Note to self 14 - Backups don't matter, what you want is recovery

It really doesn't matter how good or how fast your backup process is - it's fastest if you just copy to /dev/null - if the recovery doesn't work. 

This is one of the times when the practices of ITIL and the like are very applicable even to the smallest IT department - like your own personal laptop computer.

Do a trial run of the recovery every now and then!

(At least I was told that ITIL emphasizes these trial runs. If it doesn't – well, to do them still seems like a good idea to me)

Edit: As Robby Raschke said on Twitter: IT Service Continuity Management (ITSCM) in ITIL is where testing your business recovery is a critical component.