Its a new year. Well, it was a new year not too long ago. Often with the new year people start talking about resolutions. Goals. Changes. All fine and dandy if you ask me.
Most of these involve doing this or that more than last year. Like exercise, eating healthy, visiting family and friends, etc. All worthy goals to have, I say.
But as I was driving in to work this morning, I reflected on those things that we do that may not be great for us. They may not be bad, but not great. Or a better way of looking at them is the contrast between Good, Better and Best. We may be doing some thing good, but instead of doing better or best, we settle with good.
So, I challenge you to find something in your life that you do now, something that is not huge, but pervasive, and stop doing it. Or change the good for a better or best version of the activity.
For example, do you find yourself surfing Facebook at night, or in the morning or during the day? I am not saying that this is a bad activity, but if you consistently find that this has worked itself into your routine, why not alter it? Do it differently, or maybe not at all. Spend some time connecting, instead of just reading what others have done. Try it out. See if making a change like this is better or best for your routine. Maybe you do not use it at all, Facebook that is, and the challenge could be to stretch out and use it more. I'm suggesting find something that you do and do it better or best, or even yank it out of your life entirely.
Another example is water. How much water do you drink? Is it enough? What could you do to drink more?
What about food? Do you find yourself eating out often? More often than you should? Step back, analyze, and change the habit drastically. For a small period of time. Enough time that the activity no longer has a hold on you.
How about flossing your teeth? Do you floss often enough? What can you do to do it more often? It will require a drastic change to your routine. A break of an existing habit, and an additional activity added to the habit.
Want to tie it to your works with databases? Why not? Find something that you do not do often enough, and step it up. Force yourself to incorporate it into your habits and activities. Again, often enough that it is a grand difference to your schedule and routine. Or maybe you need to remove something from your routine. Either way.
I challenge you to find the thing you will remove, or add more frequent and better or best actions to be performed. Incorporate this into your routine, or remove it from your routine. Continue with this for a small period of time, and measure the results on the other side. Challenge released.
If you accept the challenge, regardless of outcome (positive/negative) please let us all know what you did by adding to the comments so we can see examples.
Now, go to, alter your life, in a small way, and better yourself for it!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Updated speaking/articles/book
Speaking Engagements
User Groups
Utah User Groups June 2005 Reporting Services
Utah User Groups August 2005 Profiler / Trace
Utah User Groups February 2006 Sarbanes-Oxley
Utah User Groups January 2008 Query Processing
Salt Lake City User Group 2004-2008 various topics
Utah County User Group 2006-2008 various topics
Code Camps
Salt Lake City Code Camp October 2006 Profiler / Trace
Salt Lake City Code Camp April 2008 Query Processing
Salt Lake City Code Camp November 2008 Query Processing
Salt Lake City Code Camp November 2013 Release Management
Miscellaneous
Microsoft 2006 Analysis Services
ACS 2006 Sarbanes-Oxley
PASS SIG 2007 Some topic
SQL Server World Wide User Group Virtual Conference
SSWUG vConference April 2009 Auditing your users
SSWUG vConference April 2009 Best Practices
SSWUG vConference April 2009 Job Execution System
SSWUG vConference April 2009 Monitor Index Fragmentation
SSWUG vConference April 2010 Configuring and Managing GoldenGate
SSWUG vConference April 2010 Database Switch
SSWUG vConference April 2010 SQL Server Profiler and Tracing
SSWUG vConference October 2010 Database Change Process
SSWUG vConference October 2010 On Call Duties
SSWUG vConference October 2010 Professional Development
SSWUG vConference October 2010 SQL Server Logical Query Processing
SSWUG vConference April 2011 Data File Sizes
SSWUG vConference April 2011 Documentation – you know you love it
SSWUG vConference April 2011 Server Profiler and Tracing, a “How To”
SSWUG vConference April 2011 Stand-alone DBA dailyweeklymonthly
SQL Saturday
SQL Saturday 54, Salt Lake City October 2010 Database Switch
SQL Saturday 54, Salt Lake City October 2010 SQL Server Profiler and Tracing
SQL Saturday 66, Colorado February 2011 Documentation – you know you love it
SQL Saturday 94, Salt Lake City October 2011 Data File Sizes
SQL Saturday 94, Salt Lake City October 2011 Documentation – you know you love it
SQL Saturday 97, Austin October 2011 Data File Sizes
SQL Saturday 104, Colorado Springs January 2012 Utility Belt Pre-Con
SQL Saturday 154, Salt Lake City October 2012 Release Management
SQL Saturday 183, Albuquerque February 2013 Release Management
SQL Saturday 246, Salt Lake City September 2013 Database Monitoring
SQL Saturday 249, San Diego September 2013 Database Monitoring
SQL Saturday 249, San Diego September 2013 Documentation
SQL Saturday 279, Phoenix February 2014 Documentation
SQL Saturday 295, Las Vegas April 2014 Database Monitoring
SQL Saturday 349, San Diego September 2014 Documentation
SQL Saturday 349, San Diego September 2014 Database Monitoring
SQL Saturday 349, San Diego September 2014 Release Management
SQL RALLY
Dallas Texas, May 2012 All Day Pre-Con with co-presentor Chris Shaw,
How to be a DBA - A Utility Belt of Tools
Articles
SQLServerCentral.com
On-Call Duties – 27 Oct 2008
Simple-Talk.com
SQLServerPerformance.com
SSWUG.com
Books
Apress
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