How I simplified my life by drastically reducing paper? 6 lessons learned in 7 years of practice.

In 2015, I bought a “scanner” dedicated to personal document scanning.

And I don’t regret it. (I use the ScanSnap IX500, but it seems there are newer ones)

My incoming mail goes into a physical “inbound” box. On Friday, during my “Weekly review”, I process this incoming mail, scan and destroy it.

Here are the 6 lessons I have learned in 7 years of practice.

1. The system guarantees continuity. Think about your system beforehand and constantly improve it.
2. The hybrid solution works the least well. Sometimes I scan, sometimes I keep in paper. This is the best way to get lost.
3. Since then, my phone can also scan, but nothing replaces a dedicated and adapted tool. Scanning multi-page documents on a phone takes more time.
4. A sense of order. Not having papers piling up around you is liberating.
5. I can find my documents in my system much faster.
6. I’ve gained a crazy amount of shelf space.

Discover my Resource guide: The 11 books that have influenced my career the most. (Including my favorite of all categories)

Making the paper around you disappear and knowing that you can access it quickly at any time makes life easier. The advancement of technology makes the solution accessible to everyone. (including the non-technical)

Your experience?

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