As part of an ongoing goal to be paperless, or as paper-free as possible, I started observing my actions to see which ones resulted in production of paper. Here are my key paper-producing actions:
1. Taking notes in my notebook
a. In meetings
b. When I’m reading something on the computer
c. When I’m brainstorming
2. Printing documents
a. To distribute at meetings
b. To read when computer access is not available
c. To use when I need to review multiple documents simultaneously
When I first examined my habits, I isolated a few factors that were greatly contributing to my paper production. The three biggest reasons why I still use and produce paper are:
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I often don’t have enough available screen space to work purely with electronic documents.
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Access to electronic documents is not available.
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The means to work purely digital are not available.
Lacking Adequate Screen Space
Sometimes my work requires me to view multiple documents, often simultaneously. One task required me to integrate two documents into a new template, which ended up being a third document. At the time I only had one monitor, which meant I spent a lot of time, and mouse-clicks, to constantly shuffle the documents around. I would often split the screen with two out of the three documents, which kind of worked, but then I had to contend with reading small font sizes. Each time I had to look at the 3rd document, I had to reshuffle everything on my screen.
After a couple days I ended up getting a second monitor, which improved the situation enormously, but still didn’t offer me adequate space to view the massive, multi-columned spreadsheets. Working purely with electronic documents is much better because it makes creating, sharing, searching, and sorting so much easier. One of my main challenges working with electronic documents is when there isn’t enough screen space to view everything.
When I print something out, like a massive spreadsheet, I can spread it out on any surface and see the whole picture. I can only do this on a gigantic monitor, which I never have, so it means I am always compromising my view of the document. It just makes me wonder if offering a second monitor, or a larger first monitor, should be factored into the planning behind paperless or paper-lite initiatives.
Having a second monitor has largely eliminated the need for me to take notes in my notebook when I am reading something on my computer. Whenever I start reading a document on the computer, I always reach for my notebook purely out of habit. Then I remember about the second monitor and put my notebook away. I read on the first monitor and take notes on the second.
Taking notes on paper was a habit, but one that persisted out of necessity and convenience. With only one smallish monitor, it was often too irritating to read documents and take notes simultaneously. It was possible, but only if I was willing to compromise the font size and strain my eyes. I wonder if other users would be willing to change their paper-producing habits if the right options were available to help them make the transition.
Stay tuned for Part II: How Access Impacts Paper Production