How to back shit up

Do you need to back up your shit but have been neglecting it? Let me break it down into tiny, tiny steps so you can at least know WHAT you need to do to proceed.

1 – Where are all the things you need to back up?

They might be…

– On your computer

– In a cloud drive

– An online app

– PHYSICAL FILES??? (oh my god)

2 – How can you get it backed up?

Here are some different ways to back these up:

Computer files – You can easily back up computer files to a cloud or physical drive.

The Whole Computer – Back up the whole OS regularly on a physical or drive.

Cloud Drive – back it up on a second cloud drive or physical drive.

Online app – see what options they have for backing up and exporting data.

Physical files – you need to take pics of these right now bruh

3 – HOW do I back these up?

OKAY SO – there are actually a lot of ways to do all these things. The trick is finding that YOU need… and that’s different in every situation. So let’s get going with some general information.

Computer Files – Good news! Your OS probably has a way to easily back up files. On Windows, simply search “Backups” in your computer’s searchbar in Settings. You’ll find Backups under Updates and Security. Set up “Back Up Files to One Drive” for the first line of defense, and if you’ve got a physical drive, set up with Back Up Using File History. If you get a physical drive, it’s good to back up at least once a month. Put it as a recurring event in your calendar.

The Whole Computer – You’ll need a physical drive for this. The easiest built-in way to deal with this is just a little further down in the Backups page, “Looking for an Older Backup?” From there, click the link, then “Create a System Image.” In the event that you have a catastrophic failure, this backup will get you restored and going again.

Cloud Drives – I love cloud drives. If you’ve got the desktop client for Dropbox, Google Drive, or One Drive, and are using that for your files, you’re way ahead of the curve. The trick with your data really comes down to – make sure it’s accessible in two places at all times. If it’s in a Cloud Drive AND there’s a download on your computer, that’s great. HOWEVER… make sure these files are being backed up with the rest of your computer files in case (again) of a catastrophic failure.

Online Apps – I’m talking your CRM, your emails, contacts, and invoicing systems. The problem is, if your service goes offline for any reason, you could have at least a temporary issue getting this information. Here’s how you can deal with this.

  • 1 – Search “[app name] backup” and see what steps the app’s company has taken to save your data.
  • 2 – Search how you can export your data with the app. Often you can get a CSV or text file with all your information. Pop this file into a Cloud-connected folder on your computer and let it back up with the rest of your files. Make a list of all your apps, and set a reminder to do this once a month.

Physical files – Sigh… okay, friend. Friend. Okay. You’ve got physical files. We’ve all got physical files. You need to make sure these are digitized and backed up. Here’s the easiest way to get this done.

  • Gather your files and take photos of them with your smartphone. Zoom in on each photo and make sure the text is legible. The nice thing about most phone cameras these days is that they’ll do the trick. You don’t need a scanner, you don’t need amazing lighting. Your just need it legible.
  • Does your phone back up your photos to the cloud? Nice, you can stop here if you want. But that’s not very secure. From here, I recommend downloading the files to your computer and putting them with the other backups.
  • BACKUP NOW. SORT LATER. If you’re stalled because you know you need to rename and sort all these files, just do these things. Take the photos. Back them up. Leave them in their ZIP file if you have to. When you need the files, you’ll go and sort them at that time. But for now, you need these backed up right now.

Final Thoughts

There’s a LOT more options for backing things up, including things I didn’t mention, like the premium cloud-based backup services. The thing about these is that everyone’s needs are different and every service is different. Backing up your data is extremely important, and I wanted to at least give you the easiest, cheapest options. If you’ve got a lot of data, important data, or a small-business-worth of data, I’d really recommend a paid backup service to automate this as much as possible.

If you’d like professional help to get your backups going, or just need someone to edit, sort, and file your pictures of physical files, contact me for a free consultation!

Leave a Comment