Going Paperless Not Such a Good Idea?

After using a Tablet PC for over a year now the rush of rotating the screen and scribbling away with my stylus has lost some of its flare and pizazz. My MIS class even helped me to realize that despite how much we may invest in some new piece of technology, if it does not improve our well being and live up to our expectations we must be willing to suck it up and say "It doesn't work and I don't want it." I suppose this is why I stopped using my Tablet PC (I still use and love it as a very portable notebook) as often as I once did.

My recent experiences reveal that productivity increases when I use it more as a notebook and less as a Tablet PC. Of course, when scenarios arise that absolutely require a Tablet PC to ensure success and efficient use of time I joyously perform that magical rotate and flip maneuver. However, when I contemplate whether I can perform an activity faster in notebook mode or tablet mode, I discover few situations where tablet mode is the best possible choice (currently).

When the Tablet PC was new it was instinctive to try to squeeze every bit of juice out of it it. I would switch to tablet mode whenever I could and infrequently questioned whether such actions were the best possible use of my time and energy. Previously, I viewed my Tablet PC as a Tablet PC first and then as a notebook second. This was a mistake, and currently I view it as a light portable notebook that doubles as Tablet PC.


With that said, I have also retreated back to former methods that involve the use of paper. I have found that reading real textbooks (instead of ebooks) and peforming homework on notebook paper (and then scanning it as a backup) has actually increased my performance in school. My personality seems to place higher value on those items decorated with blank ink than documents that are displayed on a computer screen. Of course I have reduced my paper consumption and now save the printing for high priority items only. It seems their physical existence is directly linked to my subconscious priority assigning scheme. Therefore I am much more likely to read something that I have printed out than an item that sits hidden somewhere on my notebook/ Tablet PC.


These are just my experiences but it seems I am not alone....


"Print important e-mails and reports! Research shows that people are less likely to understand material or find it interesting if they read it on screen, compared with on paper. And a stack of a paper serves as a reminder."


Of course this is different for everyone but I personally find I am less stressed and more productive when I use a system that integrates both paper and paperless items. Finding a happy medium is key here and each individual must devote some time and energy to discover which levles are appropriate for them. Only then can we surely become more productive.



Note: My New Cingular 8525 PDA/Cell Phone has helped me enormously in putting aside many activities that once required my Tablet PC. It has opened up the possibility of simply carrying it with a file folder to important events. My previous thought process was that since I was already bringing my Tablet PC (as it was the soul guardian of my schedule and to-do/next actions lists) I might as well load/scan all items into it and carry just that versus carrying the Tablet PC AND a file folder. Although it made sense at the time I find my new methodology to be much more reliable and practical. Expect my full impressions on this new device sometime next week!

Labels: Paperless, Productivity, Tablet PC

posted by Jason Dorko at 11:03 AM 0 comments links to this post