Hi, I am going to write about how to have a paper-free semester.

We have two issues to address, the reading part (Books, Slides, Papers, and so on) and the writing part (Assignments, Homeworks, Reports, Proposals, and so on)

Well, the first issue that we should deal with it is about books. Fortunately, nowadays, you can find the PDF of any textbook on online shops. Also, almost all academic articles have a PDF version.

You can use pdf readers like Okular and Evince for Linux or Adobe Reader for Windows; also, you can use Xodo for Android devices.

These applications have a feature called “annotation,” so you can write notes, highlight, … (Annotation tools for Xodo and Okular are fantastic based on my experience)

Moreover, you can upload your pdf on google Drive and write comments on your documents (This is an excellent way to write class notes on a book or Slides with your friends)

The second issue is assignments and homework. Well, you can use Open Office for your reports. Also, there is an incredible tool called LaTex that you can use for your writings, especially for those with notations such as math homework. If you get used to using this tool (LaTex), you will see that it enhances your writing performance because you don’t have to worry about style, text alignments, math notations & formulas, sections, numbering, and so on. You can create a template for your reports or homework, and everything is Ok for next time ;)

For charts, you can use draw.io or, if you don’t want to type your assignments or use draw.io (draw some diagrams by hand), you can use Xournal++, which also supports digital pens (if you have multiple monitors like me, this link may help you restrict your pen to one monitor).

Since September 2021, I have decided not to use paper and handle all of my tasks only with these tools. Fortunately, I was successful until now. So I invite you to join me to have paper-free semesters. 😍

Please tell me about your experiences I would be glad to know about that.

Thank you.