Friendly reminder to backup your files...

Last night, my stomach dropped. I had just checked my file manager and discovered the latest version of a back-end script, representing a full day's work, was missing. I still don't know what happened, but my hosting customer service rep confirmed it was gone for good. I could see my launch date slipping further away.

I was overwhelmed, and frustrated, grasping at possible explanations for what happened. My initial impulse was to pull an all-nighter and rebuild from my previously saved version. Instead, I went to bed, hoping that I would awake to the file miraculously appearing where it belonged. That didn't happen.

But the sleep helped. I wasn't nearly as frantic when I sat down to recreate the wheel I thought I was so clever to invent the first time. And you know, what? It only took half as long as it took the first time. I didn't need to consult StackOverflow or W3Schools. And I caught some bugs along the way. So, I'm reflecting now on the journey of creating this product, and how much I've learned, and how I'm still such an idiot for not saving redundant copies of everything I put more than 10 minutes into. The hassle earned me a glimpse of perspective regarding how far I've come, and how far I have yet to go.

But the sense of pride and motivation I gained doesn't quite make up for the lost time and productivity. Back up your files.