Everyone Should Have Thinner Folders – EVST 100: Intro to the Environment

With four weeks to go in the semester classes are in full-gear and my workload is continuing to increase, so I have had ample opportunities to change my everyday behaviors and work towards my goal of going paperless. This has been more challenging than I expected. Although I am enjoying getting to use my iPad everyday to do readings for my classes, I’ve found it’s taking me longer to finish readings. For example, last week it took me over an hour to complete the McShane reading when it should’ve only taken me half that time because it was a relatively short reading. I had to keep going back and re-reading sections because I was having a hard time staying focused because I wasn’t physically putting my finger on the page and manually flipping it. I was also having a difficult time getting used to annotating the reading using the Adobe app I downloaded. The highlighter wasn’t working exactly as I wanted because as I traced my finger along the sentences I wanted highlighted, the highlighter would jump and highlight the next line that I didn’t necessarily want highlighted. I also haven’t quite figured out how to take notes in the margins. However, the hardest part of this challenge has been organizing my notes for the readings when studying for quizzes. I usually like to have “finished studying” and “need to study” piles when reviewing readings, and using digital copies doesn’t allow me to do this. I know this is going to be very difficult over the next week while studying for the next exam.

I am enjoying having smaller folders to carry around that are not packed full of readings and only contain printouts that were given out in class. My now thinner folders are serving as reminders of my quest to live more sustainably and making me feel good about it. I have started to think about other things I can do to reduce my paper use, and while researching this, I came across an initiative that Yale University has put in place in attempt to go paperless. The top link below describes how 500 sheets of paper uses 6% of a tree and how there are many “hidden costs” associated with paper use that are mainly linked to printing, both of which have served as Yale’s motivations for going paperless. Yale has set a goal to reduce paper use by 10% over the next 3 years and has created a website where members of the community can go to get ideas about what they can do to reduce their paper use (the second link posted below).

http://its.yale.edu/news/yale-going-paperless-save-money-time-and-trees

http://sustainability.yale.edu/participate/guide-going-green/paper-reduction-toolkit

Participating in the challenge thus far has made me realize how dependent we are on paper and how difficult it is to break habits. But I am also realizing that the benefits of going paperless will outweigh the work it takes break these habits. I hope that others can realize this too and share my joy of having thinner folders.

Hana Isihara says:

April 22, 2014 at 4:46 am

Hi Elizabeth! I found your title very relatable. Since going paperless my master binder is no longer cluttered with pages upon pages of notes. I am still receiving handouts in some of my classes, which those these days have just been getting stacked in piled on my desk rather than neatly organized into the binders I have designated for each course. While my notes themselves are neater and more organized, handouts are not. Today I did sit down a hole punch all my accumulated handouts and put them in my binders which made me feel accomplished and more organized.

I agree with you in saying that this challenge has definitely opened my eyes to how much paper we consume on a weekly and even daily basis. Going paperless I have to say is one of the more difficult tasks because as a student you don’t have complete control over your paper usage. For example, you can’t just tell your professor, “Sorry I can’t take your exam on paper because I’m going paperless for the month.” I applaud you for adjusting to electronic reading rather than highlighting and I wish you the best in this challenge.

Carmina Spencer says:

April 22, 2014 at 4:50 am

I completely agree with your point about it taking longer to do readings when going paperless! I also seem to have problems scrolling through pages. And when the pages are scanned in so that they are all facing different ways and you have to tilt your computer or ipad just to try and decipher the positions of the pages? So much of a pain! It is nice to have a visible reminder of progress like a thin folder! I’ve noticed that that is a perk of my project as well. I notice that I’m not having to as continuously empty the trash or go to the recycle and it feels like a good way to remember my sustainability challenge.

Monica Weiss says:

April 22, 2014 at 6:17 pm

Elizabeth,

I ran into the same issue with doing readings digitally instead of printing and annotating them by hand. I realized that when changing behaviors sometimes there must be compromises because the change may be too drastic and too sudden. That is why I decided to allow myself to still use paper in some situations and hopefully work up to eliminating more and more paper as time goes on. My experience during this challenge has been very different because I have eliminated many sources of paper that don’t apply to schoolwork and class readings. However, I admire that you are sticking with your behavior challenge, kudos to you.

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