Are you Prepared for the Unexpected?
I’m going to Germany for Christmas!!! Or so I thought, until my car was broken into at a lunch stop on the way to the airport. Grabbing my backpack through the smashed window, the thief made off with my laptop as well as our passports and Lindsey’s green card. Having no passports, we were forced to cancel the trip.
After the initial shock, I thought about it and realized, as long as my identity is not stolen, this really isn’t that big a deal. The laptop is replaceable and was insured. The data was backed up the night before. I had carefully removed my credit cards from the backpack the night before. And frankly, although Germany would have been fun, it wouldn’t really have been a vacation, it would have been an exhausting gauntlet of feasts with German relatives.
As it turns out the thief left the bag and passports sans gear on the street for the police to pick up. We received a call the next day and gleefully picked up our travel docs and otherwise empty backpack.
What this got me thinking about more than anything is the importance of being prepared. Do you have backups? Do you have insurance? Do you have a contract? Are you keeping good books?
I liken this to defensive driving (not to be confused with slow neurotic driving). It behooves us to beware of potential pitfalls so that we can avoid them. You’ll never be able to prevent all bad things, but you can avoid a lot of them just by trying.
Here are some things that I think may be worth organizing:
- Document Your Stuff
Make a spreadsheet of all your major equipment, purchase dates, serial numbers, and purchase prices - Insure
Get insurance that covers the contents of your house, office, and portable gear - Backup
Make regular backups of all your data. Make sure that every piece of data lives in at very least two locations. The backups should not be in the same building if you can avoid it. If your house burns down and with it you lose both your computer and your backups that won’t do you much good. I leave my backups in a fire proof safe. - Password Protect
Make sure that all your essential information is password protected. If someone steals your computer, they should not be able to ascertain any of te following info:- Soc Security Numbers
- Credit Cards
- Passwords
- Financial Data / Account Numbers
- Auto login on websites that give access to any important personal info
- Credit
Good credit is (or will be) your most valuable asset. It’s worth guarding. Sign up for a credit fraud prevention program that tracks credit applications using your identity. Also keep track of your credit score. And of course, pay your bills on time.
While we’re talking about being prepared and organized, here are some more general business planning issues that are fundamentally essential though often overlooked.
- Contracts
It’s important to use contracts so that no one “forgets” their part of the deal. You might expect that the verbal agreement you made was adequate, but people’s memories change over time - Bookkeeping
I put this here, not because it involves anything unexpected, but because it’s remarkable how many business owners don’t document the money flowing through their businesses. good bookkeeping will help keep financial surprises at bay. - Tax Planning
Don’t forget that you will need to pay a hefty chunk of dough come tax time. Talk to your accountant (get an accountant) about how much you should be saving from every check that you get from your clients. then save that amount in an interest baring account.
Honestly, this has been one of the greatest winter breaks I’ve ever had. But that’s because I prepared for it.
What are some other things that you anticipate? How do YOU prepare for the unexpected?
That sucks! I can so relate, this happened to me twice in the past two months. First when someone broke into my car and the second time they broke into our house. Both times my laptop got stolen and some other small stuff.
I actually wrote a post about it too, but it has not been published yet. It’ll be up on Zen Habits in a couple of weeks. My productivity habits really saved me from losing a vast amount of data and work.
But stuff like this really makes you check your stuff. Back-up routines, insurances, security measures around the house, archives, the lot. Not fun to do, but very necessary every once in a while.
Sorry to hear about your trip. Hope you have a wonderful new years eve anyway!
I’m sorry to hear about your bad experience. You have a great attitude about it though! I’m taking your advice and backing everything up (again) right now, lol. Yikes.
Hey Peter,
I’m so sorry that happened to you, but it sounds like the lessons gained from this experience are priceless.
I need to take your advice. It’s one of those things where sometimes I get too busy and important things such as backups, insurance and making sure everything is accounted for gets pushed out.
In order to achieve success we must be prepared.
I’ve been reflecting on my health recently. I want to ensure that I’m in top shape for my future. I see good things ahead and want to be in the best physical and mental shape I can be in.
Thanks again for this inspiring and important message for us to hear. Good lesson for us all.
Happy New Year!
@Lodewijk
Damn! Your house too? Ouch. I look forward to reading your account.
@Naomi
I didn’t back up for months. Then I backed up the night before. That was some serious luck. But now I’m all about the daily or weekly backup routine. I’m using Time Machine on my mac. It’s fantastic.
@Stephanie
Good point. Other forms of preparedness include exercise, diet, and hygiene. Basically, good habits. Honestly, sticking to good habits not my strong suit. But it is something to strive for. Power to you on the health quest Steph!
I thought of a couple other things as well:
I Live in California. By the ocean. I’m not so worried about Tsunamis (though, it is a valid concern), however, earthquakes are a very real threat. The town I live in, Santa Cruz, is only now rebuilding in the lots that the earthquake of 89 leveled. It’s entirely likely that in my life I will witness a devastating earthquake. And when that time comes I will need water, food, warmth, light, cash, and medical supplies.
We all live with threat. And mostly we can anticipate it and prepare for it. It feels good to know your bases are covered.
We all have different levels of comfort with risk. I can’t imagine living without health insurance though. I have a cheap plan with a high deductible. It basically exists in case i have a serious accident. It helps me to breath easier when i surf, skate, or cross the street.
I don’t have disability insurance, and i don’t know much about it. But i do know that it would suck to break my back and not have it. I also know that you need at least 2 years of steady financial records and tax returns to prove your income before you can get disability insurance.
This is mostly an issue for people who have dependencies. If you are single and have no kids, this is probably not an issue. But as soon as you have people in your life that will suffer financially if you die, then this is essential.
I pretty much suck at dealing with these things, but I must say, I sleep a little easier for every fear and liability that I have prepared for. Though I will probably never wear a helmet while surfing.
Happy New Years
Dude! That sucks! Although, small consolation, I’m sure your cholesterol levels will thank you. There’s only so much schnitzel a man can eat, you know?
Good job on being totally anal retentive. Well done.
Guess what peter?
I was robbed last month too. My laptop and everything in the backpack was taken.
Sad part was I had a backup on a USB HDD and the thief took it too. And on top of it, no insurance.
I had a hard time since I lost a project which was due in a week. But the client gave me some slack and I was able to finish it.
Trust me, I know the feeling.
Officer Handy was very helpful. He pointed out that hiding something you think valuable in your car on arrival is only an invitation to thieves. They are usually at the scene watching people’s arrival behavior long before they commit the burlaries. Officer Handy recounted how so many people leave invitations to thievery in their cars all the time.
But there is the flip side. Isn’t it wonderful that we live among trusting people. Where thievery is sufficiently rare that we needn’t live our lives in fear.
Indeed. Too true. Generally speaking I feel blessed to live with no real sense of fear or insecurity. Security is like air. You breathe easy while you have it and miss it dearly when it is gone.
Shane draws that connection more specifically to money in his article, just like air. But really, money is an enabler just as security is. Without them, we feel disabled.
Indeed it is wonderful to breathe easy.
Wow! Thank goodness you made a backup for your files then, huh? While I’m sure you were preparing for what might happen on the way to Germany, it’s not like you really expected a thief to make off with your laptop.
True, i was not expecting to be robbed. Though having had a backup really made this a lot less upsetting than it could have been.