Best Results Organizing

Are you a reader? Organizing the form of information flow can be just as important as squaring away the content.

Previously, we’ve discussed how handwritten notetaking correlates better with learning and improved cognition than typewritten notes. Also, a recent Scientific American piece, The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens, reviewed the current research. It found that there was at least some indication that “by limiting the way people navigate texts, screens impair comprehension” and that “screens and e-readers interfere with two other important aspects of navigating texts: serendipity and a sense of control.”

Leaving behind the science of the matter, sometimes, you just want to read things on paper. Perhaps you want to scribble something in the margin, or highlight it, or circle a portion, or post it on your mirror for inspiration or your office door to make a statement. You want to clip it out and paste it on your high school locker door, or dorm room bulletin board, or office cubical half-wall. You want to share it with your great-grandma.

But GamGam may not want to log in to Facebook or Tumblr. And you can’t post your iPad on your mirror or your door, and even if you could, some goofball would come along and change the screen. The web is great, and there’s amazing stuff out there just waiting to be absorbed. But…sometimes…paper is ineffably better.

However, as you probably know from experience, indiscriminately printing things from the web is generally a no-go. Sure, you can print directions or a recipe, but usually you end up with excess: ads, navigation links and junk; you use up the color ink disproportionately to how much you care for the things that print in color. And yes, previously, we’ve talked about options to make your online reading simplified, and that can help reduce the waste of ink and paper. But, sigh, sometimes, we miss newspapers.

The UK company Newspaper Club, which helps consumers design and print their own newspapers, has come up with an innovative approach for just such moments. They call it Paper Later. (Not to be confused with the creativity app Paper. Or Facebook’s app called Paper.)

At first glance, Paper Later works similarly to other ‘read it later’ services like Instapaper, Pocket, Flipboard or Readability. As you’re reading along, click the “Save for Paper Later” button in your browser while you’re standing in line at the grocery store or waiting for the dental hygienist. Whatever you’re reading, click on your phone or tablet and select those really good bits of the web, particularly what’s come to be known as “longreads” from stellar sources like the eponymously named Longreads, Medium, Hazlitt (Canadian and oh-so-cool), ProPublica (for public interest journalism) or The Classical (for sports fans).

But instead of coming back and reading them on the web, you get to read them on paper. Real paper. And not like printing a PDF on your printer, but in a newspaper. So, click to save, and when you have enough articles, hit “print” and Paper Later will lay your newspaper out, print it and ship it to you, and it should be delivered within 3-5 working days. It’ll come in a card-backed envelope and should fit in a standard mailbox or through a standard letter slot.

You can save anything from the web, but articles and blog posts work best. Obviously, this is not for saving and printing hot news stories. It’s not for reading quickly and tweeting out to your followers. It’s designed to let you take the more thoughtful approach, to read on a long train or airplane ride, or while you’re enjoying those last few sunny, crisp days in the hammock. Pick stories that are a little closer to timeless — or at least those which will have meaning to you once you’ve collected enough to read.

Paper Later is printed on 55gsm newsprint, with a high recycled content. It’s FSC– and PEFC-certified, and sourced from Swedish forests (because apparently those Swedes grow the best newspaper trees). I was curious about the length of a typical customized Paper Later edition, and got a quick reply:

@ProfOrganizer you can order anything from 8-24pp, and many people hit the maximum, which works out to be 30-40k words, typically.

— PaperLater (@paperlaterhq) August 18, 2014

Paper Later reports that the end-result looks and feels like a traditional newspaper, but is a tad thicker than typical newspaper, and is thus less likely to tear.

Unlike the Little Printer, which (even with its recent advances) I still think is mainly good for a lark, I can envision a number of reasons why you might want to invest in a subscription to Paper Later.

• You love the experience of reading the paper, but find your daily newspaper mostly pointless because you’ve read it all on Twitter already.
• Paper is less distracting than digital. With Paper Later, there’s no advertising (which makes it better than a traditional newspaper). And you don’t have to worry about tilt-lock, or losing wi-fi, or dropping it on concrete.
• You’ve been trying to learn a new language, but digital just isn’t conducive for you to unravel the nuances of longer pieces. With your Paper Later in one hand and your favorite whatever-to-English dictionary (digital or otherwise) in the other, you can explore.
• Artistically archiving a project appeals to you. An expectant couple might be blogging about preparations for the baby-to-be, and a newspaper archive of those posts provides a touching and tangible record.
• You want to curate fabulous pieces of writing for a loved one who is not digitally adept. Great-Grandpa’s brain is still sharp, but perhaps his hands aren’t so steady, and a tablet or keyboard just doesn’t work for him. A newspaper filled with writing that satisfies his intellect might be just the ticket.

Unfortunately, Paper Later is only available in the UK for now, so only Paper Doll readers on the other side of the Atlantic, like Jacki Hollywood Brown (Canadian professional organizer and blogger on extended stay in England), can report in on how well it works, but there’s an option to write in to let them know you’d like Paper Later to expand to your locale.

At £4.99 (about US $8.28) per issue, it’s a small indulgence. Much like taking quiet time, sitting in a hammock and catching up on your reading.