Over the last 18 months, I have kicked my paperless evangelism into high gear. Over those months, I have given several regional and even a few national presentations on the need to become paperless. In most, I walk everyone through my paperless story and how it has benefited me.
But yet, I still get people that say, "there is no way I can go paperless. It might work for you, but I have different needs." I hate to say it, we are not all as special as we think. We can all make the commitment to be digital and get over 95% of the way there within a month
But yet, I still get people that say, "there is no way I can go paperless. It might work for you, but I have different needs." I hate to say it, we are not all as special as we think. We can all make the commitment to be digital and get over 95% of the way there within a month
Why I am Pushing Paperless
I am not pushing paperless to save the trees, rather as a catalyst for process improvement. Paper is a great indicator of a process inefficiency. Re-evaluate every process that requires paper.
Three Steps to Stop Using Paper
Maybe, just maybe, you are thinking of trying to go paperless. Try the following to get your there:
Click above to see the details of each step or read below for a summary.
Click above to see the details of each step or read below for a summary.
1 - Stop Producing
Consider everything around you that produces or uses a significant amount paper. For me, it was notes, tasks, document storage, and construction plans. I replaced these with OneNote, Trello, OneDrive, and Bluebeam respectively.
What are your top producers? Track them for a couple days and every time you use paper, add it your list (your digital list). Once you have a couple days of data, start replacing your producers one by one. Do not necessarily select the producer that is creating the most paper, rather select the producer that will provide the quickest return. We need quick wins to get into a habit and stop the cycle
What are your top producers? Track them for a couple days and every time you use paper, add it your list (your digital list). Once you have a couple days of data, start replacing your producers one by one. Do not necessarily select the producer that is creating the most paper, rather select the producer that will provide the quickest return. We need quick wins to get into a habit and stop the cycle
2 - Stop Receiving
A simple, no thanks, goes a long way. Once you stop producing paper, you will notice that paper still enters your life. Whether it is from mail, receipts, newspapers, or even your colleagues, there are strategies for limiting how much paper you receive.
In future articles, I will go into a strategy for each. But to get you started, simply say "no thank you" to most of the paper receive. Ask yourself, do I really need this or do I have it somewhere else digitally. Almost every piece of paper you receive can easy be produced later if you need it.
If you are not yet gone completely digital, do me a favor and make sure you are not making someone else into a receiver. While your efficiency is important, you can't just toss your inefficiencies on someone else's desk.
In future articles, I will go into a strategy for each. But to get you started, simply say "no thank you" to most of the paper receive. Ask yourself, do I really need this or do I have it somewhere else digitally. Almost every piece of paper you receive can easy be produced later if you need it.
If you are not yet gone completely digital, do me a favor and make sure you are not making someone else into a receiver. While your efficiency is important, you can't just toss your inefficiencies on someone else's desk.
3 - Stop Collecting
Now that you have stopped all the inputs, it is time to go through the boxes and filing cabinets. Even all the books on your shelves. Take some time to go through all the paper that has collected. Create a few stacks such as recycle, shred, and scan. Then preform each act accordingly. Remember only scan the documents that you cannot easily reproduce. For the books, try an e-reader such as a kindle, iPad or cellphone. And then consider donating the paper copies. Don't try to do this all at once. Just like an elephant, tackle your accumulated paper one bite at a time.
Help Others
After you have rid yourself and your processes of paper, you may notice that paper keeps creeping in your life. It is now time to start helping those around you to become digital. Because you will not be able to become paperless completely unless those around you no longer produce paper.