I was going through my messenger bag looking for inspiration. That’s when I realized I used a lot of paper for someone who’s life and work was online. About the same time, fellow WorkAwesome.com blogger Abhijeet Mukherjee wrote about going paperless.
This made me think real hard about how much paper I used and wrote about it in a WorkAwesome.com column:
So going paperless should be a no brainer. Although I don’t hug trees, I don’t mind saving a few. But after looking through my messenger bag, I realize that it’s harder to do when you work out of the home office. If I stay sequestered at home every day without meeting anyone, I can go paperless fairly easily. Once I step out, things get trickier than they do at home, and at least some paper stationery becomes necessary.
I didn’t write this to justify my use of paper, but to illustrate that digital systems aren’t always the best solutions to problems. For the most part, paper is an extremely effective medium.
The post also reflects my desire to reduce paper use and find digital alternatives that work.
