FreeA scheduler + a checklistAbout 35 min
Decide What Must Run With the Laptop Closed
Some jobs only matter when you are at the keyboard. Others must run at 3 a.m. on a holiday. Sort each job into a tier so the important ones do not depend on your laptop.
Why This Matters
The worst setup is a key job that runs only when your laptop is open. It fails the night you travel, and nobody notices for a week. Pick the right home for each job.
✓ How To Do It
- List every repeating job. Include lead alerts, backups, report pulls, post publishing, uptime checks and bill reminders.
- Mark each one with the cost of a miss. Ask what happens if it fails for a whole day.
- Make tier one for jobs that must always run. Put them on a server, a hosted scheduler or your host's own cron. They never depend on your machine.
- Make tier two for jobs that can run on your computer, like a weekly clean up. If it misses one run, nothing breaks.
- Make tier three for jobs that need a person, like approving a payment or a send. A person does them on purpose.
- Move every tier one job off your laptop. Test by closing the lid and checking that it still ran.
- Give each job an owner and a place where it logs. A job with no log cannot be trusted.
- Add a check that runs when the job does not. A daily message saying nothing arrived is a useful alarm.
- Do not poll on a timer when an event can start the job. A form submission can start a task, and it costs less than checking every minute.
- Review the list each month. Delete jobs nobody reads.
Done WhenA table lists each job with its tier and where it runs, and a laptop closed test confirmed the tier one jobs ran.
Tips & Pitfalls
- Plain, boring jobs are best. Fewer moving parts fail less.
- Keep the secrets for tier one jobs in the host's settings, not in files on your laptop.
- If a job sends money, texts or email, keep it in tier three until you trust it.