How to Convince Yourself to Back Up More Often When You’re Normally too Lazy to Bother

Backing up data is a little bit like starting a new diet. Like dieting, it is something that we will often tell ourselves we’re going to do, that we will often set out to do with great intentions, but that will then more often than not end up not happening. And then you lose all your data and it’s too late… (Unless data recovery services can bail you out!)

The problem is that backing up data takes time and it takes effort. Thus when we think about backing up our information, we will often decide instead to do something else ‘more important’ like doing extra work. Of course in the long run backing up data is the most important way to ensure that you get the maximum value out of the work you do, but at the time it won’t feel like it. Even after you’ve had a bad experience in the past and lost a lot of valuable information, it still often feels as though backing up your data ‘can wait’ and that you don’t really need to do it right now. Of course you often end up putting it off for so long that eventually it’s too late and you lose all of that crucial information.

So really when it comes to protecting your data and securing your files, the most important consideration is not how you’re going to backup your files, but rather how you’re going convince yourself that you need to back them up and then make sure that you actually do that and don’t end up needing hard drive data recovery… again.

Making it Easier for Yourself

The number one way to do this is to make life easier for yourself and to make backing up less of a chore and something that handles itself.

An example of this is using a cloud storage service like DropBox. With DropBox you will have the ability to save files into a folder that will then get automatically backed up onto the cloud in a folder the exact same. In this scenario you don’t actually have to do anything and the files will be automatically backed up for you while you work.

Another great service that you can do this with is something called ‘IFTTT’. IFTTT is basically a service that lets you set up multiple relationships between various files. For example then, you could set it up so that it would automatically download the pictures you’re tagged in on Facebook, or so that it would automatically add them to your DropBox.

Other Systems

Other systems that don’t involve online automation can include simply copying and pasting the contents of a folder onto an SD card every now and then. Steps like this only take a couple of minutes, but they can prevent you making a mistake and then having that automatically backed up at the expense of the good file.

It’s also a good idea to utilise an organised file structure to begin with. Make sure that you know where all the files you need on your computer are, make sure that they all have sensible names, and make sure that you aren’t backing up tons of unnecessary files every time you back up the few important ones – that just wastes time.

With organisation and optimisation you can make backing up less of a chore and thus ensure you’re more likely to do it. And when that falls through? Then we can help with BA Consulting hard drives data recovery and data recovery for a range of other models.