If you’re like most teams in the working world, you probably find yourself doing the same kinds of things over and over. Maybe you’re always holding the same type of meeting, organizing similar projects, or frequently sending along familiar information. That’s why we designed Dropbox Paper with just these sort of things in mind. Here’s how Paper is tailor-made for five common workplace tasks.
1. Holding brainstorms
You’ve likely participated in your fair share of brainstorms, but what happens when your team is scattered across three offices and three time zones? Paper is designed to help you grow ideas with others, even if everyone can’t meet in the same room. Your team can easily add photos and videos, jot down quick thoughts, and add comments in the margins. Collaborators can use emoji and stickers to show how they feel about each idea, making comments feel like conversations. It’s the creative space for a brainstorm in the convenience of a simple doc.2. Taking meeting notes
Sometimes you need a doc with a bit more structure than a free-wheeling brainstorm, like when you’re taking notes for a meeting. Here, Paper makes organization and quick formatting a snap. Start a bulleted or numbered list on the fly, or share the doc with colleagues if you need them to jump in. Easily add headings and subheadings, and Paper will smartly organize each section in a table of contents on the left. When the meeting’s over, you can group the most important items in a table for quick reference, or add highlights to emphasize a few key lines—perfect for co-workers who missed the team sync.
3. Creating task lists
Tasks come in many varieties: sometimes you just want a simple checklist for yourself; other times, you need specific owners, deadlines, and reminders for the whole team. With Paper, we set out to support both scenarios. Paper task lists are simple, flexible, and easy to add. You can insert tasks anywhere, even in the middle of notes, within tables, or alongside photos. Need to manage tasks for a whole team? With just a few extra clicks, you can assign each task to a colleague, and if you’d like, set a deadline. These task options all appear whenever you create a checkbox, so there’s no need to interrupt your creative flow. Task owners will receive an email reminder the day a task is due to make sure everything stays on track.
4. Outlining projects
For big projects, you often need to combine a little bit of everything into a single doc. Maybe you need a list of top goals, a rundown of team members, and a roadmap of important dates, all in one place. Paper is a natural resource for initiatives like these. For example, you might add in the best ideas from a recent brainstorm, highlight the biggest takeaways from the last meeting, and assign the first few tasks to get things kicked off. Plus, your teammates can add quick feedback on your list of top-level goals. More than a basic outline, Paper provides a living, collaborative home base for your team’s next big assignment.
5. Scribbling notes
While you’re brainstorming, assigning tasks, or managing projects, you might need a simple place to scribble down a few of your own thoughts. For moments like these, Paper can be the perfect tool. Lightweight and uncluttered, Paper is designed to get out of your way to let your own thoughts and ideas take center stage. Sometimes, all it takes is removing the clutter to help you get to your next creative breakthrough.
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