The Amish represent a lot of what’s best about America: hard work, practicality, and simplicity. They don’t buckle under pressure to change, yet they are adaptable. Interestingly, while they may not use technology the way most of us do, they value qualities that can help any of us navigate our technology driven world.
In particular, we can learn a lot from the Amish in how to use Cloud technology for our data storage needs.
Organization
The Amish live a largely agrarian lifestyle. They are close to the earth and their day-to-day work is centered around the farm. Because of this, they know how to organize labor effectively. To be effective when using online data storage, it’s not enough to simply have large storage capacity—you need to know where your files are located. Go through all your files at least once a year so that you can sort what needs to be deleted and so you can know how you can more easily organize the files you have.
Frugality
If the Amish used computers regularly, they would store their information online if for no other reason than it saves a lot of money. They are especially aware of skyrocketing property costs—you simply can’t afford to have documents strewn and filed throughout your house. It’s a waste of space when you can just as easily have those documents saved online.
Discipline
This is a quality that’s important no matter what kind of work you do, whether it’s on the farm or online. As many Amish are farmers, they can’t cut corners—if they were to slack for a season, it could mean going hungry. With data storage, you can’t cut corners either. You need to exercise the discipline to use passwords to protect your documents, as well as use firewalls and secure networks. It may take a little extra time to set those things up, but discipline pays off.
Charity
The Amish are known for their generosity. They are hospitable, friendly, and community-oriented. With Cloud storage, sharing is also important in order to keep your online community working together. Of course, you don’t want to share sensitive data with anyone because they could tamper with your information. However, find people you can trust and share your information. You will get more work done and more smiles along the way.
Simplicity
It’s no secret that the Amish value simplicity. They understand that if you want to do something well, you should keep it simple. They eschew luxury and pride. You should exercise prudence while being online by keeping your work simple. Restrict who you share your information with. Only disclose information that’s absolutely necessary. Don’t keep useless files from cluttering your life. At the end of the day, maybe we aren’t, or don’t need to be, so different from the Amish after all.