Tim Ferriss at his blog Four Hour Work Week wrote a great article titled: How to Do The Impossible: Create a Paperless Life, Never Check Voicemail Again, Never Return Another Phone Call…

I am a huge proponent for the paperless life. I hate paper.

I can not stand snail mail and I am infamous for not answering my cell phone, but letting my voice mail do it for me.

Everyone I know I direct to my email account. Email is not a perfect medium, but it is far better than the phone. I cannot get “trapped” in a long email conversation. If I want to skim, or ignore completely, an email I received, I do so.

It is quite a social fopaux to do the same when someone is talking to you. Such a practice could be labeled the “glaze effect” when someone just powers down while another is talking to them.
The above article talks about several alternatives, most of which rely on email. You can have your snail mail re-directed to a business who then scans it and emails you the files. However, what happens the next time grandma sends me a check in the mail?