Re: how do you manage your project list
- From: Jeff C <backseatdba@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Karl Arao <karlarao@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2014 21:02:19 -0800
Thanks Karl that was really helpful. I haven't watche the youtube video
yet but will. That program ManicTime is amazing! Kind of overwhelming but
I think it can really help show interuptuions. I was never really
understood mind maps but I think I will give it another try.
On Wed, Dec 3, 2014 at 10:21 PM, Karl Arao <karlarao@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> I would start with Tom Limoncelli's Time Management for System
> Administrators, he's got a video presentation here
> http://youtu.be/XMc7jw38Bxs?t=2m48s that became the foundation on how I
> manage my tasks
>
> Personally I have Goal, Habit, Task, Time Trackers
> And there are two parts to this: having a system that works for you and
> being able to instrument that
>
> 1) you have to have a *system* on setting your goals and prioritizing
> your tasks, and this one is a great response from quora
> http://www.quora.com/Productivity/As-a-startup-CEO-what-is-your-favorite-productivity-hack/answer/Paul-A-Klipp?srid=n2Fg&share=1
>
> - now I'm using mindmaps for goal setting and kanbanflow.com for task
> management which I really like because you can specify swimlanes+colors
> which makes it kind multidimensional than just a regular calendar
> - before I just use google calendar for tasks and "goals on track" for
> goal/habit tracker but I unsubscribed and migrated the entire workflow to
> mindmaps (I use freemind)
>
> 2) you have to have a way of *instrumenting* your time
>
> - on my windows VM where I do all my work I have ManicTime installed
> and this enables me to track everything I'm doing.. automatically without
> any user input and it can auto tag applications let's say if I open putty
> the time I spent on that app will be tagged as "Work", and I can see where
> my time went just by graphing the data
> https://www.evernote.com/l/ADBlN746vCxDXJykSPwZMT4TFUMQ6xT9oVw
> - on my mac I have this free version of RescueTime, I like the weekly
> productivity percentage being emailed every week usually I'm about 68% per
> week.. If I go below, that means I'm pretty lazy that week. Above that
> means I was pretty busy
> - kanbanflow on the other hand forces you to input your tasks + the
> corresponding time you spent on it. So what I would do is at the end of the
> day I would export the data and graph it on my tableau dashboard. I just
> need to open the dashboard I created and it will automatically read the new
> file and it looks like this
> https://www.evernote.com/l/ADD5nUeDwrZLpoc87uhpsqdKeHeNvvMPJcI on that
> link you'll see the entire workflow I have for task management up to
> visualization
>
> Some of these may not work for you, but at least you'll get the high level
> idea. So a couple of years back early on my career I was learning and
> coming up with my own systems and using these tools, through the years I'm
> also improving and hacking it and up until now that helps me getting things
> done (GTD) and motivated.
>
>
>
> -Karl
>
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> On Wed, Dec 3, 2014 at 6:28 PM, Oscar Ofiana <oj.ofiana@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> Hi Jeff,
>>
>> Have you checked out Randy Pausch's Time Management lecture? Some of the
>> ideas presented in it can be a little too detailed and time-consuming, but
>> the most helpful idea I picked up on was making the TODO quadrant, where
>> you seperate and prioritize tasks into:
>> 1 - Urgent and important
>> 2 - Important but not urgent
>> 3 - Urgent, not important
>> 4 - Not urgent, not important.
>>
>> Just having this grid on a post-it or on a pin-up board by my monitor
>> really helped to provide a general map of my tasks and what/when it needed
>> to be done.
>>
>> Hth,
>> Oscar
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 11:07 AM, Jeff C <backseatdba@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> Fellow DBA's,
>>> How do you manage your work load? I am not taking database work load but
>>> your project list. I don't know about you but I have my projects that I
>>> need to get done but I also constantly get interrupted by other developers
>>> asking questions, needing help with a query performance, or they mention
>>> some data they need from another database and I have to decided what is the
>>> best way to approach it. I rarely get my projects worked on.
>>> Do you have some system or tool you use to keep your head straight? I
>>> used to be the multitasker master but after 10 years and the growth of our
>>> environment, that is not easy anymore.
>>>
>>> Looking for any tips anybody might have.
>>>
>>>
>>> Thank you
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Karl Arao
> Blog: karlarao.wordpress.com
> Wiki: karlarao.tiddlyspot.com
> Twitter: @karlarao <http://twitter.com/karlarao>
>
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