So all day I’ve been plowing through that pile of files in the back of the office that everyone has been adding to but otherwise ignoring since 2000. It’s fucking irritating work since I’ve only been here since 2002 and don’t know what 90% of it is, means, or whether it’s relevant. But that’s not as big a deal as the fact that someone thinks “records management” (formerly known as “filing”) means “Print, then save, everything that passes through your hands, then put it somewhere where you won’t have to deal with it again.” So I’ve thrown out about three forests of paper so far, mostly (a) endless drafts of documents which we have saved on our directory (b) printouts of e-mails regarding arranging meetings and © printed out power-point presentations (one slide per page) in numerous copies - some professionally bound, some in colour, some faxed, some just stapled, and some not even stapled but piled one on top of the other so they go sliding out as soon as you pick up the file.
Why, O why, is this necessary?
And, more importantly, why O why do I even bother using double-sided paper? What the hell is the point? I’ve thrown out more paper today than I would have used in my seven years of university, if I’d used pristine brand-new paper each and every time. Fucking waste.