipt info into a Word document, and save it digitally in a temporary file until you receive the product. But quit printing out receipts unless you're currently being audited by the IRS. It's a waste!
~ For every paper you DO decide to keep, recycle or shred one you have filed. At least this way you won't be adding more to your paper stash.
~ If you still file your tax returns via snail mail, STOP IT. It's a total waste of time. File digitally this year. There is great tax software out there for cheap or even free. Just do it; you'll never go back to pushing tax papers.
~ Reply to emails with a quick, one or two lines. And standardize your signature to save time.
~ Use text messages as much as possible with personal correspondence. Quick, and even less formal than written letters OR emails.
~ Facebook and twitter will NOT simplify your life. They may reduce paper correspondence, but not life's complexity.
~ Use a digital calendar, like google calendar. Just try it. Even though I am a die-hard paper planner/calendar gal, I plan to at least TRY it. I suspect I may not like it. But who knows?! I never imagined I'd use internet banking, but I LOVE it now.
~ Digitize but do not destroy original or certified copies of marriage and birth certificates, death certificates, passports, social security cards, immunization records, military discharge records, proof of disabilities, insurance policies, titles to real property (land, homes, vehicles), investments, and diplomas (but get rid of the "certificates of attendance" for things like that rah-rah self-esteem through juggling class your manager made you and your team sit through last year).
~ If your hard drive seems to be getting full and your file cabinet less full, you could buy an external hard drive and save your stuff on it. Or save your files to disk, or a flash drive. Or the best way: email scanned copies of certain vital documents to yourself. You'll always have access to them, as long as you have internet connection, no matter where you are in the world. This tip is great for the business traveler. And there is nothing (no external hard drive, no disks, no flash drives) to physically store, dust, or keep track of! Uncluttered digital living at its best.
~ Many books are available free online, especially the classics and books whose copyrights have expired. To see if the book you want is available digitally and free, type in the book title in Google, then search "books." You can read thousands of books online, and you don't have to store them on your book shelf. Just use the "Bookmarks" tab on your browser when you feel the urge to jump up and juggle for your self esteem, and it will save your spot!
Enjoy your paperless (or a less paper) day!
