It's the last Friday of 2012. If you're reading this, then I assume the world hasn't ended and you are planning on starting the next year next week. This is the time of year where we often look forward and make resolutions with the best of intentions. Most people don't keep many of their resolutions, though I'm not sure if this is because they aim too high or too far from their current path.
As this year ends, I'd like to ask you to think smaller, and think about your career. For the last poll of 2012, I wanted to ask this:
What's your goal in 2013?
For your goal, I'd like you to think about one thing that you'd like to improve in your skill set in 2013. Is there one area of improvement that you'd like to tackle across 2013? I'm sure there is. SQL Server is a huge platform, and we all have holes in our knowledge.
With that in mind, I'd like you to think about something you wish you could do. Perhaps you want to understand how a tally table works, or you'd like to be able to get the versions for all your instances using PowerShell. Maybe you want to tackle something like The OLAP Sprint and improve your BI skills.
Choose one area, and then make a goal. Give yourself a concrete project to tackle. The project shouldn't be large, and it shouldn't take the entire year to complete. Drop a note in the discussion and then set an appointment for yourself that repeats every week, every two weeks, or every month and work on the project. Next year I'll ask you if you actually accomplished your goal.
Steve Jones
The Voice of the DBA Podcasts
We publish three versions of the podcast each day for you to enjoy.
- Watch the Windows Media Podcast - 21.6MB WMV
- Watch the iPod Video Podcast - 16.3MB MP4
- Listen to the MP3 Audio Podcast - 3.4MB MP3
The podcast feeds are available at sqlservercentral.mevio.com. You can also follow Steve Jones on Twitter:
Today's podcast features music by Everyday Jones. No relation, but I stumbled on to them and really like the music. Support this great duo at www.everydayjones.com. They have a great version of Message in a Bottle if you want to check it out.
I really appreciate and value feedback on the podcasts. Let us know what you like, don't like, or even send in ideas for the show. If you'd like to comment, post something here. The boss will be sure to read it.
