Introduction
My tech works hard for a living, and now that the zesty vibrant taste of the 18-year-old Mortlach scotch and robust aroma of the Rocky Patel Decade cigars have faded away, it's time to start the new year the way I mean to go on. That means getting my tech ready for the challenges of the year ahead.
What better time to get this done than over the first weekend of the New Year? I also find it to be a good way to clear my head and get back into the swing of things.
See also:
Back up data
I back up my data as I go throughout the year, but the dawn of a new year always seems like the ideal time to do a separate backup of each of my systems, and pop those both onto local storage drives and up into the cloud somewhere for safe keeping. It might seem like overkill, but it doesn't take long and means that I'm confident that I have a copy of everything important.
It also means that I get to spend a little face time with all my devices, and this lets me check for any problems and issues that I might be having.
Updates, updates, updates
Again, I'm usually on the ball when it comes to updates, but I take this time to check to make sure I've not missed anything. And when you think about it, there are a lot of updates to consider, everything from OS updates to apps, to updating the firmware on routers and such.
Again, this allows me face time with all my devices, which lets me check on how they are doing. And this brings me to my next point.
Nuke anything that's misbehaving
If I find a device that's playing up in some way, then it's time to nuke the OS and reinstall. Gone are the days of messing about trying to coax a petulant system back to life. I keep my systems relatively simple, so wiping, reloading the OS, and then reinstalling my apps and bringing my data back across doesn't take long.
Barring some ruinous hardware issue, the system can be back in the saddle in a few hours (with most of that time will thankfully be unattended).
Check my accessories
Regular readers will know that I am a big fan of accessories. I have stuff hooked up to my Macs, accessories that I take with me to help me work more efficiently, things that connect to my iPhone and iPad, and even a few robots doing things for me too. This is a good time of year to give everything an eyeball looking for damage or perhaps weepy batteries or frayed cables, and also give it all a wipe down.
New passwords
Again, this isn't something that I do just once a year, but it is a good way to start the year. I focus on Wi-Fi and network login passwords specifically, along with any guest Wi-Fi passwords. I also use this time to make sure that all my settings are all correct.
I store all my passwords in a password vault app that I can access from both my desktop and mobile devices. If you're interested in doing the same I recommend checking out 1Password or LastPass.
Plan for new kit and upgrades
I'm not impulsive when it comes to new kit. In fact, I'm very cautious when it comes to adding new stuff to my ecosystem. New stuff may well be shiny and attractive, but it can also bring with it headaches. And headaches mean my productivity takes a hit, so they are something I try to avoid.
This is why I like to plan. And because I'm going through all my devices, I get a chance to consider what I need in terms of storage and computing power over the coming year. It's also a great time to check peripherals and such for damage, and consider how old the drives in my NAS boxes are. I also take a look at how many USB/Thunderbolt ports I have free, along with how crowded my networks switches and routers are looking.