I know, I’m about to start sounding like I work for the Dropbox Corporation, which I decidedly do not. Since it is free (at the smaller levels) and awesome, I would like to recommend that you start using it as well. I like it when technology catches up to a need I actually have, so now I am starting the process of consolidating files from multiple computers/ devices, using Dropbox as my catchall/ backup for everything. I was resisting this because I knew it was going to be a super-huge undertaking, but it’s already saved me time twice today, so I’m happy I’m doing it.
In case you don’t know about Dropbox, it’s a “cloud based” file backup/ sharing program, meaning the files exist in your account in cyberspace, not only on your physical computer. The good thing about this is that if your computer (or backup drive) gets a virus or you get a Gremlin of Mischief and Inconvenience, you can just laugh, shut that computer down, switch to another computer, access your files on Dropbox, and continue on with your day. I must say, I wish I had done this before. Already I have deleted a ton of crap I thought I was saving for a “rainy day” that has just turned out to be miscellaneous, now-outdated courses I already took, drafts of books I wrote that have long been published, and other things that I just really, really did not need to be saving. Did you ever write something so bad you want to never see it again? I have. And now these terrible things are being deleted so that no one will ever see them.
This is the part where I urge you to back up your data, because if you fail to plan, you plan to have an undignified, child-like meltdown when all of your work disappears. So, get a backup drive (that works), try out Dropbox, start using cloud-based email—do whatever you have to do, but do something! You will thank me later.
