Digitalizing of documents
With the start of the new year, redesigning my home office has become routine. This time, it was a little more drastic. I moved from a larger room to a smaller one. I had to purify enormously, and that felt excellent. Hole punches, staplers, transparent covers, and everything necessary for analog office work have now been disposed of - Chaka!
I can only fit everything into a small space because I have digitized my documents. Over the past two years, I have gradually scanned my mountains of file folders. The first step is the private ones, followed by the company documents. What's left is an inbox for letters, which I process once a year.
New home office setup
This was the test for my new desk setup. To my left is the scanner, which I can easily reach without getting up. Thanks to the flexible screen and MacBook holder, the desk surface is pleasantly free and offers space for paperwork. The processed documents go to the right into the output stack, which is the storage area for the paper shredder.
Digital storage approach
I chose pCloud for my digital storage and access. They often have generous discount campaigns for lifetime use. With 2 TB of storage space, I can optimally store photos, documents, and even smaller videos. To provide the data to the service provider, I also use their encryption service. The data is only decrypted on my devices and is pure garbage for others.
I have access to this setup on my Mac and mobile devices. I can take individual documents offline to access the necessary data without a wireless network. I like to use this when I have tickets with QR codes.
Service costs
If I use the service for 10 years (and I plan on using the service for longer), my setup costs are manageable. A total of €429 spread over 120 months results in €3.57 per month for 2 TB of data, including encryption. Here are the costs broken down as they applied in January 2023:
- Lifetime Premium 2 TB storage for 279 €
- Lifetime Encryption licence for 150 €
Data access
When planning my digitization, I thought about services like fileee to search for documents and access their content. The functionality seemed necessary to me. Luckily, my thought at the time was “less is more.” I waited until I faced the problem of looking for something in my data, but I couldn't find it. After two years, the situation did not arise. Not because I wasn't looking for anything, but because I always found everything. The folder structure and file names are entirely sufficient.
Conclusion
My step toward a paperless office has been successful. As you know, I keep a handwritten bullet journal. Without paper, it will probably never work for me (a dangerous word). However, freeing myself from the mountains of paper is worth every minute of the hard work of scanning. I'm excited to see what improvement for everyday life comes to mind next.
How did you start the new year?
