Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 20 or so years, you’ll no doubt be aware of how fast technology is moving, how reliant we are on our laptops, phones and tablets and also how the traditional document creation and note taking method of pen and paper is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Sure, there is still a need for it in some cases, but picking up a pen and filling something in or taking notes on a traditional notepad is rare. Laptops and phones win out in the note taking stakes with some people going for months before they even need to grasp a pen in their hand.
This article however is not a hatchet job on the pen or pencil. It’s more of a thought provoking look into the benefits and reasoning as to why we’re opting for a paperless working environment along with the benefits of such a new and fangled system. It’s a brave new world.
Scrap the Pen and Go Paperless
The pen will always have its place, at least for the immediate future. Signing forms and documents is always going to be required until the various companies and organisations who require them gear themselves up technology wise to accept digital content of sorts. But you can start making some steps in the interim. Below we’ll look at the reasoning and the benefits of doing this.
The Environment
Lots of paper is bad for the environment. We know that, we know where paper comes from. Trees. And we know how important trees are to our atmosphere and the wildlife harbored in them. The more paper we use as a society, the more we’re harming the environment. So, as they say, you need to think before you print. Fast Internet connections and inter office connectivity effectively means you won’t really need to print anything anymore. As they say, don’t send a letter when an e-mail will do!
Storage Restraints
Storing paperwork is often a challenge, particularly for big businesses. Thankfully most are getting on board and opting for fully digital storage. Even if it is literally the scanning of traditional papers and saving them in a digital format. Gone are the days of entire floors containing filing cabinet after filing cabinet. A full floor of files can now be stored on a USB thumb drive. Logistics make storing data digitally rather than paper based an attractive option.
Benefits of Sharing Data
It goes without saying that sharing data if it’s in a digital format is much easier than sharing traditional paper based documents. In the past if you wanted to send a document to the other side of the world you’d need to fax it which would be a challenge if your document was 100 pages long. And what if you wanted multiple people to see it? It would be virtually impossible. Digital data and ditching the paper means you can send it to anyone anywhere in a matter of seconds.
Real Time Data on Demand
The biggest issue people had in the past was the documenting and retrieval on a given piece of data. Employees of large firms would frequently spend hours on the filing cabinet floor trawling through document after document just to find a single piece of information. Thankfully with digital storage that is no longer an issue. Specific data can be searched, located and recalled in seconds.
The #letsgopaperless Campaign
A great campaign I have recently come across is the #letsgopaperless campaign by IDBS who are actively encouraging the paperless working environment. I for one agree with them primarily due to the benefits I’ve outlined above but on top of that simply because it’s the future. I’m all for innovation, I hate standing still and I feel a completely paperless working environment is most definitely the future.
Conclusion
So lots to think about. I’m sure some of you won’t want to abandon your pen or pencil just yet but if you have been skeptical about switching to fully digital hopefully this article will go some way to alleviating your fears and perhaps the next time you think about making notes in your new fancy Moleskin you’ll consider the pros and cons outlined above and think better of it.