Losing data sucks. Especially if you forget a copy of those photos you spent so much time editing on the airplane or at a coffee shop. Here are two ideas to cut down on DLDF (data loss due to forgetfulness).

One of the reasons I love the Photofocus community is the chance to learn from each other. On … Levi Sim shared a great idea about putting velcro onto his hard drive. He sticks it onto the back of his laptop or the airplane seat to prevent forgetting it in the seatback pocket.

I told Levi I thought this was a great idea. And then I one-upped him.

I am constantly on the road. I also fly a lot of redeye flights in order to get home faster to see my family. 4 am flights and snoring neighbors don’t always lead to the best decisions.

This is why I’ve made it easier to return my lost items. With a simple label maker I’ve attached a standard label to all of my field drives.

drivelabel1

  • My Name and Phone Number
  • Drive Name
  • Reward if Found

This is an easy fix… I use the pTouch from Brother to label most of my field gear. My “seatback” items like hard drives and my noise canceling headset were the first to get labels.

drivelabel2

Also, I can verify that this system works. I forgot something on a Virgin America flight and they called me. I hadn’t even realized I’d left it. When you make it easier to find you, honest people take action. When you add incentive, even lazy, busy, or slightly dishonest people tend to decide to make the effort to get you your stuff back.

So let’s keep the learning going. Do you have any road warrior ideas to keep your hard drives safe? Add them to the comments of this article.

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