In a world that is supposed to be heading to a paperless utopia, we still use paper for a lot of things. I notice at work that we are adding newer and faster printers all the time. Printers that hold thousands of sheets of paper and print over 25 pages per minute. Reams and reams of paper with toner on them end up in recycling bins everyday.
The interesting thing is that the major job description of the new millennium may be “putting toner on paper.” Even with quick broadband connections and high speed computers the lowly old fax machine still chugs away everyday, spitting sheets of paper with signatures or hand input data out to those in need.
This has been an amazing week here at Fire Up Today. A couple of our posts were picked up by Lifehacker and another by lifehack.org. The post on the Five Minute Organizer (Walleteer) had over 10,000 visits last week. This paper based organizer seems to have found a niche with people that find traditional PDA’s a little less than ideal.
I have a Sony Clie PDA and I find it useful for storing phone numbers and other static data. The problem with it is carrying it around and syncing it up. It’s too big to put in my pocket so I usually carry it around in a pocket in my notebook. Out of sight and out of mind, the battery usually goes dead before I remember to recharge it.
The paper based Walleteer works well for me. I can take it almost anywhere, it’s flexible, and I can remove cards and place them on my desk where they are constantly in sight. For me, paper is still the best solution for note taking and organization. I’ve been looking at the new PDA phones such as the Treo 700
We have a couple of new paper based solutions lined up for next week. The Five Minute Diet Planner and the Five Minute Mission Statement are in the works. Both should fill a niche that many people have. Most of my friends are constantly on diets and they are all looking for a way to track their daily progress and stay motivated. What better than a pocket record keeper/motivator that goes with you anywhere.
I’ve been a part of mission and vision statement planning over the last couple of months and the frustration of finding the right words is a big problem. I have been on a panel that literally spent hours trying to find one word. The Mission Statement Builder may help alleviate the problem with a quick reference feature.
I just want to say welcome to all of our new visitors and a big thanks to all of the sites that linked to us. Be sure to bookmark this site as we have some fun new items on the horizon.
If you find the Five Minute Organizer helpful be sure to checkout these other paper based tools.
Five Minute Flowchart
Five Minute Motivators
Five Minute Outliner
Instant Garage Sale
For additional paper based solutions check out the DIYplanner site.
