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Looking for the quick and dirty winner? It’s Backblaze for speed and price. Get a free month by using this link to give it a shot. No one needs a backup until they need a backup. It’s kind of like buying insurance–completely unnecessary until something goes wrong. Something most definitely broke when I spilled coffee on my laptop. Despite my best efforts to resuscitate it, [footnote]I did everything short of mouth-to-mouth, and if it would have worked, I probably would have tried that too[/footnote] my laptop was cooked. The silver lining is I was able to clean it up, disassemble the beast and sell the parts–with the disclaimer that they I baptized them in coffee–for some cash to mitigate the disaster. ...

My parents are Christians. They love the Lord and, as essentially first-generation followers of Jesus, they did a good job of pointing me to Him. However, an official time of family worship was never a “thing” in our family–I honestly don’t think the thought crossed anyones mind. We did our own things for spiritual growth–Bible reading and private prayer–and we went to church together on Sundays. But we never cracked open the Word together or as a family worshipped outside of church. ...

Before you get into this post, know that it’s a 2,400+ word labor of love. This stuff is tricky for me to explain, but I cannot overemphasize how important it is, and that’s why you’re reading a preface to a blog post. The few minutes it’ll take to read this post and the 20-minute process of setting up 2-step verification is worth it. At the bottom of this post you’ll see all the links you need to get started. ...

In light of doling out suggestions on reading more books, I thought I’d share the list of books I’m planning to read this year. These are always subject to change, and I’ve purposely not included enough for each week of the year because 1. I’ll come across more recommendastions–perhaps even from you–and 2. new books published this year will catch my eye and get added to the list. You’ll notice some books on this list have a * beside them–that means I’ve already read the book and I’m planning on reading it again. Some books are that good. I’ve assembled my list from a myriad of sources: blogs that I follow, Twitter links, personal recommendations, and from the book behemoth Amazon itself. I’ve included affiliate links so you can snag copies for your reading pleasure. I can’t endorse any of these books that I haven’t read yet[footnote]Weird, huh?.[/footnote] and I’m mostly taking other people’s word on them. This is the part where I wash my hands of any books you pick up and absolutely hate on this list. Maybe we can hate them together at the end of the year. Without further ado, in no particular order, my 2015 incomplete reading list. ...

For the last few years, I’ve tried to read a book per week. That didn’t quite happen in 2014, but I’ve found two keys to getting close to that goal. 1. You have to actually read. Most of us like the idea of reading more than reading itself (myself include, at times) and planning to read versus actually reading are about as similar as being an armchair quarterback and an actual quarterback. ...

I’m a data nerd. I love analyzing information, finding patterns, and seeing connections. But data for the sake of data isn’t valuable–it’s only meaningful if you apply that information to create change. In 2015, I’m purusing a more quantified life. If I know what I’m doing–tracking fitness, food, habits, thought patterns, sleep, spending, accomplishments–I can evaluate how I’m doing in pursuing goals and how effectively systems I’ve put into place to achieve things is working. In general, I prefer specific apps that perform a single function. Technically, I could keep track of all this information in Evernote, but after deleting hundreds of worthless notes in the past few days, I’ve opted for a different, better option. Each app does one (ok, maybe two) things exceptionally well, and I know exactly what I’m doing when I open it. [footnote]That means I don’t have the walk-up-to-the-refrigerator-and-forget-why-I’m-there feeling.[/footnote] Here are a few things I’m tracking this year and how I’m doing it. ...

I see the value of reflection, but I rarely set aside the time to do it properly. However, inspired by the end of the year, I decided to block out time to review 2014, remember the highs and lows, and save it in a Day One journal entry for future reference. If you missed the boat on reflecting on 2014 when it was still 2014, fear not! It’s not to late to get your rearview glances in, and I’m sharing the 7 steps I took to give the year a thorough pat-down. Here’s how I reflected on 2014. ...

Command + F is a helpful shortcut to remember; it allows you to search and find a word or phrase in a document. It works just about anywhere you can find text on a Mac. [footnote]For my Windows friends, that’s Control + F.[/footnote] Normally, when I’m trying to refer back to a website, especially one that is poorly organized, I use Command + F to find text quickly. For a long time, I didn’t think this was possible on an iPhone or iPad because, well, there isn’t a Command button. Alas, I was sorely mistaken, and to my delight I discovered that you can search and find words on a webpage via Safari with iOS. The feature name is “On This Page” but it’s hidden better than a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Here’s where to find it and how to use it. ...

I used to wake up a bit sluggish and slowly wake up to the sweet, yet distracting, sounds of Twitter chirps. After finding my seemingly optimal amount of sleep, mostly through trial and error [footnote] around 7.5 hours and I’m waking up before my alarm[/footnote]a few things have been significant in getting better sleep –something more people than I realized seem to struggle with. I cut back on coffee. I only drink 1–2 cups a day now, almost always before 2pm. I work out 3–4 times a week and have a goal of walking around 10,000 steps a day, which isn’t too hard in a European capital. That wears me down in a good way so that I’m looking forward to sleep. Our room is completely dark, like a cave but with better temperature control. We sleep using a white noise app cranked up nice and loud to drown out any other noise. I don’t look at my phone before bed. I charge my phone, which serves as my alarm clock, on the other side of the room, so I have to get up and turn off my alarm. Now, I sleep almost through the night, normally waking up once, about halfway through my sleep cycle. I’d love to be out cold for a solid night, but a once-a-night wakeup is certainly tolerable. ...

Four years ago I created a charity: water campaign for my birthday to raise money to build a well to provide clean water for people who didn’t have access to the most basic need in life. Through the generosity of friends, family, blog readers, and maybe even you, we raised $5,004 and helped build a few wells in Africa. If you’re curious, here’s an infographic I made about the project. For the last three years, the remarkable team at charity: water has wished me a happy birthday–the first year through a YouTube video, then via phone calls the last two years. ...