System Admin Time Management: Principles

It is very inspiring to learn time management from system admins (SAs). We and SAs all share the same challenges - neverending interruptions, simultaneous projects and rush requests.

And SAs have to deal with those issues even more often, as Thomas Limoncelli says:

Management judges an SA by whether projects get done. Customers, however, judge you by whether you are available to them.

Here are SAs' principles of time management.

• Interruption is the archenemy of productivity.

  • Sharing a mutual interruption shield with co-workers so that only one person is distracted in one period.
  • Blocking a large chunk of project time
  • Closing the door (not suitable for managers)
  • letting junior engineers sit outside to filter incoming 80% interruptions for you first

• unify all time management information into one place.

• ==conserve the brain power for things important==

• don't make yourself think to manage time; instead, develop routines, habits, and mantras.

  • Routines are serials of pre-defined steps happen at a particular time.
  • Habits are routines people can do things without thinking.
  • Mantras are simple rules of thumb.

• keep focus during the project time. It takes discipline though.

  • Discipline gains people more self-esteem. ==Self-esteem is like poker chips==. When we have high self-esteem, we tend to take bigger bets and win bigger.

• manage your social life with same tools.