Last week, I provided some links to two SoHo printers that I recently reviewed on TheAppleBlog. So, now let me tell you why I went about reviewing these printers.

For the past ten months, I have been very focused on learning the Getting Things Done (GTD) method from David Allen. Do I subscribe to every word in the doctrine? Of course not. However, there are so many good nuggets in this model that it’s easy to extend and modify it to your specific needs.

Anyway, it’s been a goal of mine to have a paperless office. There are key reasons for doing so:

• Having soft copies of key documents (taxes, legal docs, financials, etc.) is crucial in the event of a natural disaster.
• It’s better for the environment. No, I am not a greenie, However, I do like to conserve.
• It saves space in your home.

What was my path?

1. My first attempt was to go as paperless as possible for all of my bills and financial statements. Other than brokerage accounts, this was pretty much achieved.
2. I then requested from every other service to send me email versions of their documents. Again, I am able to get most items in email, although there are some culprits who still don’t get it.
3. I signed up for Lifelock, a service that helps remove you from catalog, credit card and other miscellaneous lists to also minimize the paper I have mailed to my home.
4. I cancelled my magazine and newspaper subscriptions, as I can read these online.
5. I no longer print documents unless it is crucial I have the paper with me. Otherwise, I print to PDF and save in DEVONthink.

What was next?

To take the existing paper and begin migrating it to PDF. I purchased the Canon MX7600 multifunction printer which has a duplex scanner with automatic document feeder (ADF) for 35 sheets of paper. Yes, there are many other options – most folks like the Fujitsu ScanSnap models. However, I did not want yet another device cluttering up my desktop.

I then read a few articles about going paperless on the web:

• The Real Paperless Office
• Update: The Paperless Office
• The Complete Real Paperless Office

I started last weekend by scanning my old tax records. In two weeks, I have already gone through six years of tax files! I still have more paper to scan/transfer to my Mac, although that is just a matter of time.

Next Steps

Will I be able to go completely paperless? I am not sure yet. However, I will keep you posted on my progress. If you all have ideas on how to achieve this paperless goal, please don’t hesitate to comment below…

Tags: Apple, DEVONthink