My definition of a good work day is a day where you solve more problems than you receive. It saps your energy when your list of things to do grows more than it shrinks. Some says it grows fast and other days it shrinks.
When you're in a lot of meetings the list grows because you are working to resolve issues as much as meeting to identify them.
Some of you will understand the I.T. mentality and not need to hear this bit. But for those that don't:
-Firefighting mode - is when you are hit with a lot of high priority, drop everything and solve this now... issues. You do not have enough time to work on projects and anything that CAN wait until later, MUST.
-Project mode - the fires are out, and you're able to work on the things that help improve things for everyone long term. This time usually requires concentration, and time.
-Helpdesk mode - time spent solving issues you can easily solve are adept at. This mode is the least challenging, but constitutes a lot of your time depending on your job description.
-Troubleshooting mode - something isn't working right, and you don't know why yet. You require a fully functioning brain, time, and google.
You'll notice the word "time" in each different mode. An IT person shifts between these modes all day long. TIME is the enemy. Uptime, downtime, lunchtime.
TIME.
You tend to lose energy when you've been battling time without prevailing.
Today though, thanks to the gifts of God, I prevailed.
With any new job I've taken there is an element of being in the "deep-end" of the pool so-to-speak. Being thrown in and hoping you can learn the idiosyncracies of any new system before an emergency comes up.
I've been battling and losing two major troubleshooting problems because they were both in areas I have little experience. Last week I was sure I'd never solve these issues.. this morning I was sure, I needed outside help... and moments ago, those issues are solved.
I'm pretty jazzed about it (for techs: I solved an SQL authentication issue and a windows netbios issue).
As I mentioned before, people here are getting tired right now. So dealing with problems is even more tiring.
Technical difficulties tax your energy. I'm motivated to help people resolve their issues as fast as I can because of that. I'm so relieved to have solved a problem that has exhausted two others and myself for weeks prior to today.
Someone out there was praying for me today.. a special blessing, a moment of clarity.. something.
so thanks.
