trail of the light
the truth is out there

Quick survey on what’s coming:

1. Habitual Backup at Every Change I Would Miss.
2. Give It a Chance Regardless of Likelihood or Mood.
3. Underestimated Power of Small Systematic Steps.
4. Patience May Turn Out Invaluable.
5. A Few-Moments Action Always Taken Right Off The Bat.

Habitual Backup at Every Change I Would Miss.

Although there are pretty many things which could be backed-up automatically (see my dedicated series on this matter) - there are also cases which either don’t fit this scheme or I haven’t figured out how to handle them automatically yet. Examples of such cases are:

1. Web browser bookmarks.
   Since I use Brave which is not equipped with bookmark synchronization (yet?), I need to backup this manually.

2. Project “snapshots”.
   Although I always have the up-to-date backup of projects I’m working with - I often also need to have particular points of their development preserved “on the side” to be able to switch back to them on demand. AI would have at least trouble to determine what such points I myself could consider deserving to preserve.

3. App Configuration.
   Although it is technically possible to include app configuration files within Your automatic backup - IMHO it doesn’t pay to take so much hassle, especially if those files are significantly changed only once in a while.

So it seems that such cases require to simply take the effort and do the backup by hand. What is especially important here is not so much the sole action - but its timing. At the end of the day backup should optimally serve You - to ensure that it will be so, You need to take care for each important change to be included within it - which may require to establish a habit of back-uping whenever You’ve just introduced an important change - the one important enough that You would miss it in case it wouldn’t be included within the backup.

For example, in case of web browser bookmarks I’ve found that it could be frustrating to lose even a small change within bookmark set. On one hand it could seem not a big deal since bookmark-related actions (add a bookmark, remove a bookmark, rename or move to other folder, etc.) seem to be trivial. On the other hand, however, each trivial thing consumes Your time and energy (especially when to gather a bunch of such trivialities together), and more importantly, it distracts Yous. And You are probably already know well how important this sole matter has become over the years, in the smartphones and smart-whatnot era. So each time You’ve ensured that such a triviality won’t be bothering You anymore, being down-cold-secured within the backup - You care about Yourself, Your mental clarity, focus, and efficiency in anything You do.

Therefore, back to the examples mentioned above, my habitual actions are, as follows:

1. Web browser bookmarks.
   » I export all the bookmarks each and every time I’ve changed anything within the set.

2. Project “snapshots”.
   » I’ve harnessed Git which allows to save Your project state as a kind of a ‘snapshot’, to which You can switch back at any given point in the future. It is a fantastic concept which allows to create a whole project’s story, with all its milestones and other important things secured and distinguished. More about this phenomenal thing You can read here.

3. App Configuration.
   Every time I’ve introduced a change important enough within some app’s configuration - I perform the app’s built-in backup mechanism, usually sending the config file to the cloud (via Android ‘Share’ feature).

The final conclusion? Now at the end of the day I feel comfortable knowing that whatever I do - all the important things which make up my workflow stay safe and secure - and in case anything could go wrong I can always restore the thing to the most up-to-date stable point.

Give It a Chance Regardless of Likelihood or Mood.

This one is “a golden lesson” I learned from my Sweetheart. One of amazing things of Hers is that She seems not to care about likelihood so much when it comes to give something a chance to turn out a positive experience. There were numerous examples when I myself was much into ‘forget it, it’s seems unlikely’ while She was willing to find out anyway. Thanks to this attitude not only we haven’t missed various pleasant things, but also I became able to face life more... open-hearted, so to speak. Her consistent approach has managed to overcome my inner Unbeliever - which I consider both a highly valuable achievement and an important lesson to perfect.

Underestimated Power of Small Systematic Steps.

A few or more years ago I decided to give a chance to an app for memorizing things (in my case English vocabulary and idioms). I was wondering how effective such an app may be, if used on a daily basis - especially in the long run. What I found amazing was that the app requires just a snippet of Your time and focus each day - and that’s it: that very small inconspicuous step taken each and every day was supposed to give great results.

I guess I forgot this premise down the road ;) - and years after I could verify myself how true such a belief has been. The result is astounding: not only I’ve learned much, but - perhaps more importantly - thanks to a longer break I had at some point I’ve been able to tell how effectively the knowledge obtained this way is indeed “encoded” within my memory. I would rather think that after so long of a break I would hardly remember anything - but this was not the case. In reality I’ve realized that I still do remember intriguingly many words and phrases, in an intuitive fashion - as if they became imprinted within my subconscious.

This was enough to convince me how extraordinarily powerful such a method may be - especially when practiced on a daily basis. That very realization is something which even today gives me power to even force myself to use the app in case I can’t be bothered to do so... ;) . I often view this activity as a form of practicing mental fitness, because I am convinced that, alongside obvious benefits of learning a language, it also plays much broader and significant role under the hood: it optimizes Your memory and association skills. And this I find of a significant importance, life-wise - because, obviously, there are countless areas when You could benefit from such constant improvement. Like in case of a meditation practice - in which meditating just for 20 minutes a day may result in Your brain cell growth increase - with that difference that using the app seems to be easier that 20-minutes of meditating ;) .

Patience May Turn Out Invaluable.

Web and graphics design is a major area regarding which I’ve had numerous occasions to find out “the magic power” of persevering research. Suppose You’d like to find a nice icon, or a wallpaper - some graphic stuff. Then You begin to research, browsing some icon or a wallpaper catalog. This may become laborious and tiresome over time, therefore You would rather not to pick and choose for too long... or would You? On one hand it could seem to be optimal just to stick with one of the first icons or wallpapers which look nice enough in Your eyes. There is, however, one interesting thing about perseverance: there may be cases in which such approach - and only such approach - will provide You with fantastic and unique results which would remain outside of Your reach otherwise.

I find this realization a little bit disturbing ;) - because You might ask Why bother if such fantastic results may pop up only once in a while? On the other hand, however, how easily is to resign from such a chance, especially when You already know how awesome the result could be?

My take here is that in case of projects I especially care about - I keep persisting in research, in ensuring myself that I’ve indeed checked all the possibilities. Then and only then I can sleep well ;) .

A Few-Moments Action Always Taken Right Off The Bat.

Some time ago I stumbled upon an advice that whenever You’re facing a task which could be managed within a few moments time span - You should take it without a second thought right now (meaning: with no putting on the back burner or into Your to-do list). It inspired me to give it a try and since I’ve applied this habit for a long time now I can tell how much of a difference it makes. First of all, it takes the burden of remembering “just one more thing” out of Your mind - therefore giving You more inner peace. Second, it optimizes the amount of awaiting tasks (e.g., a to-do list mentioned before).