This morning, I read through the Tim Ferriss 4-Hour Work Week Blog on creating a paperless life. As many of you know, I'm a subscriber to the Dave Allen GTD school of thought, and because of this, my life is about 80% digital/20% paper.
The article covers a few questions to help you with your paperless goals. Mail, checks, cash, are all paper and bind us to certain places or things. Once you let go of these and go virtual (completely virtual) you are free to move about the cabin as you wish.
Everyday, when I check for mail (paper mail), I get about a pound of adverts, catalogs, and fliers. The bills? Mostly automatic, direct deposit, automatic withdrawls, you get the picture. This way you can keep an eye on things using electronic statements and (if you enjoy pain) the phone. My goal has been to eliminate all important mail, then I can just sign up for vacation mail permenantly and pick up my box of junk mail from the post office everytime I go camping and need some kindling to start the campfire.
The article goes on to talk about phone and voicemail, two of my least favorite task oriented devices. Don't get me wrong, I like using the phone for talking to family, friends, and other social type activities. I just hate emails which say "call me" when they could really just take care of business right there and then. Phones require both nodes to be online (you and the caller). While email is disconnected and provides documentation (as any good project manager knows, a papertrail is important!).
If you havn't picked it yet, go to your local library or bookstore and checkout The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
. I read half of it at Boarders before I decided it was a must for my library!
The article covers a few questions to help you with your paperless goals. Mail, checks, cash, are all paper and bind us to certain places or things. Once you let go of these and go virtual (completely virtual) you are free to move about the cabin as you wish.
Everyday, when I check for mail (paper mail), I get about a pound of adverts, catalogs, and fliers. The bills? Mostly automatic, direct deposit, automatic withdrawls, you get the picture. This way you can keep an eye on things using electronic statements and (if you enjoy pain) the phone. My goal has been to eliminate all important mail, then I can just sign up for vacation mail permenantly and pick up my box of junk mail from the post office everytime I go camping and need some kindling to start the campfire.
The article goes on to talk about phone and voicemail, two of my least favorite task oriented devices. Don't get me wrong, I like using the phone for talking to family, friends, and other social type activities. I just hate emails which say "call me" when they could really just take care of business right there and then. Phones require both nodes to be online (you and the caller). While email is disconnected and provides documentation (as any good project manager knows, a papertrail is important!).
If you havn't picked it yet, go to your local library or bookstore and checkout The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
. I read half of it at Boarders before I decided it was a must for my library!