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Communities and Coping Strategies, What is your solution?

Geoff Burke
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

Hi Everyone,

 

The new Veeam Legends were just announced and it got me thinking about all the effort everyone puts into the communities. I am finding it a big challenge to keep up. As an IT person you not only need to participate but keep abreast of the all the technologies and ever evolving knowledge base. I have had periods recently when I have struggled to keep up with all my commitments, social media feeds, work, life etc. What are your strategies to keep things moving and keep your sanity at the same time? 

I am certain that among all the very smart people here there could be some great systems, strategies that we can all benefit from.

VMCA2022, VMCE2023, CKA, CKAD, KCNA, LFCS, PCA,TARS

9 comments

marcofabbri
Userlevel 7
Badge +13

I totally understand.

I usually dedicate small moment during days to communities when I “unload” my brain from study and work, so I don’t overload.

:)

Backups are like pizza, I love them. | Linkedin: @marco-fabbri-it
Chris.Childerhose
Userlevel 7
Badge +20

I also find it a big challenge with evangelist programs and communities where you get the feeling “am I doing enough” every now and then.  It is hard when you have a full time job and also family life as well.

I find blocking out my lunch hour in my calendar allows me during the day to read, study, post/answer questions, etc.  It is very hard after work hours to stay on the computer when family is requesting your time for other things like dinner, walking the dog, etc. but I find this time helps me wind down from the day of hectic IT stuff.

I tend to read allot of things in my spare time and use my homelab for experimentation of stuff like now learning and getting more in to NSX with using a Vyos router for the VLANs, etc.

I also find it helps to keep in touch with the vCommunity members from all programs to chat with and share things as well as bounce ideas off of.  I reached out to someone that attended the DC VMUG as a presenter for NSX stuff and he helped me get ideas for NSX since he also wrote a book.

Not taking things too serious and trying to wind down is probably the best things you can do which I am sure can be difficult for some.

If anyone is ever in the mood just to talk or vent or anything else discuss technology feel free to reach out as I am on all socials and here in the community. 😁

Chris Childerhose - VMCA2022 | VMCE2023 | Veeam Vanguard 7* | Veeam Legend 3* | vExpert 5* | VCAP-DCV/VCP-DCV | Object First Ace | Cisco Champion | Twitter: @cchilderhose | Blog Site – https://just-virtualization.tech
Mildur
Userlevel 7
Badge +12

I‘m connected 24/7.

Don‘t know how I’m doing that 😋

Product Management Analyst @ Veeam Software
wolff.mateus
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

For me one of the keys to keep all these gears working properly is reserve time for my personal use as equal as I spend on IT stuff.

The mainly thing that works for me is about exercises. I go to gym every day and it is incredible how this brings my day better. Getting exercise is the only moment that my brain is not thinking in any other thing.

Other important thing for me is about doing somethings that stimulates my creativity or my brain activity with other things than IT. I love to spend my free time playing Magic the Gathering for example.

At last, but not least chill out is important to. Watch movies/series, cook a dinner or simply do nothing is a moment that I need during my week.

How can you see the things that I do outside information technology have a heavily importance for my career and work.

Believe on me, drink water and sleep 8 hours is more important than you can imagine for your high performance during your day/job.

IT Lover | Veeam Vanguard | VUG Leader | Blogger
dloseke
Userlevel 7
Badge +6

I‘m connected 24/7.

Don‘t know how I’m doing that 😋

 

Yeah, I’m more in this camp.  As a MSP, I have to be able to bill my hours towards things.  Fortunately, we have a non-billable category for training which is where I document my time to keep abreast on industry trends, product announcements and updates, etc.  More or less, I just set aside time where I can to stay on top of these things.  Sometimes it’s during the work day, sometimes it’s a filler in between things after hours.  I try to stay off of a lot of social media which helps free up some time as that can be a black hole.  That said, the social media that I am on such as Reddit and Twitter tends to fill my feeds with industry-related items, so that help.  But as Mildur noted, stay connected all the time...not sure how -- but ADHD may be helpful here for me at least.

Derek M. Loseke, Senior Systems Engineer | Veeam Legend 2022-2023 | VMSP/VMTSP | VCP6-DCV | VSP/VTSP | CCNA | https://technotesanddadjokes.com | @dloseke
JMeixner
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

It is getting more difficult every day to keep up with at least your core topics…

I am following some communities and topics with the help of RSS feeds. But I had to abandon some topics completely, the input was simply too much.

 

We had a similar discussion half a year ago…

 

Jochen (Joe) Meixner | Veeam Vanguard 2024 | Veeam Legend 2021 - 2023 | Veeam Certified Architect (VMCA) 2022 | Twitter: @JoMeix | BlueSky: @jmeixner.bsky.social
dloseke
Userlevel 7
Badge +6

It is getting more difficult every day to keep up with at least your core topics…

I am following some communities and topics with the help of RSS feeds. But I had to abandon some topics completely, the input was simply too much.

 

We had a similar discussion half a year ago…

 

 

I tried using RSS feeds but it became overwhelming.  It was a lot of information, and not always as much relevant to me.  In some ways, the algorithms that are targeting me with certain information from social networks and such tend to be less overwhelming to some degree by throttling the flow of information, but also tend to me more relevant based on what I view.  I hate to rely too much on AI/ML, but it tends to help from what I can see.

Derek M. Loseke, Senior Systems Engineer | Veeam Legend 2022-2023 | VMSP/VMTSP | VCP6-DCV | VSP/VTSP | CCNA | https://technotesanddadjokes.com | @dloseke
Chris.Childerhose
Userlevel 7
Badge +20

It is getting more difficult every day to keep up with at least your core topics…

I am following some communities and topics with the help of RSS feeds. But I had to abandon some topics completely, the input was simply too much.

 

We had a similar discussion half a year ago…

 

 

I tried using RSS feeds but it became overwhelming.  It was a lot of information, and not always as much relevant to me.  In some ways, the algorithms that are targeting me with certain information from social networks and such tend to be less overwhelming to some degree by throttling the flow of information, but also tend to me more relevant based on what I view.  I hate to rely too much on AI/ML, but it tends to help from what I can see.

I only use RSS feeds for Veeam stuff.  😝

Chris Childerhose - VMCA2022 | VMCE2023 | Veeam Vanguard 7* | Veeam Legend 3* | vExpert 5* | VCAP-DCV/VCP-DCV | Object First Ace | Cisco Champion | Twitter: @cchilderhose | Blog Site – https://just-virtualization.tech
JMeixner
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

😂😂😂 I said, I use RSS for SOME topics - e.g. Veeam. And for some others where you can configure what you want to see.

Not for all, this generates way too much input...

Jochen (Joe) Meixner | Veeam Vanguard 2024 | Veeam Legend 2021 - 2023 | Veeam Certified Architect (VMCA) 2022 | Twitter: @JoMeix | BlueSky: @jmeixner.bsky.social

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