Over the weekend, I lost something very dear to me. I won't bore you with the chain of events that led to the demise of all of my
Stickies, but on Saturday morning, I started my computer and they were all gone. Just gone, in an instant. When I realized this, I wasn't hit with a wave of panic or regret at not having backed them up (though I wish I had). It was more like a sense of emptiness, of loss. The information on my dozen or so notes wasn't entirely irreplaceable. Sure, I had a running list of usernames and passwords on one note that I'll miss, and a list of interesting names that I turn to when writing, but those can be rebuilt. Rather, I was struck by the loss of my to do list, and how odd it felt to be on my computer without that touchstone of orderly tasks and ideas waiting for me to visit, to delete and add, to bold and highlight.
I've already started rebuilding my stickies. They are a really useful tool. I mourn for my lost information, but I look to the future and know I'll be okay.
If you also use Stickies, don't forget to include them in your regular back up. From Wikipedia:
Backup data: Stickies keeps all information in a self-contained database. The database can be backed up by copying the file StickiesDatabase which is located in a user's Library directory (i.e. ~/Library/StickiesDatabase)
Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com
For your passwords, you might want to check out LastPass. It's an awesome mega-secure, online service that lasts you secure all your login and password info under one longer, more complex master password (being the "last password" you'll need to remember). We'd be lost without it in our home.
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