Six hours down the drain... Any way to prevent this in the future besides the obvious?

Hey... So, I feel you. Just over an entire 12 hours down the drain for me. Had a whole Bridgeport-like city that has been reduced to a few crooked roads with some asphalt paint. Is it just me, or does it take longer to save every time you do? I always run edit in-game mode, but every time I save and quit, my screen keeps flickering and it takes painfully longer to save each time. Hence why I don't save often.