Going Paperless

It’s been the goal for a really long time - let’s get rid of paper and live digitally. Well, how are we (people… humans… earth dwellers) progressing and what more can we do to get there?

It’s takes a long time to turn a big ship. Actually, not that long, but so goes the analogy. And it takes a long time to change habits. Paper has long been an integral part of our world and for many - especially the older generations - hitting print is the ingrained habit.

I have a rather progressive grandma, but the average person over say 70 would not consider a picture a picture unless they were holding it. They wouldn’t consider themselves formally invited to a party without the ink and cardstock to prove it. And they wouldn’t imagine approaching the security line at the airport with nill but a weird QR code on their phone.

There’s a new generation afoot though. My son is 18 months old. I think about the things that I find commonplace that he’ll find bizarre and antique - home phones, thumb drives, CRT’s, wired mice, inkjet printers (not that I know what will replace them), and optical media (IMHO). Screwdrivers and shovels will still be staples (in the Foster home anyway), but anything run by bits will be altogether different when he’s old enough to form memories.

I recently did a Twitter poll and most of the respondents (as you would expect from people using Twitter) were at least 80% paperless. I do believe we’re making progress.

I recently witnessed a fascinating facsimile storm between my wife’s parents. She was visiting us here in Seattle and some “paperwork” needed to happen and it needed to happen NOW, and so they did what anyone in their place in our culture would do. They started faxing! The flurry took a few back and forths, and before all was said and done, I think there were some considerable charges racked up at our local FedEx Store. Would you believe it can cost $18 to receive a fax? Obviously it depends on the number of pages and I’m not sure how many there were. This is not an isolated event. There was actually a line at FedEx and I don’t think you’d be surprised to hear that it wasn’t the younger generation standing in line.

Now, obviously, you can’t go entirely paperless, because you’re still going to get the letter and photos from grandma, the junk mail in your mailbox, and the receipt at the store (Home Depot will email me my receipt and save my preference, but they still print the paper one too). But you can reduce your own personal dependence on the printed word and the number of times you deliver paper to your fellow man.

Scanning all of the documents you have is fun (in one sense of the word) and will save you storage space, but it doesn’t directly save any trees because of the sunk cost theory which dictates that the paper you have stored has already been printed - already incurred the cost.

One of the best effects you can create is to start filling out forms on your computer. Most places have an online applicaiton, but many of the places that don’t will still offer a PDF version of their application. When you make a doctor appointment, get the PDFs off of their website, fill them out, and email them.

Unfortunately, I’m not aware of any tricks to getting mortgage or mortgage refinance paperwork turned digital. I have still had to drive across town to sit across from someone, sign 87 lines on a 300 page document, and then trust that they’ll deliver (on a truck) that heap to the right people. Because a lot of my paperwork and processes are paperless at this point, however, I was able to get back to my mortgage broker within 5 minutes most of the time with my tax information, bills, identification, or whatever else. It’s fast, it’s free, and it’s efficient!

TIP: fill out forms using Nitro Reader

Here’s my trick for filling out forms paperlessly.

Download Nitro Reader.

Open your PDF in Nitro Reader.

Hit CTRL + T to switch to text mode, click on a form field, and start typing.

Click the QuickSign button to set up your signature.

To create your signature, just sign a blank piece of paper and then get it saved as a PNG. You’ll have to figure out how to knock the white background out in your graphics software of choice.

Save your results and email away.

TIP: use your phone as a scanner

I don’t keep work receipts anymore. I immediately take a picture and save it in a OneNote notebook. Unlike real receipts, they’re always in once place, they don’t fade, and they’re searchable… vastly superior.

TIP: ditch the filing cabinet and get filing boxes

Where you store your paper - in a cabinet or in a desktop box - is mostly a matter of quantity, and that’s the point. Many people keep far more than they need. See about trimming your archive down to one or two IKEA filing boxes that you can put on the shelf above your desk. That way you won’t be tempted to fill a lot of space. I experienced the same thing when I lived on a sail boat in Seattle. I didn’t have space for stuff and so I didn’t acquire stuff. An alligator will only grow as large as its home (I have no idea if that’s true, but it sounds good).

TIP: get your head in the clouds!

Use OneNote or EverNote or some kinda note that gets your brain into the cloud. The strong advantage to a note system like this is that you have access to the data from anywhere - your phone, your tablet, your PC, your pocket watch, your glasses, etc. And in that case, you reduce the need to write on a post it note (will those be around when my son is older? hmmm) and carry paper around with you.

Anyway, those are just some musings by codefoster about our increasingly paperless society and how we can all participate and advance the notion.

Hope it helps!