https://thoughtstreams.io/joeld/minimally-viable-paperlessness/Minimally Viable Paperlessnessjoeld2015-03-21T18:28:04Zhttps://thoughtstreams.io/joeld/minimally-viable-paperlessness/#card-7851My current paperless setup:
* [Fuj...2015-03-21T18:28:04Z2015-03-21T18:28:04Z
My current paperless setup:
* [Fuji ScanSnap S1300i][1]. The OCR in the included scanning software does a great job, which means my PDFs are fully searchable from the moment they're scanned
* [Hazel][2] for automatically filing incoming scans. I set up rules to search for specific strings and dates within the scanned PDFs and use those to rename, tag and move them into a special "Paper Documents" folder.
* An [Amazon Basics shredder][3]. This thing is not very quiet but it is aggressive and does the job quickly. I keep it in the basement and either recycle the cuttings or compost them.
[1]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HBFADQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008HBFADQ&linkCode=as2&tag=thloya-20&linkId=Z5RGDU52PYBCMQ55
[2]: http://www.noodlesoft.com/hazel.php
[3]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005QAQFFS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005QAQFFS&linkCode=as2&tag=thloya-20&linkId=I2YN6N66T3UMS44G
https://thoughtstreams.io/joeld/minimally-viable-paperlessness/#card-7849In the last year and a half, I've swi...2015-03-21T18:19:11Z2015-03-21T18:19:11Z
In the last year and a half, I've switched over from Windows to Mac on my personal computers. I had it in the back of my mind that I was going to be doing this, which combined with unfamiliarity and uncertainty about Mac OS, pushed me towards finding some kind of "cross-platform tagging" that would work across both platforms. Call it a kind of hedge bet in case Mac OS didn't work out.
Now that I'm fully on board with Mac OS, however, I just use the native file tagging and don't bother with the hashtags in the file names.
https://thoughtstreams.io/joeld/minimally-viable-paperlessness/#card-1095Best solution so far: a poor-man's ta...2013-01-25T14:43:45Z2013-01-25T14:43:45Z
Best solution so far: a poor-man's tagging file system. Just add `#tags` right into the filename. Works on both Windows and Mac OS.
See: <http://thenotepad.org/blog/how-to-do-paperless-future-proof-way>
https://thoughtstreams.io/joeld/minimally-viable-paperlessness/#card-1088Even a plain-text tag database would ...2013-01-17T21:39:20Z2013-01-17T21:39:20Z
Even a plain-text tag database would be incredibly future-proof.
E.g. on Windows command line, `dir /b > files.txt` and then edit the list like so:
2012-08 bank statement.pdf #finances #taxes
2012-08 dvr receipt.jpg #electronics #purchases #microcenter
2012-09 jamie prescription.pdf #medical #taxes #jamie
Although a better method for initial processing would need to be found.
https://thoughtstreams.io/joeld/minimally-viable-paperlessness/#card-1086Even if filesystems eventually allow ...2013-01-17T19:18:16Z2013-01-17T19:18:16Z
Even if filesystems eventually allow full tagging capability, incompatibilities between OSs are likely to limit the future-proofity of archives.
A better solution would be a self-contained HTML file that contains links to files along with a list of their tags, and can be used within a browser or accessed via the OS's full-text search tool.
https://thoughtstreams.io/joeld/minimally-viable-paperlessness/#card-1085Evernote's tagging abilities really s...2013-01-17T19:13:25Z2013-01-17T19:13:25Z
Evernote's tagging abilities really should be built into native file systems.
Windows 7 includes [some nice tagging ability](http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/tag-your-files-for-easier-searches-in-windows-7/4024) but note the crucial, bizarre limitation: _"While you can add Tags to many different types of files, you can’t add them to all file types."_ PDF files and text files are among the excluded file types.
[Some Mac users](http://www.macworld.com/article/1160568/tags2.html) use third-party utilities or "put tags into the Spotlight Comments field via Finder."
https://thoughtstreams.io/joeld/minimally-viable-paperlessness/#card-1084Lifehacker's article solves the first...2013-01-17T19:04:56Z2013-01-17T19:04:56Z
Lifehacker's article solves the first two problems and fails the third. A third-party (Evernote) is relied on to provide features (tagging) which your computer is (in theory) perfectly capable of providing on its own.
Will Evernote still be in business in 5 years? 10?
https://thoughtstreams.io/joeld/minimally-viable-paperlessness/#card-1083A good paperless strategy involves:
...2013-01-17T19:00:20Z2013-01-17T19:00:20Z
A good paperless strategy involves:
* **Easy scanning process** to move docs to your computer as effortlessly as possible
* **Easy tagging process** to make it easy to find all those documents when you need them later.
* **Future-proof storage and tagging**. You don't want your archive to be rendered useless by business/technology cycles.
https://thoughtstreams.io/joeld/minimally-viable-paperlessness/#card-1082Lifehacker posted [_How I Went Comple...2013-01-17T18:57:35Z2013-01-17T18:57:35Z
Lifehacker posted [_How I Went Completely Paperless in Two Days_](http://lifehacker.com/5973033/how-i-turned-three-years-of-paper-into-a-highly-organized-searchable-document-database-in-two-days?post=55895072)
Summary: Doxie scanner + EyeFi + Evernote