Simple Office Capture Suggestion

[jasont]

Hey All,

I recently listened to one of the podcasts on GTD best practices. David and Kelly were talking about the junior legal pads that they always have on the desk.

That prompted me to post up a simple suggestion which not only allows for a simple capture but also recycles your paper.

Buy an inexpensive paper cutter (I like the guillotine style), have a place to hold our used papers (I use a milk crate, on its side, under my desk).

You know how you always end up with those printed pieces of paper, maybe an email you had to print for a meeting, but is not worth keeping for future reference? I put them in the milk crate and use the full 8.5 x 11 sheets for note taking and for the "always at hand" capture... I use the paper cutter and make 4.25 x 5.5 scrap papers to jot notes and toss in the inbasket.

Hope you all find some use out of this suggestion. It's a nice way to reuse all of that paper waste we make.

Jason

 

[mmurray]

Yep excellent idea which I have done for some time. Great minds think alike as we used to say at school. I also use old A4 size paper for writing on the back of without cutting up. There is a downside to that which is occasionally I get confused and write on the back of something I want and file it away in the wrong place.

Years ago I visited the University of Edinburgh and they had a campus wide scheme for collecting all paper printed on one side and binding into pads with that red rubber stuff along the short end. They then sent it back out to the department. If your calculations were going badly you could turn a page and read the minutes of some other departments staff meeting or something random.

Does anyone know if there is an easy way to do that glue binding ? I looked once and there are machines but they are expensive.

Michael

 

[Oogiem]

Does anyone know if there is an easy way to do that glue binding ?

You can buy the padding glue for about $12 for a huge pot. 2 Large C clamps and a couple scrap pieces of cardboard plus a piece of 1/4 inch plywood can make a padding press.

I did it when I was a kid, The pads are not great but work ok

 

[Day Owl]

The cheap version of glue

Binder clip!

 

[mmurray]

Yep but somehow binder clips just lack elegance

Michael

 

[mmurray]

You can buy the padding glue for about $12 for a huge pot. 2 Large C clamps and a couple scrap pieces of cardboard plus a piece of 1/4 inch plywood can make a padding press.

I did it when I was a kid, The pads are not great but work ok

Thanks Oogiem. What kind of shop did you find the glue in ? I can't find it in places like Officeworks but was thinking maybe art supplies or hardware ?

Michael

 

[Oogiem]

Thanks Oogiem. What kind of shop did you find the glue in ?

I got it from an art supply place originally. Google found this place

http://www.abcoffice.com/pad_a.htm

Hundreds of hits. Search for padding glue

For cardboard ask any Creative Memories scrapbook consultant or customer to save you the cardboard things that are used to package pages and paper to prevent it from bending or creasing. They would make good pad backers when cut to size. Heck I just threw out (no recycling in my town) about a foot worth of the cardboard.

 

[Marcelo]

Great idea!

I even reuse paper for NAs lists and calendar in my notebook (not for the contacts though as those stay there longer).

Another way of binding: plastic molding strips, those used to hold posters.

 

[matsuru]

There is a downside to that which is occasionally I get confused and write on the back of something I want and file it away in the wrong place.
Michael

For me, i'll cross out the page I am not using. So I always know which page is the actual page I am using.

also, if I am using a new paper with 2 sides blank, I will only use 1 of the sides. The other side is left empty. When the information is overdue, I can cross out the page and use the back later on.

hope this helps!

 

[mmurray]

For me, i'll cross out the page I am not using. So I always know which page is the actual page I am using.

also, if I am using a new paper with 2 sides blank, I will only use 1 of the sides. The other side is left empty. When the information is overdue, I can cross out the page and use the back later on.

hope this helps!

Mostly mine is printouts of drafts of things I have written. So I read through it and make corrections on the computer and then I have 40 pages spare printred on one side. I guess I could mark the printed sides with a stroke of the pen so I know they are used but usually I just put it in the pile with all the other half used pieces.

Thanks - Michael