Training is important
Earlier in the year, I set out with aspirations of doing a better job blogging and keeping up with training. At least on a personal level.
I admit I slid a touch on my weekly blogging goal. In my defense, however, work has been focused on relocating a data center which hasn’t gone quite as planned. So there has been a couple of late nights. I’ve also been extremely busy working on training goals. Which has been tough in itself. Trying to improve SQL skills, looking at DevOps, trying to find time to brush up on C# and learn Python….that’s a bit overwhelming in itself, and a separate post all its own.
One of my personal and professional goals is to always be learning. Professionally, that means learning more about SQL and development. Both of which are very broad, and very deep, topics. Of late, my topic of interest in SQL has been indexes, performance tuning, and getting better at writing SQL. On the development side, I’m still focusing on SQL, but I also want to learn Python and brush up on C#…two subjects I haven’t really touched since completing school. Oh, then there is my current obsession with DevOps.
How to do the learning
So how do I learn? Well, there’s my O’Reilly subscription, then my subscription to Pluralsight, plus all of those blogs in my RSS feed as well as the podcasts feed to name a few. I have to admit, there are times it feels overwhelming. Then there’s the attempt at following the SQL community on Twitter and DBA Stack Exchange, which I don’t do a very good job of. It seems I need to find a better system or take on less. Oh and then there is all the free training from the SQL community to keep up with. SQL Saturdays, monthly PASS chapters, and Brent Ozar’s Groupby.org.
I think what I need to do is come up with a system so I don’t start suffering from burnout. I have had to remind myself that I don’t have to learn everything at once, but find it hard sometimes not to squirrel down a rabbit hole.
So if you have suggestions or a system in place that you wouldn’t mind sharing…I’d be all ears. In the meantime though, I think I’m going to have to work out a schedule and system. Maybe par down all the incoming information a bit.