The Paperless Office

I returned from my enjoyable indulgent 4th of July weekend yesterday, and today it was back to work. As I sat I my desk, chewing on my bagel, I wondered what the next steps in the Going Green Project should be. I've started the blog, written an introduction, and spun out a few stories. Ok, so have I been doing anything "green" lately? I suppose that is an appropriate question to ask at this point.

I thought about this briefly, before putting it to the back of my mind and getting to work. My job involves a lot of editing and writing, so I often print my work, mark it up with your standard issue red pen, and then make the changes on my computer. Printing everything out is just how I work, and like all of us, I am a creature of habit.

After a morning at my desk, red ink on my hands, I tossed all the morning's printouts into the recycle bin. Then quite simply I realized what I was doing. I was printing out page after page every day. Why? Did I really need to be printing so much?

Yes, I was recycling all the paper I was printing out, and that's important. That didn't change the fact that I didn't need to be printing that much. There will be times when I have to print something out, and I will be sure to recycle when I am done. However, from now on, I will stop all the needless printing from my desk. I'll adjust my habits, and do my editing on the computer, which is where it needs to get done anyway.

I do not know the quantifiable effects of this action. I am not really sure if it accomplishes a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. But it's an easy thing I can do to be more conscious of the waste I create. It will force me to change a small habit in my daily life, and start focusing on what I need instead of what I am used to doing.

I realize this may not strike anyone as a monumental step, but that's probably because you've never seen how much I print out. (And just between us, I am not entirely sure that the recycle bins and the trash bins in my office don't end up in the same place, but that is an investigative piece for a future post.) So I am going to try. No more printing.

The paperless office here I come!