Comments about oreilly Time Management for System Administrators:

As a SYSADMIN I found myself being pulled in many different directions and found that something that would usually take 30 or so minutes to complete would take over three hours. Using some of the tactics in this book I was able to become more productive and complete projects on time rather than always late.

Comments about oreilly Time Management for System Administrators:

I found this book to be extremely useful. As a sysadmin, I find myself handling many complicated tasks each day and not having enough time to do them. Granted, some of this is from just not having enough hands, but the larger part is from not having an organized way to schedule my time. Tom's book doesn't actually have any incredibly new time management concepts, but it does present the ones that are the most relevant to sysadmins in a book that you can read in a few days (longer if you stop to try out all of the suggestions that he makes). To be sure, this book is orientated towards young sysadmins who are making their way in the chaotic environment at systems management can be, but for those of us who started as lone-wolves and really didn't develop any time-management skills, this is a great help!

Comments about oreilly Time Management for System Administrators:

tried multiple timemanagement systems, that never quite fit my daily routine. I picked up some useful techniques for managing my day, that really made a difference. Recommended!

Comments about oreilly Time Management for System Administrators:

The book is to the point and has excellent examples and tips. It is the correct length and a very good reference.

Comments about oreilly Time Management for System Administrators:

I'm a sysadmin for all of my work life (which is now more than 22 years) and have been on the brink of total personal system failure (aka burnout) more times that I dare to count.
The last time working took a turn for the worse (2006) I got myself a copy of Thomas' book and held on to his advice until I had myself dragged out of the swamp.

Since then, which is now more than 7 years, every time the flood of work load rises, I take out the (slightly battered) book and start living the rules.
I recommend this book to all my colleagues (that are still living) and friends, for my apprentices it is required reading.

But it didn't only help my survive in a trade faster than light, it's also fun reading.

So, to all sysadmins out there:
Get a copy (preferably a printed one), a pencil and a small notepad (the analogue kind), place it near your pillow and survive another day.

Live long and keep your heads up
Wolf

Comments about oreilly Time Management for System Administrators:

I have been a Sysadmin for 5 years. The environment I work in is fast paced and chaotic. We deal with numerous internal customers, all clamoring for our attention and interrupting us. I want to make a difference, instead of just churning through daily requests and scrambling at the next interruption. I want to get control of my time, and spend more of it with my family. In short, this is exactly the book I needed to read.
Tom's goal is to save you time, allowing you to spend it on more important pursuits. In the first half of the book, he details a time management system he calls "The Cycle." He takes his time to present his time management technique and explain why and how it works. The other half of the book is spent imparting his wisdom from almost 25 years of system administration. It is in this part where I found the best advice and the most helpful insights.

The Highlights:

Boss management
Many people do not even realize this is a major part of your job and career. Your boss has the single largest impact on your work life besides yourself. Tom gives great advice on how to communicate and help your boss, thereby helping yourself.

Long Term Goal management
Because of our constant interruption-driven work pattern and chaotic atmosphere, we do a poor job of long term goal setting and management. The book works with you on writing down your long term goals and creating intermediate steps to reach them.

Technical examples for non-technical issues
This is not a technical book, rather it focuses on the non-technical aspect of time management. Regardless, Tom does a great job of using technical examples to get his non-technical point across.

Problems:

The Single To-Do list
Tom is a big proponent of a single to-do list for both personal and professional items. The issue here is that your work should already have a request tracking system. How do you marry your personal list with your work system. Copying your work requests down to paper is a waste of time. Putting personal things in your work system is not a good idea.

Mutual Interruption Shields are never 100%
Even when you have a MIS, there are always a couple users who feel you are their personal sysadmin. You want to be approachable but you do not want people to approach you. At work, I am not on the MIS rotation, but that does not stop users from interrupting me.
In summary, this book is worth your dollars and your time. Even if you are skeptical of his system, the book is worth a read for ideas and insight. It should be given to every new sysadmin when hired, and anyone who manages sysadmins. I plan on recommending it to my boss and colleagues.

This book was given to me to review as part of O'Reilly Usergroups.

Comments about oreilly Time Management for System Administrators:

I've just rediscovered Time Management for System Administrators after 2 years, and am rereading it in the context of a new job that is larger in scale, more complex, and more demanding. It's a real testament to the quality of the advice in this little book that Tom Limoncelli's thoughts are still just as relevant, and just as effective for me as they were 2 years ago. He is still helping me reshape time, interruptions, and priorities at work and in my social life.

Everyone else on this page is already saying most of what I'd say about why this book is so good, but I want to reiterate: it would be a shame if you let yourself be put off by the author's comment in the opening pages about how the book is "not for programmers." I think he means a very particularly rarefied kind of programmer, one who doesn't get interrupted all day, one who doesn't have to support production systems and deal with "customers" (even if those customers are other developers and/or sysadmins). I'm not even sure those exist. In any case, for the rest of us who live in the grey area in between "hardcore" sysadmins and architecture astronauts--for anyone "technical" who has to deal with interruptions and time pressure--do yourself a huge favour: read this book, absorb what you can, put it down, come back after a long time, and read it again.

Comments about oreilly Time Management for System Administrators:

I had a tough pattern as a solo sysad at my company and this book helped me a lot in organising my time. Thanks a lot Thomas for this book has given me a lot of time to work on the critical projects and still learn real good things. All the firefighting and customer drills apart this is one Definitive Guide if you want to go home Early and Smiling.

Guys get to read this informative video blog on SAN tutorials and jobs (http://storage-jobs.blogspot.com) see the salaries and start managing your time well to get those big perks.

Comments about oreilly Time Management for System Administrators:

How many times do you get interrupted from your "main" task in a day? "Time Management for Techies who get Interrupted Frequently" could have been the title of this book. While the real title of this book is "Time Management for System Administrators," it is really useful for any techie who faces interruptions. And that's most of us!

In the preface, the author states "This book is not for programmers. Beta readers told me that programmers should find this book extremely useful, but ... deserve their own book." I agree with the beta readers - developers benefit from this book plenty. We support production applications, have emergency issues and are frequently called on to answer tech questions..

The book introduces readers to traditional time management concepts in case they are unfamiliar with them. Then the author adapts those techniques to work well when your priorities change throughout the day. There are also chapters are reducing stress, e-mail management and automation.

I found the techniques on prioritizing to be much more relevant than the typical time management book. Since the book is not teaching a technology, it was easier to read than the typical white book with an animal on the cover. The quality is high as you would expect.

I read this 200 page book in four days. It was hard to put down! How much would you pay to have a better handle on your time and responsibilities? At $25, this book pays for itself in no time!

Comments about oreilly Time Management for System Administrators:

I loved this book, even though I'm not a system admin as such, but I do work in a busy IT department. I've tried various time management schemes recently, such as David Allen's 'Getting Things Done' amongst others, and found them all to be a little abstract. I can sort of see what they're getting at, but when it comes to putting them into practice, the systems kind of fall apart on me.

However, Thomas Limoncelli's book is different. It's *practical*. And he uses real-life examples, which actually work!

Written in a friendly, conversational style, the book covers the high-level concepts such as managing interruptions, checklists and the overall principles of time management. That done, he moves onto his Cycle system then how to prioritise tasks effectively, how to deal with stress and documenting your processes and workflows. The book finishes off with some system admin-specific tips on how to automate processes.

I can't recommend this book enough. I've been pushing it on my work colleagues, and can already see a difference in how I can manage mine and my team's workloads. Highly recommended.