[Guest Blogger] Getting IT done...All By Myself

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 Don Spencer (Waterloo, ON, IT Manager of Pano Cap Canada )

I'm just a lonely boy...

Sometimes I feel like nobody else knows what it's like to be the only IT person in an SMB (small/medium business). I realize, theoretically, that there are many others out there in similar situations, but existential angst often rears its ugly head when nobody else in the company has a clue about the scope of work and depth of knowledge required just to get through an ordinary day as the only - sometimes lonely - IT manager. 

User groups play a huge role in alleviating that angst, but even in that milieu there are times when it seems everyone else is part of an IT "organization". You talk to as many people as you can, make contact with the Microsoft IT Pro advisors, and occasionally ask questions about how the evening's presenter could relate the content of the talk to the lone-wolf IT manager. And then you prepare for tomorrow's technical problems, help desk inquiries, network administration, and, if you're lucky, a little R&D towards that certification path you've chosen (No - let's be realistic - if you want to study, you'll have to wait until after supper!).

Tool Time

And so you hunt for tools to help you get the job done, 

  • for repositories of quick information readily accessible and not too costly (yeah Microsoft TechNet Plus!),
  • for search engine answers to questions you can't admit are still wrapped in a cloud of unknowing...
  • and you get by.  
Blogospherical

More often than not, I turn to the blogosphere to find specific information about what tools and techniques technology specialists are using to get the job done. Especially interesting are the comments on those blogs from others joining the conversation with warnings, elaborations, and alternatives. From those conversations, I have cobbled together a variety of tools and methodologies that work - most of the time.  

Mind Mapping

Ruth Morton has written recently about one tool that I have been using for many years already - MindJet's MindManager. When it comes to thinking about projects, focusing on daily or weekly tasks, preparing meeting minutes and agendas, doing online research and note-taking or generating a knowledgebase for particular IT domains, mind mapping is a terrific visual technique to compensate for the typical linear logic of the IT professional (one example is the daylight savings time extension map I generated recently). And, if you have a Pocket PC which provides on-the-spot PIM features, you might consider JKRB Software's  Pocket MindMap , a utility which synchronizes MindJet's MindManager mindmaps with the Pocket PC versions of your mind maps.  

Just the right Outlook

Then there are the more obvious tools such as Microsoft Outlook. I couldn't operate without it. But the add-ins and Pocket PC alternatives have also proven critically important.

  • PlanPlus for Microsoft Outlook - from Franklin Covey - has been a useful add-in over the years. If you buy into the time management approach of Stephen Covey, you'll find this an ideal add-on. Covey, as you probably know, tends to highlight the weekly review of goals and objectives, especially as they relate to your overall roles, responsibilities, purpose and personal mission statement.  
  • Pocket Informant - If you have a Pocket PC and you like the Covey approach, then Pocket Informant from WebIS is a natural fit.  Pocket Informant expands dramatically upon what is available in Mobile Outlook, most obviously in the improved alternative views, grouping, sorting, and filtering of appointments, tasks, contacts, notes, and timeline. But what makes it indispensable for the Pocket PC enthusiast who uses the PlanPlus add-on is the synchronizing of projects and their associated tasks between Outlook and Pocket Informant.  
  • Getting Things Done   & Take Back Your Life  - Pocket Informant is also helpful if you choose other time management approaches like David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD - David also has an Outlook add-on which I haven't yet tried; in addition, he has done a webcast on his personal use of MindManager) or McGhee Productivity Solutions' Take Back Your Life. Both approaches make liberal use of Outlook's categories and drag-and-drop capabilities to integrate email, tasks, and appointments.
  • PhatNotes Professional  - Note taking is also improved in Pocket Informant, although I prefer to use the even more fully featured PhatWare's PhatNotes Professional which allows you to set up several databases of notes which automatically synchronize between your desktop (or notebook) computer and your Pocket PC. PhatNotes Professional also allows provides an easy-to-use interface for accessing email addresses and contact information from the Contacts Database.
Integration and Synchronization - all together now

Integration of all one's chosen tools for getting things done is critical. My key set of tools boils down to

  • Outlook
  • MindManager
  • Pocket Mindmap
  • PlanPlus for Outlook
  • Pocket Informant
  • PhatNotes

All of these can be automatically synchronized between my notebook computer and my Pocket PC. Is my solution idiosyncratic? You bet it is. But then that's part of being the only IT person in my company. Best-of-breed toolsets may not work as well in larger IT departments and organizations where collaboration is more important.  

Sync'ed up only

Two final tools I use that don't integrate well with the other tools already mentioned but do synchronize well between the desktop and the Pocket PC are from Ilium Software.

  • ListPro - a list manager with hundreds of prepared list available on the List Exchange, many of which are directly related to daily IT tasks (e.g. Windows XP keyboard shortcuts, TCP/IP and network information, Oracle DBA checklists, etc). You can, of course, customize and create as many lists as you like.
  • eWallet - an indispensable tool now which I use primarily for documenting strong passwords for servers, desktops, notebooks, Internet sites, and other traditional wallet-like information like credit cards, passport information and so on.
Enough about me

What I require are tools that synchronize my notebook and my Pocket PC and can be integrated with one another. I'm curious what other individuals and departments are doing to Get IT Done.