Recovery drill guide

This is not a second checklist. It explains how to think during the recovery drill, with examples.

The goal (15–30 minutes)

After this, you should be able to answer:

• Could three of your five follow the steps without guessing?
• What would fail first?
• What is the next thing to fix?

Start with the people, not the account

Most plans fail at the people, not the technology: the one person who knows everything is the one who is unavailable. Five people, any three of whom can act, is the shape that survives a funeral, a hospital, and a falling-out. Name them first, then ask whether they could actually do the steps.

Pick a simple scenario

Choose one:

• one of your five cannot be reached
• your phone is lost
• you cannot get into your password manager

Helpful questions to ask

1. Where are the instructions?

If the steps are only in your head, it will fail. If the steps are in an app you cannot open, it will fail.

2. What do the helpers do first?

For example: “Open the binder and read the first page.” Or: “Call the bank using the saved support number.”

3. How do they prove they are allowed to help?

For example: a pre-agreed call-back number, a pre-agreed phrase stored offline, or attorney paperwork used in a controlled meeting.

4. What happens if one thing is missing?

Pick one missing thing — a person, a phone, a key, codes — and ask what you would do next, and who can do that step.

What “good” looks like

It is good enough when:

• three of your five can find the steps quickly
• they can explain the next step in plain language
• you can repeat the drill later without improvising

Common fixes

• Put the steps in one place and make them easy to find.
• Make sure the helpers can access the steps without you.
• Avoid any plan where one lost phone, or one absent person, breaks everything.

If you want help

If the drill shows real gaps and you want them closed, you can talk to us.