In California, I’ve been temping in small medical and legal offices that are extraordinarily paper-based, making me suspect this is more common than I realized. Here are some exemplary practices I have observed:

• Upon receiving a document via email, immediately print it and re-scan it for saving, eliminating any of the helpful search features of the original.
• Store all the paper in individual files, shelves and drawers and boxes of them, filling walls and file cabinets and rooms of them.
• Pull the file for each client or patient encounter, and pair it with hardcopy forms to be used to capture the proceedings.
• Before shredding obsolete files, remove the staples and scan hundreds of pages into large-chunk-sized chronological archival files, then scratch and discard any CDs (received from others, likely never used).

One office was the proud owner of a high-end machine capable of duplex copy and scan, as well as document (searchable) scan, yet they only made and stored single-sided copies and picture scans. In most, the workflow was documented online, including templates; my favorite was a standard fax for vendors and partners asserting, We Require Hardcopy, with the caveat that up to 2000 sheets is acceptable.

People at these offices are well-educated, intelligent, caring, and environmentally-conscious. They vigorously recycle, easily filling the blue bin each week. You know those small plastic post-its that look like file tabs? One office reuses those. Many reuse all sort of slightly battered office supplies that I would discard at home without a thought.

Oops! My bad. I should be more frugal.

Years or decades ago, when these professionals began their careers, paper-based office management was more common. Their original methods are established and well-understood. It would be disruptive to introduce a new system, and, while quite viable, the businesses aren’t growing fast enough to justify the expense.

It’s not a nightmare, really, I mean they do recycle, and if people spend more time shuffling paper than they would without it, they also get a lot more exercise climbing on stools to reach files and emptying the shredder container than they would by pulling PDFs up on a screen all day.

Is excess paper dangerous? I believe I read that it played a role in the collapse of the twin towers. Certainly the airline fuel burned out within minutes, yet the buildings’ contents were aflame for more than an hour, weakening their structures. How much of that was fueled by paper?

If that seems incredible to you, ask for a tour of a paper-based office some day soon. I’m just glad smoking indoors is illegal.