This method can be adapted to a solo SA, too. If you are a solo SA, talk with your manager about how you could improvise some kind of equivalent system. For example, management can make the users aware that afternoons are reserved for "project time ," and non-urgent requests should be emailed to you (or to your request-tracking system) for processing the next morning. This might match the natural flow of an office. For example, if most interruptions happen in the morning, it will be easier to schedule the afternoon as "project time." It may be more appropriate to do that only when a special, visible project is coming due. For example, your boss assigns you a project that will benefit many aspects of the company. This is an opportunity to ask for special dispensation so that the project can get done quickly.
There are also physical things you can do to protect your "project time." Obviously, if you have an office, you can close your door to prevent casual drop-ins and social visits. A more effective technique is to make sure that customers must walk past your Tier 1 (customer-facing) system administrators in order to get to Tier 2 people (you). If you are the senior SA, re-arrange your seating so that people must pass by a junior SA on their way to you. The role of a junior SA is to handle 80 percent of the interruptions and let the 20 percent that only you can do, get to you. Physical location is key to this. Walk 50 feet from your desk, turn around, and walk back to where you sit while imagining you are a typical customer. What do you see? Make sure it is the person who is supposed to be customer-facing and working on all the Tier 1 support requests.
Go away and arrange your mutual interruption shield right now. I'll wait.
Hey, what part of "right now" didn't you understand? You didn't make that arrangement, did you? Please do it now before you continue. I really want you to be able to read this book.
Figure 1-1.
What's So Difficult About Time Management?
Ah, now we can really begin!
Time management is difficult for SAs because we are constantly being interrupted. How can we get anything done if we are constantly pausing to fix emergencies or respond to requests that arrive in person, via email, or via the newest source of interruptions, instant messages (IMs)? How many times have you told your boss that a project would take two uninterrupted days to complete, which means a month of actual time? Returning to a task takes a long time. If an interruption takes one minute, and it takes two minutes to return to your project, you're actually traveling backward in time! H. G. Wells would be impressed! Worst of all, returning to your project after an interruption can lead to errors. Often, when I'm debugging a problem, I find the actual "error" was that I skipped a step after returning from an interruption!
Management judges an SA by whether projects get done. Customers, however, judge you by whether you are available to them. These two priorities play against each other, and you're stuck in the middle. If you are infinitely available to customers, you will never have time to complete the projects that management wants to see completed. Yet, who approves your pay raises?
Why a book on time management just for SAs? This book needs to be different from your average "time management" book because SAs are different. In particular:
Our problems are different. SAs have an unusually high number of interruptions that prevent us from getting our projects done.
Our solutions are different. SAs can handle more high-tech solutions such as request trackers, email filtering with procmail, automation scripts, and other tools unsuitable for the average, non-technical person.
We lack quality mentoring. SAs need to learn the fundamentals of to do list management, calendar management, and life-goal management just like anyone else. However, our normal career path usually doesn't lend itself to learn these things. Our mentors are technical peers, often on email lists, and often in different parts of the world. There are fewer opportunities to learn by watching, as a supervisor often learns from a director.
[*] In this book, I will use the term "customer" to denote any internal or external user of your computers, network, applications, and so on. I prefer "customer" over "user" because it better represents the relationship SAs should have with the people they serve.
The Principles of Time Management for SAs
There are six principles that I base all my techniques on. I don't claim that any of these are my own invention, but I certainly put my own spin on them. You will see these principles throughout the book:
One "database" for time management information (use one organizer).
Conserve your brain power for what's important (conserve RAM).
Develop routines and stick with them (reuse code libraries; don't reinvent the wheel).
Develop habits and mantras (replace runtime calculations with precomputed decisions).
Maintain focus during "project time" (be like a kernel semaphore).
Manage your social life with the same tools you use for your work life (social life isn't an optional feature).
Let's take a look at each one of these principles in greater detail.
One "Database" for Time Management Information
The central tool for time management is your Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or Personal Analog Assistant (PAA), which you will use to store your to do list, calendar, and life goals lists. I'm sure you know what a PDA is: a Palm Pilot, Zaurus, or similar product. A PAA is the paper equivalent. You've seen these in many shapes and forms and by names such as organizer, binder, planner, datebook, or even Filofax.
Whether you choose to use a PDA or PAA, it will become the platform for just about every technique in the rest of the book. By putting all your information in one place, you won't have to jump between different systems. If you have disorganized habits, this will be the tool for getting organized. If you are overly organized, this will be your tool for slimming down to a simple, basic system that saves you time and prevents you from spending time organizing your organization.
I'm going to use the term organizer to mean either a PDA or PAA. It doesn't matter how hi-tech or low-tech you go. When I specifically mention PDA or PAA, I'll be referring to a technique or example that can only be performed with that particular kind of organizer.
We're going to make sure that your organizer is something you can trust. What you write in your organizer won't be forgotten, deleted, or lost, and it won't disappear like invisible ink. Until you trust your organizer, you aren't going to be as facile with the rest of your time management techniques. Developing this trust, like forming a new habit, takes time.
Conserve Your Brain Power for What's Important
It's important to have an uncluttered brain. A cluttered brain is full of distractions that prevent you from staying focused. You're going to learn to use external storage for anything you aren't focused on right now.