OFFICE ESSENTIALS
24
| P2P Magazine | Winter 2013/14
01732 759725
I can’t live without
my...paperclip!
The humble paperclip has been named the most essential item of office
stationery in a poll of 600 office workers conducted by LondonOffice.com.
In defence of diaries
their importance. Even if people still
use printed paper to progress business
workflows, documents are almost always
created electronically.
As one respondent commented: “At
first I thought I couldn’t function at work
without my pen and notepad, but come
to think of it, I take so many notes on my
iPad now, I hardly use them.” Another said:
“So much of my note taking is now done
electronically so the only stationery I use
are the items to organise my paperwork.”
The clear division between the
importance attached to stationery items
used to organise paper (the top five) and
those used to create documents (the
bottom five) underlines the disconnect
that exists in the way organisations create
documents and how they are processed.
Bridging this gap by adopting scanning
and electronic document management
technologies to create an end-to-end
digital process would almost certainly
lead to productivity gains and big time-
and cost-savings.
The paperclip topped the list with 20%
of the vote, followed by the stapler
(16%), Post-it Note (13%) and hole
punch (12%).
The fact that three of the top four
items are used to organise, secure and
file paper documents says a lot about
organisations’ continued reliance on
paper for key business tasks.
You could even include the Post-it
Note and fifth place highlighter in
this category due to their popularity
for flagging up, labelling,
annotating and highlighting
paper-based information. The
paperless office is clearly still a
long way off.
That said, there are signs that
technology is changing people’s
working habits, with the notepad and
pen securing relatively few votes – just
9% and 8% respectively. Not long ago
these would have been considered
essential, but today, computers, tablets
and smartphones have diminished
A surprising omission from
LondonOffice’s list of essential
stationery items (see above) is the desk
diary or day planner.
Yes, there are electronic alternatives
on PCs, tablets, smartphones and in the
cloud, but there’s still nothing quite
like a physical diary for noting down
appointments. You can even record mileage
and attach train tickets, restaurant bills and
other expenses next to diary entries, which
will save time when submitting monthly
expenses.
Obviously you can do that with a
smartphone, too, and note contact details,
convert pounds to grams and Celsius to
Fahrenheit, check world time zones and
international dialling codes and.... Actually,
come to think of it, what is the point
of a diary if you can do everything on a
smartphone?
Honestly, there is no point. It is purely a
question of personal preference – for you
and your colleagues. Many still prefer to
write appointments down in ink and make
jottings and notes alongside them; or see
at a glance what the week ahead holds.
Equally, there will be some who prefer to
consult a colleague’s desk diary rather than
a computer-based system.
An even better reason to have a diary is
that they let you show your individuality
much more effectively than an iPhone. In
a somewhat decadent fashion, diaries have
become ever more stylish and elaborate
as their importance has declined. You can
probably still buy boring black ones with
the date in the corner, but why would you
when there are so many fun and eye-
catching alternatives to choose from.
For me, the diary is still the Number
One stationery essential.
Technology is changing our
stationery buying habits
Collins, the UK’s leading
diary company, offers a
range of diaries to help you
stay organised.
Paperblanks Dayplanners
come in a range of beautiful
designs, from the classic to
the highly patterned.
The Stationery Top 10
Paperclip – 19%
Stapler – 16%
Post-it note – 13%
Hole punch – 12%
Highlighter – 10%
Notepad – 9%
Pen – 8%
Ruler – 6%
Rubber – 4%
Sticky tape – 3%
