Voice of the DBA

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral 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. 

Today’s tip is to meet a friend outside today for a meal, a walk, or a chat.

I called up a friend recently that I hadn’t seen in months. I’ve neglected getting together with people, and I wanted to do better. We had the chance to talk and chat and sit down for a meal, which was a great break from the normal routine of eating at my desk while working.

I really miss contact with others, and I’m trying to get better at this, as we come out of the pandemic world.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral 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. 

Today’s tip is to find a new album to listen to today.

The last few weeks, I’ve been in the car a fair amount moving around, and had different radio programs and podcasts on. Recently I listened to Paul McCartney on Smartless. they chatted about his new album, McCartney III Imagined, a bit, and I decided to give it a try.

I am a big fan of the Beatles, and I’ve learned a number of their songs on guitar. However, I haven’t followed Sir Paul much since the group disbanded. I somewhat liked the songs, but it’s quite a change from the Beatles, or even Wings. It was a welcome distraction from a more regular routine, something I’ve appreciated during the last year.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral 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. 

Today’s tip is to take a moment and think about what about your life changed the most in the last year and the impact on your life.

I think the biggest thing for me was traveling. Between work and personal life, I made a lot of trips to various places around the world every year. While that can be stressful with a busy life, it’s also exciting to see new places in the world, or return to familiar ones.

Between not going places and being stuck in this office for over a year, without much variation, that both gave me more time with family, but it reduced my excitement, enjoyment, and embracing of work. I’ve struggled to enjoy work this past year, and there have been more days than I’d like where I’m not productive at all. Either I’m sitting here getting very little done, or I’ve walked away and been upset with myself for not working.

Trying coping tips has helped, as has some perspective resets, where I realize just how wonderful my life is on a daily basis. I’ve come to terms with this, with hope for the future, but I’m also still adjusting to how I focus on helping Redgate and the community move forward in a new world.