The Enemy Within

I have a nemesis - it's name is MERGE. Unfortunately, MERGE is under my control. What does that mean? It means that until I get my trigger finger under control, I will continue to recreate files that I have already completed! Case in point: Last night I wanted to quickly see if a file was too large to send by email. So, I opened the file, merged the layers and did what I needed to do with it. Upon exiting the program, it pops up the screen to say that I have made changes that should be saved and do I want to continue. I click YES and 5 hours of work is now merged together, forever unchangeable. Why didn't I remember the changes it was asking about?! Why didn't I stop and THINK?! To my dismay, I woke up to put the final touches on the project and found them all merged together. :(
Why is merging so bad? Well, the designs are created in layers. This way, if you want to change a single element you can do so without distorting your background or surrounding elements. It allows you to perform a technique to a single element without leaving your design, etc. However, when you have, for example, bright red fold/cut lines on your page and then merge them to everything else that's NOT a good thing!!! So, forgive me if I can't blog for a while, I'm remaking yet another file.....

I will not save merged files, I will not save merged files, I will not save merged files, I will not save merged files..........