The Time Thieves

Posted on December 12, 2022 by way0utwest

Time is the most valuable asset I have most days. Time is often a limiting factor that dictates my priorities at work. It also often determines my stress and enjoyment levels in life. Using time effectively can lower the former and increase the latter.

A few years ago I read Making Work Visible, which talks about work flow and how time can be wasted in teams. The book covers the 5 types of time thieves, and it helped me to better think about how I organize both my tasks at work and in my personal life. I think that has sometimes helped me find a way to get more done with less effort, and less stress.

There’s an article from the author that summarizes the time thieves, talking about how to avoid losing time in a busy world. For me, I find that the WIP thief and the Unplanned Work are often the biggest thieves in my life. Usually when I haven’t done a good job of prioritizing and pushing back on low-priority items. Often, however, the person I’m pushing back on is me, so I’ve got to learn how to better manage myself.

Often the way to avoid many of these issues at work is with better visibility and communication. These are two things I’ve been thinking about quite a bit after the recent PASS Data Community Summit. While I didn’t have much to do with the event, I did speak, and I took on some extra speaking duties when others were overloaded. I could certainly see some time thieves at work in the run-up to the event during the last few weeks. Things to try and fix before next year.

We all need good technical skills, often strong ones when our organizations are trying to build, manage, and operate complex environments. However, there are other skills that can be just as important. Working in a team, coordinating work, being clear, and being transparent are all skills that can help us succeed without burnout. They are also key to finding these five time thieves and ensuring we get more done without requiring more resources.

I still don’t quite know how to manage my work and personal lives together, but I am working on getting better at working in a group, which is something I find myself doing more and more.

Steve Jones

Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher, Spotify, or iTunes.

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Daily Coping 12 Dec 2022

Posted on December 12, 2022 by way0utwest

Today’s coping tip is to look at life through someone else’s eyes and see their perspective.

I have my own views, beliefs, and thoughts about the world. However, I often do try and empathize and view things from others’ perspectives. I think that has been one of my strengths over the years, in that I don’t just consider my view.

As an example, since it’s on my mind. While working with a customer recently, we were discussing the way in which they use our Flyway Desktop product. For them, then use nomenclature and a workflow that isn’t always what our developers think about. They also have a chaotic environment where work isn’t always completed in order. Or there are emergencies that need to be addressed.

I’ve been in those situations, so I stop and imagine past situations, pressures from management, and more. I’ve used that view when I go back to our product developers and discuss the ways in which we want to ensure flexibility for our customers, and allow them to deal with complex situations.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

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What Do I Do to Relax?

Posted on December 9, 2022 by way0utwest

I’ve republished an editorial today from another author, called What do you do to relax after work?

I’m thinking about that a few weeks ahead, because I needed to schedule things. I’m on vacation now, hopefully enjoying Lisbon, Portugal with my wife. However, I thought this was a great question, so I decided to write something.

First, I’m not great at relaxing. I enjoy things, but I like to keep busy. Outside of work, I try to do some traveling with my wife when we can arrange things. Before the pandemic, we wanted to visit a new country together each year. We did that for a few years, before getting stuck at home. This year we visited Germany, Italy, and now Portugal together. We’d each been to the former two separately, but not together. This trip is new for both of us.

I coach volleyball with my wife as well. Really a second job, and a busy one for about half the year, but it’s a lot of fun for me and I do find it relaxing once in awhile, but I’m a type-A, charged person, so being busy and working on the problem of managing a team is fun.

I go to the gym a lot, I’m often fixing things around the ranch, and I practice guitar. Those can be relaxing, but not always.

Maybe the most relaxing thing is to read. I usually get close to 100 books a year, often sneaking in a few minutes here and there are I go through life and I have downtime. With the Kindle app, I always have books with me and I enjoy escaping life with a great book.

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Daily Coping 9 Dec 2022

Posted on December 9, 2022 by way0utwest

Today’s coping tip is to find out something new about someone you care about.

I took the time to do this at the recent PASS Summit. During events like this, I try to make time for new friends and also chat with longtime ones. I had the chance during one break to sit down with someone I’ve known for a long time. I don’t see them often, but I look forward to our meetings.

For the first time I got to learn a bit more about their family and life outside of work, as we’ve often just chatted about work. It was a nice break from a busy week and a fun time to spend time with someone I care about.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

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