Linux System Administration Recipes A Problem-Solution Approach

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CHAPTER 12 ■ MANAGING TIME AND PEOPLEThere are some problems that simply have to be dealt with on the spot, in which case you’ll justhave to put down whatever you’re doing. With others, the best option is to record the issue somewhere,in whatever way you normally use (see recipe 12-2), and then get back to what you were doing as quicklyas possible. This also goes for things that suddenly occur to you in the middle of your work on whateverthe current big project is. Write it down somewhere, and keep going with what you’re doing. Don’t allowyourself to sabotage your time.This is also why it’s a good idea to keep thorough notes when you’re working (see Chapter 1). Ifyou’re in the habit of keeping good notes as you’re working, then it’ll be far easier to pick your work upagain when you go back to the first problem. It won’t get rid of the time it’ll take to get back up to speed(there’s inevitably an overhead as you load all the information back into your working memory, as itwere), but it’ll reduce it, and it’ll save you doing things twice.Another important technique to develop is the ability to identify what’s important, what’s urgent,and what’s both. Some problems are minor (or have straightforward workarounds) and can be left at thebottom of the priority list. Some problems have to be fixed right now, such as a major network outage.Some problems can be planned for in advance to give yourself a bit more flexibility in fixing them. Forexample, if the main LDAP server has gone down, then it’s wise to sort the problem out ASAP, but if youhave a backup server in place, then it’s not absolutely urgent. The more backups and fail-safes you havein place, the more flexible your ability to respond becomes. However, you must be sure not to rely on thebackups for too long. Any incapacitating server problems should definitely be fixed as quickly as ispracticable.■ Note Don’t allow even the minor problems to be delayed for too long, though, if you can possibly avoid it,particularly if they’re user-facing problems. You’ll get a lot more help and respect from your colleagues if theyknow that you’ll fix even small issues as soon as you can. See recipe 12-2 for tips on keeping track and avoidingproblems falling through the cracks, and see recipe 12-7 for tips on keeping your colleagues on your side. If youfind that you simply don’t have the time to fix anything that isn’t important, urgent, or both, then it may be time totalk to your boss about getting another sysadmin in.Another way of making sure that you get through the task list is to spend five minutes at the start ofeach day checking your to-do list and identifying three things that it’s important to get done and thatyou are committed to doing that day. Don’t overdo it. It’s best to have three things that you definitelycan manage to get done, rather than a longer list that you expect not to get through. (And be aware thatsome tasks are larger than others! See recipe 12-3 for some discussion of dealing with larger projects.)Then make your first priority of the day getting those three things out of the way. If you have enoughinterruptions that you don’t manage to get anything else done, that’s OK. Clearing three things at a timewill keep the list under control.You can also batch smaller tasks and dedicate an hour every day or two to managing those. Even ona busy day it’s usually possible to carve out an hour, and getting through several smaller tasks in a rowcan be a very cheering experience.232Download at WoweBook.Com
CHAPTER 12 ■ MANAGING TIME AND PEOPLE■ Note For lots more useful information on time management, try Time Management for Sysadmins by Thomas ALimoncelli (O’Reilly, 2005). Getting Things Done by David Allen (Penguin, 2002) is also useful, although aimed atpeople who work more with paper than with computers; there are lots of web sites aimed at reworking it a bit towork better for IT professionals.12-2. Keeping Track of Work and of <strong>Problem</strong>sAs I said in recipe 12-1, sysadmin work tends to be interrupt-driven. As well as the problems withconcentration and time management that this gives rise to, it leads to a higher chance of losing track ofissues as they arise. For example, you’re busy working on an issue with the web server when one of yourcolleagues stops by your desk to complain about a problem they’re having with their desktop. It’s noturgent, so you tell them you’ll take a look at it later and go back to the web server debugging. An hourlater, you’ve forgotten all about the desktop problem—until your colleague comes back to you a coupleof days after, asking why you never did anything about it.There are various steps you can take to avoid this happening:• Get people to record their bug reports via e-mail. If someone comes to you with aproblem, ask them to e-mail you with it “to help me keep track of things.”■ Note If you have trouble keeping on top of your e-mail, there are plenty of resources out there to assist you.Take a look at the 43 Folders web site, or any one of the many other productivity web sites and books available.• Write things down yourself as soon as you’re told about them, either in a notebookor in e-mail. If you use a notebook, make it one that you’ll actually check back in,not one that’ll lie unread on your desk for days.• Keep a to-do list of some variety. For example, use your wiki (see recipe 1-3).• Use a bug-tracking system such as Request Tracker (RT), as discussed in the nextrecipe. This can mix well with the previous suggestions. Set up an e-mail addressthat interacts with the system, and you can ask users to send e-mail to it (orforward their e-mails) or e-mail it yourself. This will also help act as a reminderand to-do list.The important point is that anything that comes in as a problem needs to be recorded in the sameplace, whatever way it originally comes in to you. You can get others to help you with this (see recipe12-7 for a discussion of managing your interactions with your colleagues), or you can do it yourself.Don’t rely on remembering things; it’s far too easy to get distracted.233Download at WoweBook.Com
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Contents■About the Author .......
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■ CONTENTS3-7. Writing a Nagios P
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■ CONTENTS■Chapter 8: Using the
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■ CONTENTSAbout the Author■Juli
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■ CONTENTSAcknowledgmentsMany tha
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■ CONTENTSIntroductionThis book i
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■ INTRODUCTIONDownloading the Cod
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C H A P T E R 1■ ■ ■Saving Yo
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CHAPTER 1 ■ SAVING YOURSELF EFFOR
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C H A P T E R 2■ ■ ■Centraliz
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CHAPTER 2 ■ CENTRALIZING YOUR NET
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C H A P T E R 3■ ■ ■Monitorin
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CHAPTER 3 ■ MONITORING AND UPDATI
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C H A P T E R 4■ ■ ■Taking Ba
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CHAPTER 4 ■ TAKING BACKUPS AND MA
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C H A P T E R 5■ ■ ■Working w
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CHAPTER 5 ■ WORKING WITH FILESYST
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C H A P T E R 6■ ■ ■Securing
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CHAPTER 6 ■ SECURING YOUR SYSTEMS
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C H A P T E R 7■ ■ ■Working w
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CHAPTER 7 ■ WORKING WITH APACHEOn
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C H A P T E R 8■ ■ ■Making Be
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CHAPTER 8 ■ USING THE COMMAND LIN
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Page 233 and 234: C H A P T E R 11■ ■ ■Tracking
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Page 251: C H A P T E R 12■ ■ ■Managing
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Page 267 and 268: APPENDIX■ ■ ■Perl TipsSee rec
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Page 273 and 274: ■ ■ ■Index■Symbols$CDPATH,
Page 275 and 276: ■ INDEXenscript option (printing)
Page 277 and 278: ■ INDEX■NNagiosadding hosts to,
Page 279 and 280: ■ INDEXsyslogcentralized logging
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