Voice of the DBA

Tag: coping

  • Daily Coping 27 Apr 2021

    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 pick a new musical artist and listen to a few songs today.

    I love music, and a few of my coping tips have noted that. One thing I used to do when I traveled on planes by myself was download a few albums from one artist and listen on the plane. It might be someone I knew a few songs from, or someone recommended to me.

    For this tip, my wife turned me on to PJ Morton, who reminds me of Stevie Wonder. I downloaded a few albums of his the last time I flew in 2019.

    On Spotify, there’s a “Fans Also Like” section for artists, and I decided to try someone else that was on that page for PJ Morton. I found Jonathan Nelson and gave him a try. It’ s a little more gospel/spiritual than I like, but not bad.

    I also ran through an album from Ledisi, which is softer, quieter, and relaxing. I really enjoyed her.

  • Daily Coping 26 Apr 2021

    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 spend less time sitting today. Stand, walk, move more.

    I ended last week looking to do some activity. Today, it’s just less sitting.

    That’s a challenge for me these days. It shouldn’t be, and I do get some exercise most days, but I find myself sitting for long stretches. I raise my standing desk less often, mostly because I think I’m a bit worn out from life.

    However, I’m making a small effort today. I’m taking more breaks and walking to the kitchen, upstairs, doing a touch more movement in the house. I am also trying to find a few minutes here and there to avoid sitting, and standing while in a meeting or watching some video content from our various updates.

    I know sitting isn’t great, but with life beating me down, I just want to sit. I don’t know I’ll change much, but I am making a bit more effort to try and get above 1000 steps by the end of the workday if I haven’t gone anywhere.

  • Mental Health Day from the WIT Group

    The pandemic of the last year has been a difficult time for many individuals and organizations. I know that I have had a number of ups and downs across the year.

    The Women in Technology virtual group is putting on a one day event, full of talks from a variety of speakers on Mental Health and Wellness. The event is on May 7, 2021, from 8am EDT to 6pm. You can register and attend, as well as view the schedule from the link above.

    I was asked to submit a talk, after publishing a year of coping tips at SQLServerCentral. It was an honor, and an interesting challenge. I’m not an expert in this area by any stretch, but I have had some struggles and worked through my own challenges, often with the help of the tips I published for others.

    I’ll be talking at 11:10am EDT, going over some of how the year has gone for me and the ways that I’ve tried to ensure life is still, well, enjoyable.

    Join me if you want something different. I’m certainly looking to some of the other talks from people that are sharing some of the experiences on the non-technical part of our lives.

  • Daily Coping 23 Apr 2021

    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 make time to run, walk, bike, swim, dance, cycle, stretch, or some other activity.

    I’ve been trying to do more outside as the weather changes. Some chores, but also moving some exercise outdoors. I was lucky with an extended summer last year that had yoga and swimming outdoors, but since that ended in early October, it’s been mostly indoor yoga, weight lifting, and biking. The few times I have hiked, walked, or biked outside, it’s often been chilly or overcast.

    With that in mind, I decided to go walk to the mailbox for a few days. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but my mailbox is a half mile from my house. I took dogs, leashed them when we left the property, and had a few nice jaunts, even in not great weather.

    A nice break in the middle of a couple days.