Time Management for System Administrators

Time Management for System Administrators
Time is a precious commodity, especially if you’re a system administrator. No other job pulls people in so many directions at once. Users interrupt you constantly with requests, preventing you from getting anything done. Your managers want you to get long-term projects done but flood you with requests for quick-fixes that prevent you from ever getting to those long-term projects. But the pressure is on you to produce and it only increases with time. What do you do?

The answer is time management. And not just any time management theory–you want Time Management for System Administrators, to be exact. With keen insights into the challenges you face as a sys admin, bestselling author Thomas Limoncelli has put together a collection of tips and techniques that will help you cultivate the time management skills you need to flourish as a system administrator.

Time Management for System Administrators understands that an Sys Admin often has competing goals: the concurrent responsibilities of working on large projects and taking care of a user’s needs. That’s why it focuses on strategies that help you work through daily tasks, yet still allow you to handle critical situations that inevitably arise.

Among other skills, you’ll learn how to:

• Manage interruptions
• Eliminate timewasters
• Keep an effective calendar
• Develop routines for things that occur regularly
• Use your brain only for what you’re currently working on
• Prioritize based on customer expectations
• Document and automate processes for faster execution

What’s more, the book doesn’t confine itself to just the work environment, either. It also offers tips on how to apply these time management tools to your social life. It’s the first step to a more productive, happier you.

Customer Review: This book helped me get my life back
I was skeptical at first, but I followed the advice in this book, and BOY HAS IT MADE A DIFFERENCE!

I picked up this book when it first came out, as I was already a fan of The Practice of System and Network Administration.

It’s been three years, and I’m no longer frazzled. Users no longer call me angrily wondering why I forgot to do such-and-such. I (hardly ever) forget to renew service agreements and run regular maintenance.

I cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, if you work late, if you feel like your users are beating down your door.

Another thing about the system described in the book is its reliance on a paper-based organizer. I had tried and failed several times to use electronic methods. I’m a sysadmin! I should be able to use computers for everything! Being given a sort of permission to use paper for what it is good for helped me out a lot.

Customer Review: Valuable Guide for System Administrators
Tom Limoncelli is a well-known system administrator, author and orator. He speaks at conferences around the globe on issues ranging from firewall security to time management. He has also published papers at conferences such as the Usenix LISA on a wide variety of topics including innovative firewall techniques, coordinating massive network changes, models for improving customer support, and the security issues related to firing your system administrator.

I like the book “Time Management for System Administrators” because it is written BY system administrator FOR system administrators.

The book covers not only the general time management principles, but also valuable advices for system administrators: how to make use of automation, how to cope with multiple customers, bosses and tasks, and so on.

In addition to this book, I can recommend the other great titles that I liked much: “Never Check E-Mail In the Morning” by Julie Morgenstern, “Getting Things Done” by David Allen and “Time Drive” by Gleb Arkhangelsky.

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Whitmarsh navative prepares for Ironman triathlon Ft. Washington Montgomery Newspapers, PA - Jul 16, 2008 It's also helped me to organize my life a lot better and prioritize my time. One thing Ironman has taught me is efficiency and organization. …

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