New Kevin Kline video blog on efficiency & effectiveness

Kevin Kline posted a new video blog entry on efficiency & effectiveness. One of the things he talks about is limiting the number of things on your plate.

This is so important for DBAs because people are always running into our corner offices (okay, cubicles) and begging (okay, demanding) that we drop everything and focus on their problem. Everything’s always urgent, and everybody’s always important.

Kevin mentions a tactic I’ve used for years, and I’ve even already used a few times at Quest! Simply agree with the person - no matter how ludicrous their request - and say, “Absolutely, I’ll work on that right now. I need your help, though: I’ve got these other two things that I was supposed to finish ASAP. Which one of these things should I drop to focus on yours?”

Don’t say it in a cocky way, don’t be a jerk, and be serious. It’s possible that this new customer is making demands because the CEO is coming around the corner behind them (I’ve had that happen) and their request really is urgent. As a DBA, you work for everybody in the company, and we need everybody’s help to prioritize our work.

When the customer sees what you’re working on, they may stumble and realize that theirs isn’t urgent. Offer them two options: either help them find somebody else to do the work, or put it in your queue at a lower priority. If they choose the first option, your work is done, but if they choose the second option, you can’t let the ball drop.

The better you are, the more work people will give you, and the longer your queue gets. I use the GTD philosophy to manage this, and I use RememberTheMilk.com to handle the execution. Whenever anyone gives me something to do, it goes straight into RememberTheMilk with a priority. I will literally turn the screen around and show the customer my list of to-doos, and say, “Alright, where does yours fit in here?”

Again, don’t be a jerk when you say that. I really don’t care what I do first. I’m a good employee, and I’m going to be busy until the day I retire. I don’t choose tasks based on what I think is cool - I choose tasks based on what my customers want.

When they see the avalanche of to-doos, they’ll slow down with the urgency, and they’ll help make a better decision on what the real priority is. And even if they don’t, just agree at the time, put it into your task list, and then review your task list with your manager every week. If there’s a disagreement in priorities between your manager and the customer, don’t worry, because it’s not your problem. Simply arrange an email, meeting or call between the two, let them hammer it out, and let them come to an agreement. You will be AMAZED at how many managers love to play the bad cop to protect their employee priorities. (Not all of ‘em, but you would be surprised.) Plus, sometimes managers need to do this because they want to justify more staff, and by showing the customers there’s too much work, they can get more help in building a budget. You do want help, right?

Finally, once something is in your to-do list for a customer, you have to follow up. Every week, I review everything in my to-do list, and if somebody’s actively waiting on something, I’ll drop them an email to explain what’s ahead of them in the queue. Your goal is to email them before they email you, because then you’ll look proactive. It only takes a few minutes to go through your list and send a copy/paste email to each person, and CC your manager on each email.

Sound like a lot of work? Once you get into the hang of it, it’s not bad, and it makes your job - and your entire career - a lot easier. If it sounds interesting, check out GTD: