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.