As we’ve discussed already on the blog, there’s a whole host of benefits to having a paperless desk from reducing waste and time wasted to clearing your mind.
We’ve become obsessed with the idea of paper and documents being part of our lives without asking ourselves the question of how relevant it needs to be.
Every day, we lose precious work minutes every time we go searching for a lost paper on a cluttered desk.
So how can we drive efficiency, improve our ability to focus and save time? Let’s take a look.
- Start with yourself
Schedule regular self-audits and paper-purges. During the paper purge you will:- Throw every piece of paper away that you don’t need
- Scan everything that you think could eventually be important
- Make sure every digitised file is named or tagged correctly
- Sort all unsorted files into the cloud or the right apps
- Set yourself up with a dual or multi-monitor for added employee productivity.
A second monitor helps to increase productivity by decreasing the time it takes to complete certain tasks. In fact, dual monitors have been proven to increase productivity by 20-30 percent, according to a New York Times’s report. - Use note-taking apps in meetings.
You and your Employees can use Evernote to take important meeting notes, and everyone can have access to any documents, presentations or important information without using reams to paper to make sure each person gets it. - Scan, Scan, Scan
Using scanning tools to save paper for later will be helpful in the road to going paperless. For larger stacks of paper, it could be worthwhile to set yourself up with an automatic document scanner. Consider investing into one that supports Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to create searchable PDF versions of your documents. - Use mobile apps to capture business cards
Apps like ScanBizCards, Wantedly and Evernote use OCR technology, which makes it easy for you to quickly scan and store a business card on your smartphone. - Implement cloud-sharing tools to cut down on printed reports and, documents
Replace filing cabinets and save space with digital file-sharing systems such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft Office Sharepoint. - Use a task and project management apps to reduce post-its, todo lists, and printed roadmaps
Managing tasks and projects is usually part of an employee’s daily routine. Project management tools like Asana, Notion and Airtable are great ways to track roadmaps and deliverables, and even allocate responsibilities across multiple devices and platforms. Or if you’re a smaller business you could try a simple action tracker like here. - Digitise your legal documents and agreements
Instead of printing these documents, use tools like AdobeSign and DocuSign to digitise them. Not only does this cut down on paper usage but it also speeds up the process for customers and clients that need to sign and share agreements. - Implement online invoicing to handle client payments
Take advantage of digital invoices to make going paperless safer and easier for your business.
