In the past few days I’ve received emails from a couple of VAs who have had computer problems and lost some emails which were important to them. They asked if I could help by resending any emails I’d sent or help locate the person who had contacted them.
They did have their data backed up but not email from what I can gather. At least not a current version.
Computer problems are going to happen. Email programs are not 100% robust and they do fail, fall over, and quit when we least expect it. It is important we have backup systems in place for everything of importance to us, including email programs.
However, I find that printing is still important. Any client instructions I receive, requests for things that I need to action and anything else of importance I still print off and put into the relevant folder I keep for that client or project. If I can’t get my email program up and running after a crash or, heaven forbid, our power has gone off, at least I can still refer to a print copy and use my cellphone to contact people to advise them of a delay or hiccup in whatever it is I am doing.
As much as we are trying to save paper (and trees) I think perhaps we go too much in the opposite direction at times and depend on files on computers and backup drives but if we can’t access that information for some reason, we can start to stress out big time. Save yourself some time and give yourself some cheap insurance. If it’s important – print it and file it.
Gwynne says
That’s one of the reasons I use gmail for all of my email, even my domain email. It saves everything, even though it’s downloaded to my computer. I’ve had entirely too many computer crashes where I lost everything on my computer, including emails. Having them saved, permanently, on Google servers is nice. A quick search, and I can find it. I even have one email address that dates back to within a month of Gmail first starting, back when it was invitation only!
Kathie Thomas says
Good idea Gwynne. I use gmail too these days. Although I expect my mailbox might fill up a lot quicker as I’ve only been using it a few months this year and it’s already used up a lot of mb space. But it is a useful tool, definitely.
Mary Jordon says
I agree Kathie and Gwynne. I print off important messages and use Gmail too. Do you find browsing Gmail messages is a bit slower though? Interested to know.
Viki Garrison says
I too, have lost email and other important files…not to a computer crash but to the failure of a jump drive!
I thought I was doing the right thing; saving to the drive instead of on my computer’s hard drive or wasting paper and printing them but alas, jump drives are supposed to be removed when you’re done with them, not left plugged in so mine failed!
Now I back up my hard drive to Mozy’s servers, important client information/instructions I print and others I save to the jump drive (each client has their own) and remove from the computer when done.
Lisa Olinda says
I had the embarrassment of contacting two clients when my computer crashed earlier this year to ask them to resend me information. Outlook has challenged my authority several times this year. All of these incidents has made me analyze and revamp by computer and email systems.
I now print once a week my email inbox to pdf so that I have an updated version of all my correspondence with clients, etc. I also have a backup computer in place so if one system goes down another computer is available immediately to pick up the slack. I also have setup a redundant email system.
And yes Kathie I also keep hard copies of certain emails! Thanks for the info!