Going paperless doesn't have to be hard, especially if you know what tools can help you do it. If you're trying to give up paper entirely, there are at least five tools you need to make it work.
Where in your life do you still use paper? Maybe you keep your to-do list in a notebook or perhaps you have a stack of documents that you need to sign in ink. You can eliminate nearly all the paper in your life when you have these five tools:
- A to-do list app,
- A scanning app,
- A file-syncing service,
- E-signature tools, and
- A document delivery service.
Let's look closer at each one of these tools and what they do. I also give recommendations for specific apps you can use to help you get started.
1. To-Do List App
I would never wag my finger at someone who uses a paper to-do list if they find it works for them. If you're trying to go paperless, however, one of the best places to start is by moving all your tasks and lists to an app.
The best to-do list apps are so much more efficient than paper lists. With paper, you're stuck with cross outs, and you can't easily rearrange tasks when your priorities change. You also can't assign tasks to other people and get alerts as soon as they complete them.
With a to-do list app, you get reminders of upcoming due dates, notifications when someone else completes a task, the ability to rearrange your list at any time, and many other benefits. My top three picks among to-do list apps are:
- Asana (shown above)
If you're trying to go paperless, you have to find a to-do list app that works for you and stick with it for a few weeks.
Start by creating three categories of lists: work, personal, and household. You can always change them later if they aren't quite right for your needs. In your work section, write down tasks at work you must complete this week. In your personal list, write down anything personal that you need to get done, such as sending a thank-you card or scheduling a haircut appointment. Use your household section for starting a grocery shopping list.
That's plenty to get you started. As you use your to-do app, you'll figure out what strategies work best for you when it comes to organizing lists, setting up reminders, and assigning tasks to other people. For the first couple of weeks, however, it's best to keep your lists short and straightforward. Using a to-do list app for the first time is like adopting a new habit; if it's too complicated, you might not stick with it. Once you've really got the habit down, you can start refining your to-do list strategies.
2. Scanning App
A scanning app is invaluable for turning important paper documents into digital files. When you digitize documents, you make a backup copy of them, which means you can shred or recycle the originals, or file them away safely. Some of the items you might want to digitize are paper tax filings, identification documents, official certificates (like birth, death, marriage, or diploma), warranties and receipts, recipes, and even non-paper documents, such as the details and instructions printed on the underside of your home wifi router.
Scanning apps turn your phone's camera into a scanner. While you can use any printer with a scanner to digitize documents, mobile scanning apps are so much more convenient, not to mention, portable. You can snap a picture of anything anywhere.
The best scanning apps detect not only the edges of the item you're scanning but also what kind of item it is, whether a page from a book or a business card. The very best ones also include optical character recognition (OCR) technology so that within a minute or so of scanning a document, you can copy and paste the text from it. A good scanning app should also be able to compile multiple pages into a single file.
Two scanning apps that meet all those requirements and are available for both Android and iOS are:
- FineScanner Pro FineScanner Pro (subscriptions from $9.99 per year; or $59.99 to own it outright) and
- Scanbot Pro ($6.99).
3. E-Signature Tool
If you're going paperless, you need to be able to sign documents without printing them. There's almost no reason to ever print and sign a piece of paper that someone sends you electronically. You should be able to sign most documents digitally, with very few exceptions. To do it, you need an app that lets you create a digital signature and apply it to files.
A few examples of software that includes e-signature tools are:
- Adobe Reader,
- Docusign, and
- Preview for macOS (shown above).
To get started, you must first create a signature, which is often the hardest part because signatures tend to look sloppy when made with a mouse, finger and touchscreen, or stylus. The good news is you only have to do this step once. After you create and save a signature, you can use it over and over again. For more details on two of the most popular methods, you can get more details on PCMag's stories on how to sign a PDF using Acrobat Reader and how to Sign a PDF in macOS preview.
If you find yourself struggling to sign your name with a mouse, finger, or stylus, check if there's an option to snap a picture of a pen-and-paper signature that you can then upload.
4. File-Syncing Service
A file-syncing service makes all your documents available to you no matter what device you have at hand. Here's an example of how a file-syncing service is indispensable: I was at the airport a few years ago applying for Global Entry. My interviewer asked me for proof of mailing address. It's not on my driver's license, and I didn't bring any mail with me to show him. Then I remembered that I had scanned and saved a real estate document that had been mailed to me at the address I needed. I opened the mobile app of my file-syncing service and pulled up the document to show the interviewer. He was satisfied, and I got my Global Entry.
Three of the most well-known file-syncing services - and I have no hesitation in recommending any of them - are:
Many file-syncing programs let you save offline copies of documents to your devices, too, which is extra handy for anything you might need in a semi-emergency, such as insurance certificates, an ID, or names and phone numbers in a phone tree.
Some of the very best file-syncing services also have document sharing tools, which we can get into next.
5. Document Sharing Tool
A common way to send digital documents is to attach them to an email. That option isn't always ideal, however, because you can't always tell when or if the recipient got them. (You can use read receipts, but they only work if the recipient hasn't blocked or declined them.) Another problem with email is that some files are too big, or your email program automatically downgrades the quality of the original.
An alternative way to send digital documents is to share them through some other cloud-based service. File-syncing services, such as the ones mentioned in the previous section, usually let you share a file by generating a link to it that you can then send however you like. Cloud storage services (many of which are now indistinguishable from file-syncing services) usually have them, too.
Typically, you put the files you want to share into a folder in your syncing or cloud storage app and right-click to get a link that you can share. From that link, the recipient can download the files. Depending on which service you have, you might have the option to see when or how often the person downloads the file. Some services, including Dropbox, even let you create an expiration date for access.
Look Forward, Start Today
One final piece of advice about going paperless is to start today and look forward rather than backward. What I mean by that is don't get hung up on digitizing whatever backlog of paper you have. Instead, adopt a few apps that will help you be paperless starting now, and you can move forward with your new habits.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please adhere to proper blog etiquette when posting your comments. This blog owner will exercise his absolution discretion in allowing or rejecting any comments that are deemed seditious, defamatory, libelous, racist, vulgar, insulting, and other remarks that exhibit similar characteristics. If you insist on using anonymous comments, please write your name or other IDs at the end of your message.