The IT Guys Blog

It takes a lot to stay motivated in an IT position. It always starts out busy and fun, but that’s rarely the tune IT Guys are singing after a year or more. The problem is really that IT Guys, or at least some, are so good at making their lives easy that they become bored. When you first start a new job it’s foreign and you don’t know the best way to get things done yet. A year into that position and you will likely have mastered the job. With your new found ninja IT skills, tasks that once took you half a day now take you 30 minutes or less. This leads to big gaps of empty time. The time isn’t really empty though, the good IT guys are researching and testing during this time. It may sound trivial to some but the sign of a good IT Guy isn’t someone who is constantly busy. The sign of a good or great IT Guy is someone who recognizes his or her downtime and creates projects or furthers their learning.

Tricks to a Happy IT Career

1. Schedule major events and issues as appointments on your calendar. You are less likely to forget them this way and the time needed to deal with them will already be assigned.
2. Make sure you have some sort of digital calendar that is in sync with your PC. If you are anything like me you find yourself traveling a lot and you don’t want to forget important meetings and appointments. I carry a Treo with direct push setup via MS Exchange so I get all my e-mails, contacts, calendar, tasks, etc. - Fyi if you are new to the IT game a cell phone from your company seems like just another perk of the job but it’s really a 24/7 reminder that your company has a leash around your neck. Talk to your company about turning the phone off on the weekends.
3. Don’t rush yourself! Take time to solve issues and don’t rush through all your work in a jam packed day because you have all week to deal with issues. I’m not condoning putting off things that you can solve now, I’m just saying pace yourself. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon and some things can afford to wait.
4. Don’t blow yourself out. I used to work for a consulting firm and the owner would always say “Don’t blow yourself out.” I never really took it to heart until I did blow myself out. Over working yourself and stressing out about things eventually gets to you and it will K.O. your morale. Next thing you know you’ll be looking for a new job when all along if you just slowed down for five minutes you’d be much happier.
5. Schedule at least a full hour a day to organize and sort things out. Put the time right on your calendar and make it known that during that hour you are not to be bothered. Take your new found free time to read up on the latest IT crazes or to read an IT Blog. While it may seem like a dumb thing to do when you are supposed to be “working.” This hour a day will save you from feeling over worked and as an IT person you are expected to be on top of the latest and greatest things coming down the pipe. The hour a day will help you keep up on the industry and give you new ideas on how to solve the issues you face. Some days you will miss your time but try to be vigilant and keep the hour a day.
6. Last and most importantly if you are not happy make it known to the higher ups in the company. I’ve seen this happen more than anything else. Somebody in IT gets angry about the way something is being done but they never voice their concern or issue and of course it goes unresolved until they can’t take it anymore. If you have a problem with the way something is being done or a fellow employee make it known so that management or C-class management can deal with it. They get paid to deal with issues and problem employees so let them handle it before it makes you look bad. Believe me, nothing hurts worse than having a COO or CIO coming to you about something you’ve been angry about all along and now they are accusing you of causing it. If your co-worker Jimmy has the IT skills of a half drunk chipmunk, let somebody know. It’s not always nice to put somebody on blast to the boss but Jimmy will do it to you when his ass is on the line every time, trust me.

Take your time solving problems and take time for yourself and you will be a much happier IT Guy. There are other things that help as well but they aren’t available at all companies. Like flex scheduling and condensed hours. If your company offers these options, take them! Working 9 hours a day and taking every other Friday off or something surely will make you feel better about doing your job.