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Some of you might know that my laptop has gone AWOL<\/span> for almost two months. I\u2019ve been sending it off to the workshop for repairs three different times, only to bring it back with the same recurring and very annoying problem of having it hang on me while doing the most urgent of tasks.<\/p>\n But there is a silver lining behind all this; and for me it\u2019s about making sure that I remain as nimble and flexible as I can when it comes to work.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve compiled a few tips for those who might be facing this sort of situation that will stand you in good stead (though I\u2019d never wish for it to happen to anyone!). These are just a few things that managed to keep me sane and organized, and I have to say that having this workflow has allowed me to regain some semblance of sanity while my workflow and schedule was shred to bits.<\/p>\n Have your most important files within easy reach<\/strong> Use a web-based email service<\/strong> Google Documents<\/strong> Back up your data<\/strong> These are very simple tips for you to get started \u2013\u00a0not only when you\u2019re having problems with your computer, but I\u2019ve found that I\u2019ve gravitated towards solutions that will allow me the most flexibility so that I\u2019m more prepared if a nasty surprise ever springs up yet again!<\/p>\n
\nI use Dropbox\u2019s<\/a> free service for putting my most recent files up in the cloud. Anything that I\u2019m working on gets filed up there so I can retrieve it on my phone, laptop or anywhere else that has an internet connection. I\u2019ve tried other services too, like SugarSync<\/a>, but I\u2019ve always gone back to DropBox (just test out the both of them and see which one you like better!)<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m using Gmail as a catch-all email since I am no longer have confidence of accessing my email via the Mail software on my laptop. I\u2019ve gone through three re-formats and a hardware change and having these things happen to you throws a wrench in your workflow. So I make sure all my correspondences are now easily accessible, no matter where I am. I\u2019m planning to implement Google Apps<\/a> pretty soon once I iron out some kinks.<\/p>\n
\nEver since the scary laptop incident, I\u2019ve moved a lot of my working office documents over to Google Documents \u2013\u00a0spreadsheets, articles, documents \u2013\u00a0I now edit them all at one spot, so I won\u2019t have to worry about having different versions of files around (crucial and often overlooked when moving files about). Once a document is finalized, I download it so that it can be archived.<\/p>\n
\nI back up religiously after I had my hard disk fail on me a few years back. Back then, the last backup I made was 6 months ago \u2013 before the hard drive decided to take a nap and never wake up \u2013 and I found myself high and dry (and very upset at allowing it to go as long as it did!) So now I use Time Machine, a software built into Mac that made incremental back-ups so that I had different versions of my files for safekeeping.<\/p>\nSt. Sebastian print<\/a> by Juan Chavarria Jr. from the Mammoth Collection<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"