I'm sure there are plenty of tutorials out there but I can hit on a few highlights and how I do it.
One of the first things to do is enable the schedule for backups. You can use more than one option on the schedule if you want. Its worth noting that each backup takes the place of the last, this way you don't end up with huge amounts of data bogging down your phone.
2 schools of thought for backing up:
1.) Backup all user apps (easy, great for rom flashers, but will miss some things you may want)
2.) Backup all user apps + system data
You'll hear many people say the famous words...never restore system data. That can be true and many times it is so its a good catchall statement that has turned into a mantra for TiBu users. But bits and pieces of that system data might be worth restoring in certain situations so some poeple back up system data for those situations. A good example being the contacts and call logs you mentioned. If you want to back those up via the auto scheduler, you'll need to choose the option to backup user apps + system data.
The issue with
restoring system data is that it can seriously bork things if you flash a different rom than the rom you were on when you made the backup. So if you do make the decision to backup system data, that's all good but it just takes a bit more intervention when it comes time to restore stuff. What you can do then is choose to restore all user apps + system data BUT you then have a secondary option to be more selective...a list comes up with all the stuff. Since its a large list, I find it easiest to choose the option to deselect all to start out with. Then recheck all user apps (anything acquired from Play Store) and you can then select the contacts, messages (sms &mms), and if you want bookmarks (stock browser). You'll note those last 3 items have the Titanium logo by them. Although they are technically system data, they have been separated into their own backup categories because so many people wanted them.
So bottom line, its ok to
backup system data, you just need to be aware what system data you are restoring and be selective.
Clarity note:
The batch restore tool is found on the app's main screen. Upper right hand corner, it looks like a piece of paper with a checkmark on it.
Other items not related to backup/restore:
Freezing/defrosting apps is a nice feature. You can use that if you want to get bloatware out of sight out of mind without totally removing them. If you ever want to remove a system app, you may need to got into settings > preferences and enable "Chuck Norris" mode which will allow you to delete pretty much anything. Just realize that could be problematic depending on what it is and if it ties into other processes.
There are tons of other options in TiBu. I've hit on only the main points. We used to see tutorials on this but the app has become so option laden that I think people gave up on trying to explain it all.
So for the rest of the stuff, dive into the menu options and just check it all out. There's a ton of things most people don't even use but you can make your own call on those. Hope that helped somewhat.
