Scott Brind

Many times I stop and think why do we need so much paper? How much of the paper on your desk now is useful? Could that information be on your computer and be readily accessible? These are the questions I ponder on a daily basis and always end up at the same conclusion: all our information should be electronic and eliminate the need for paper. However people then comment and say that it is not always accessible. I then reply by saying that when I need the information I will just go to my laptop or my smartphone and get the information. Isn’t that slower? I say no, in fact I find it quicker. The reason why: desktop search. Desktop search indexes your whole computer and this means you quickly find any file on your hard drive. Rather than search through a pile of papers I just type into a search box what I want. This also enables me to be more productive as all my information is accessible quickly and easily and it can take it with me anywhere I go at a fraction of the weight.

There is another huge benefit of a paperless society, saving trees! This issue was addressed by a blogger called Justine. She is appears on the Internet 24/7 as she has her own lifecasting channel, iJustine. Watch the video below to see her opening her first bill from AT&T for her iPhone. The bill was 300 pages long and arrived in a box! It contained very detailed information about her text messages and is such a waste. She made the video of her first bill to highlight this and spread the message to use e-billing. There is an option on AT&T to use e-billing which she has signed up for. If everyone used e-billing, even if it was just for our phone bills, think of all the trees that would be saved.

Here are a few tips to help you reduce the amount of paper you receive.

Internet Banking
Internet banking is a much easier way to bank because you can check your balance at anytime, download them to your computer and you do not have to wait until you receive your next statement. A further advantage of Internet banking is that you can transfer money via this system rather than write a cheque, which would take days to clear, or withdraw the money physically and give it to whom you request, which takes time as well. Using the online system makes transactions quick and simple and enables you to keep better track of your finances. In addition, if you check your account regularly you will be able to see straight away whether you may have been the victim of theft because you will see expenses that you are not accountable for.

E-billing
You can save yourself time and money by using e-billing. You do not have to go through your post when you get home you can from the comfort of your chair go through your receipts. Another benefit is that you can keep these for your records so that you can quickly and easily display your records from any time period you require. With this information at your fingertips you can analyse your income and expenditure.

Throw away the papers you don’t need
I know that for most people they may not be able to conform to a total paperless world for them so instead only keep the papers that you need. What is the point of keeping papers you do not need gathering dust. You may lose time sorting through your papers at the beginning but you will soon see that the system saves you much more time in the long term.

Facts
A single employee uses one ream of paper each week
An organisation with 2,500 employees uses 43 reams of paper each hour
Productivity lost in manual document processing can account for as much as 2% of a company’s revenue