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versions of certain documents for legal or financial purposes. Tis requirement casts a long shadow resulting in people feeling pressured to keep other types of documents as well, all because of the perception that it is important to keep documents in general. In one sense, this perception is understandable, given the historic


importance society has placed on certain types of documents. On the other hand, surely a better approach is to keep legal documents digitised for safe keeping. A digital document that is safe from mishaps is certainly a lot more practical and can be searched for easily. In addition, as more and more organisations move forward with


their digital transformation goals, many are starting to only accept digital documents. In these instances, digitisation is being driven by cultural and societal change – so it may make sense to take simple steps to get into the habit of converting your paper documents, as digital slowly but surely becomes a necessity for moving through the world. For example, in the UK you can keep tax and pay records “on paper, digitally, or as part of a soſtware program”. Meanwhile, France is already in the process of introducing new laws that mean all businesses must bill digitally and e-invoicing will soon by mandatory. In Italy, the legal validity of electronic documents dates back to 1997.


‘Just in case’ Holding on to documents ‘just in case’ they are needed is another major reason for paper clutter. According to the ScanSnap research, 76% cite this as the reason. Te fear of discarding physical documents is rooted in the feeling that they might be needed in the future, but it is this precautionary mindset that can, in extreme cases, lead to hoarding. Te reality is that, more oſten than not, the ‘just in case’ moment never comes, with the result that physical documents remain taking up space in the home – and causing their owners worry – forever. Te people most likely to exhibit this mentality are the ‘silent


generation’ who were born between 1928 and 1948 but many more of us also do it. Te research found that 67% of people admit that they keep hold of a lot of paper that they probably won’t need anymore.


Loss aversion Loss aversion refers to a phenomenon where a real or potential loss is perceived as psychologically or emotionally more severe than an equivalent gain. Te anxiety that documents might not be available when needed can be stronger in some people than the joy they will get from freeing up space and removing clutter (at least until they try doing it). Te truth is that digital documents are still close at hand but take up a negligible amount of space compared to physical copies. Our research showed that almost half of people (46%) cite loss


aversion as the main reason they hold on to their paper documents and feel anxiety at the prospect of losing them.


Familiarity People tend to stick to what they have been taught, which becomes what they know and feels most comfortable. When applied to looking aſter documents, the established norm is to keep them stored in physical form. 22% of our survey respondents said that they keep paper documents because “it’s just what I’ve always


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done” and that they have “never thought of storing this digitally”. Subconsciously preferring to be in their comfort zone leads a lot


of people to hoard paper because that is what they think of as the ‘normal’ way to do it. But this is just an education and experience exercise. If they were made aware of the accessibility and ease of digitising documents today, that might well be their choice. According to our research, the Silent Generation and Baby


Boomers (people born from 1946 to 1964) are particularly susceptible to not trying new ways of doing things, which could be linked to another psychological driver, cognitive ease. This is how easily the brain processes information, and people who haven’t grown up with digital might well find paper documents an easier or more digestible format to read, and so prefer to hang on to them.


Psychological impact When it comes to paper hoarding, these psychological factors can significantly impact wellbeing. Increased clutter at home and work contributes to reduced productivity and adds to stress. 68% of people find it stressful if their home or workspace is cluttered and two-thirds are actively seeking less clutter in these spaces. Embracing a paper-light environment has the potential to be a


transformative experience. Replacing piles of papers on a desk or hidden away in cupboards, with ones that are saved and managed digitally can alleviate some of the stress caused by the fear of losing or misplacing documents. Digital solutions also address ‘just in case’ concerns by ensuring


documents are always available and easily searchable. Finally, switching to a digital-first approach can revolutionise your workspace and your home, making it cleaner and more organised and, ultimately, improving your life.


Solutions Changing behaviour is easier if the new way is as simple as possible. For example, ScanSnap is a hardware and soſtware solution that makes it easy to digitise the paper in your life so that you can focus on the things that matter. Te ScanSnap range of personal productivity solutions includes


a number of features that help overcome the psychological drivers causing people to hold on to paper when they don’t need to. Te ScanSnap Cloud function makes it easy to create digital documents that are that are hyper-functional in terms of both their searchability and usability. It will optimise, categorise and organise your documents into a third-party cloud-based service of your choice – meaning both secure storage, and easy access to your documents for those ‘just-in-case’ moments when you need a document ASAP. People, especially if they are older, can get anxious around


technology, but you don’t need to be an IT expert to use ScanSnap – you just need to touch a button to share scanned documents with friends, family, and colleagues via email. And, you don’t have to stress from looking high and low for a document that contains vital information. Te ability to create searchable PDFs saves you time trying to find the information you need in a large document by allowing you to search for specific words or details. For home or office, ScanSnap is the smarter way to work.


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