Five weeks ago, we had a desk move and reality struck me re: how much paper I had collected on my desk over the last 2 months (I recall cleaning my desk before Christmas). It was a personal shock to me so I set myself a goal to try going paperless and break the habit of printing documents just to use them as a comfort blanket.
Five weeks on and the walks to the other side of the office are becoming more infrequent. Below are my tips moving to a paperless environment. (Pic below is what was cleared prior to starting the paperless movement!)
Dual Monitors
It is becoming more common now for a desk to have a dual monitor set-up. I have a laptop that is connected to another monitor. Displaying two screens at once has allowed me to display my reference documentation on one screen while working on the other. I did notice that I had a desire to print documents when just working solely on my laptop so I try to make sure I have a spare monitor to work from.
Lucidity 365
One of the reasons, I used to print was the fear of forgetting where the original document was saved and not going back to it. Using Lucidity 365 at work, allows me to access all of my key applications from a central portal. In addition, Lucidity 365 combines both my personal Cloud Storage with the organisation’s shared documents that are saved in Microsoft Teams and SharePoint so I only have one window to look for files.
Microsoft Teams
Actively using Microsoft Teams to save and edit documents. I now save all of my shared documents in the relevant Teams Channels rather than sending by email to my colleagues – it means all reviews can be done on the core document rather than multiple documents being updated by my peers.
Microsoft Review Tools
I am actively using Microsoft Word’s review tools to review documents and mark my proposed changes and comments. The changes are clearly marked, and the original author can accept or reject the changes. This has reduced the amount of paper that I have used, and my red marker pen is not running out of ink.
Replace print outs with a laptop
I am an avid note taker in meetings using the old fashion method – notebook and pen. I will never be able to record notes online whilst in a meeting. However one change I can make is instead of printing out any required reference material for the meeting, I now take my laptop with me for reference material. I always ensure to position the laptop at an angle to the side of me so that it is not deemed as a barrier to my fellow participants.
When I do print, I print consciously
Finally, if I do need to print any output, I make a conscious effort about it – making sure I have chosen double-sided and asking myself if it needs to be in colour. I have made a conscious effort to not print duplicate copies of documents – instead I’m sharing my copy with my colleagues.
In summary
My desk today does not have any paper on it, there is no tray with a stack of documents that are collecting dust. For the last week, I have been hot desking, sitting in another office at our organisation without my paper “comfort blanket”. All I needed to do was connect my laptop to the desk’s monitor – it was that easy and over the last fortnight – have I gone back to my original desk to look for something? The answer is no!
If you or your business would like guidance on going paperless, contact Lucidity today to discuss what tools could be utilised to make this a reality!
