Organizing your Business Data for Emergencies

Did you know that the U.S. Department of Labour estimates over 40% of businesses never reopen following a disaster and of the remaining companies, at least 25% will close within 2 years? While these are American statistics, I’m sure that the Canadian ones are similar.

One of the more frequent “disasters” that I’ve seen in small business is data loss. This often happens when the business computer becomes infected by a virus or worm or if the computer’s hard drive fails. The easiest way to protect your business from data loss is doing regular back ups of your computer’s hard drive. Backing up the data to an external hard drive on a regular basis (at least at the end of every business day) is an inexpensive way to ensure that you can access your data and continue business operations should your main computer crash. However, if your office was destroyed by fire you would also lose your external hard drive. I suggest to many of my clients to consider an “off-site” data storage solution. There are many inexpensive, secure online backup and data recovery services available.

Protecting your computer system is also a good idea. I recommend that small business owners purchase a surge protector and uninterruptible power supply (battery) for each of their computers. This system will prevent electrical power surges from “blowing up” the computer system and should there be a loss of power, the battery will provide enough power for the user to back up data and shut the computer down safely.

There is another disaster that unfortunately occurs all too often in small business and that is theft. Having a detailed inventory of your business assets is essential in order to restore operations as quickly as possible and ensure your claim is processed promptly by your insurance company. Record the make, model and serial numbers along with receipts of purchase of all your business equipment. If you’ve stored this information on your computer and backed it up to your online storage area, you can access it easily and provide this information to your insurance company.

Disasters do strike but if you’re organized and prepared you won’t be one of the statistics!

Posted on October 24, 2011

Comments closed Filed under: Technology, Work

Projecteze and Things

Last year I purchased a “to-do” list manager called Things. I tried to use it but it didn’t help me stay on track with all of the tasks I had to manage. That changed after I read the book On Top of Everything.

The Projecteze™ system introduced in On Top of Everything uses MS Word for managing tasks. MS Word is good because the majority of people already know how to use MSWord. The document created can easily be printed to paper or accessed by a mobile device such as a Blackberry. While I am comfortable using MSWord, I cannot edit Word documents easily on my iPod Touch. I love my Touch and use it to stay organized.

In order to solve this problem, I took all the information applied the Projecteze™ system using Things.

Things enables me to use “tags” to structure my tasks. I have three tags which are major divisions of tasks.

Personal – managing my home and family
J-organize – managing my business
POC – volunteer work for my industry association

I also have three tags which indicate the priority of each task: High, Medium and Low.

On the top menu bar, I can click on one of the tag names and see all the tasks that are listed in that category. I can also click on 2 or more names to see the list of task that are for example J-organize and High priority.

Within these major divisions, I’ve classed the work into projects which are listed in the “Active Projects” section. This allows me to see all the work that needs to be done in a specific area. I am able to easily delegate work and to know what is upcoming in that portfolio. The project to which the task belongs also appears beside the task name.

One of my favourite parts about using Things is the ability to set repeating tasks. I write monthly articles for a couple of magazines, each with a different due date and different requirements. Rather than enter the item each month with all the details, I can set the “to do” as a scheduled event and have it pop-up in my list when it is due.

You can see here how I’ve set up my list to send out the associations newsletter POC Talk. You can also see how I’ve dragged and dropped a file into the “Notes” section. I can keep all my information in one place – just like Projecteze™ suggests.

If you’re a Mac user and looking for a system to manage your tasks, I suggest you read On Top of Everything and invest in Things. Your productivity will skyrocket. I know mine did!

Posted on September 15, 2010

Comments (2) Filed under: Technology, Time Management

iPod Touch

Photo Courtesy Apple.com

I love my iPod Touch. It has certainly increased my productivity. Here are some of the ways I use my iPod Touch…

Calendar

I’ve created calendars for each person in the house, each with a different colour. It is now very easy to plan appointments because I have everyone’s schedules in one place and I can quickly see who is doing what and when.

Photos

I’ve scanned the instructions for my fitness routines and added them as photos to my Touch. Since I workout with music from my Touch I anyway, I don’t have to carry a bunch of papers around with me, I just look at the picture on the Touch! Of course I also have brag photos of my kids on the Touch too. It’s made my wallet lighter as I can carry a lot more photos on the Touch!

Wallpaper

I uploaded a photo to my Touch that is plain red. I use that for my Wallpaper. If I’m at a hotel and I need to get up in the night, I use my Touch as a flashlight. By having red on the screen, I can keep my night vision.

As with an iPhone, you can also buy applications for the iPod Touch. Here is a list of my favourite applications and how they help me be more productive:

Grocery Gadget Lite (Free)

This lovely application allows me to prepare a running grocery list, track stuff that’s on sale and compare prices between grocery stores. This app will also learn the order of items at the store! No more zigzagging up and down the aisles!
Grocery Gadget Lite is limited to only 20 items on a shopping list but it is still better than having little bits of paper with scribbles on them! Also, I frequently forget or lose my little paper list but I’m not going to forget (or lose) my Touch!

Files Lite (Free)

This application lets me transfer files (using my home Wifi) from my computer to my Touch. I can carry .pdf, Word and Excel documents around with me. This is handy when I need to show a client a sample spreadsheet or if I need to keep a copy of a receipt with me. I can’t edit any of the documents using Files Lite, it is just for viewing and the free version has only 200MB of storage. However, now I don’t have to print as many documents (hooray for saving paper & ink!) and it has made my briefcase lighter (hooray for my shoulder muscles).

Units (Free)

It is so nice to be able to convert all sorts of measurements quickly and easily. Trying to convert miles to kilometres in my head was very fatiguing, not to mention converting Fahrenheit to Celsius! Now I can do it all (and more) at the touch of a button.

Antidote ($19.99)

When you’re an anglophone with kids going to French school, you NEED a portable French dictionary. Antidote is more than that, it has a thesaurus, it shows verb conjugation, gives co-occurrences and citations. The accompanying guide give syntax information, style and punctuation rules. I’m so excited that I’ll be able to do translations anywhere – AND I’ll be able to understand what my kids are talking about!

Games – Hangman (Free), Battleship ($2.99)

I know you’re thinking, “How do games help you be more productive?” and my answer is, “If the kids are busy playing these games, I can get something done!”
At least Hangman improves their English spelling and Battleship is a two-player game that teaches strategic thinking skills.

Do you have favourite productivity apps? Share them in the comments section!

Posted on January 7, 2010

Comments (6) Filed under: Technology

Categories