Here comes the weekend. I’d suggest you spend part of it contemplating disaster. Think fire, flood and theft. Imagine all the bad things that could happen to your office while your out this weekend on a hike in the woods, a nap in the hammock or a quick weekend trip.

Once you’re good and worried pull out a pad and pen. Take a few minutes to write yourself a to-do list for Monday morning.

Focus on these three things –

First, check on your insurance policies. Do you have insurance for all the perils that might strike. Do you have sufficient coverage. Do you have the policies stored in a safe, accessible place? What about business interruption coverage? Do you have it?

Second, develop a contingency plan. What will you do if the office is closed for a month? How will you communicate with your staff? Your clients? Do you have a list of all of your vendors? Do you have contact info for your team?

Third, back up your data. Be sure you keep it offsite. Be sure you know how to restore the data and be certain you can quickly get the equipment you need to get it up and running again. Have a plan in place for testing the backups periodically. Actually restore the data and make sure it works. I’ve tried that on a couple of occasions and learned some things I didn’t want to know. Do it.

Have a great weekend! I hope I didn’t ruin it for you.