Take care of your body and mind….the rest will follow…

It’s strange that I’m writing a blog post on this subject considering that most of the other posts have been about technology in some shape or form. I’ve recently been embracing lots of non-tech related subjects and practices so thought it would be a good idea to share these so I can help others out there thinking about the same subject.

Is it really worth my time ?

It’s often a question we ask ourselves because we are too busy with the day job but if you don’t make time for yourself, who else is ? There’s been a raft of posts recently on IT burnout, depression, stress and subjects surrounding this and I hate to read articles like this knowing there are things you can do to help yourself and others around you. Take this as a list of suggestions where you can create and adapt your own framework. What works for one may not work for others so I’ve given you the basis of a framework on which to steer your own path.

I’ve been reading many books around the subject recently and the book that really taught me a lot was this one.

The Miracle Morninghttps://amzn.to/2Jc8a69

It’s a fascinating insight into how you can influence and change your day ahead by adopting various strategies to help you keep in balance and positive throughout the day. Now truth be told, I don’t follow everything to the letter and this is why it is a framework but I have implemented various routines that eventually turn into habit. Habits are great things and can also be bad depending on what it is but we all know humans are very difficult to break habits and to adopt new ones. This is why it is important to stick with your plan however you choose to create it.

Hal Elrod has many interesting insights and I won’t have any spoilers for you but some of these routines can be completed inside 20 mins or less !!

What has worked for me ?

This took some time and I started one important routine which was regular exercise before reading this book. Nothing crazy that was too time consuming but simply cycling for 15-20 mins was enough for me right now. After reading this book I realised how important it was for the brain to do exercise as early as possible (hence habits to do before 8am) so this is now part of my routine on a semi-regular basis depending on my schedule.

The second item to mention is meditation. Now I know what you’re all thinking now but wait…….it does help…..believe me. I was also a skeptic and tried this previously and failed at making it a routine but having invested in an app (there are many out there but I use Calm) I can see that my brain, attitude and stress levels have changed for the positive. We all get sucked into work as soon as our eyes open in the morning but if we adjust our routine and don’t pick up our phones to check how many unread emails we have or what the latest is in the Slack group then trust me….you will also change.

It’s a journey and not a quick fix but if you want a new perspective on life and prevent stress and burnout at work then I would consider minor lifestyle changes to be a step in the right direction. You don’t have to do everything especially if you have other parts of your daily routine that already include some of the items mentioned in the book but you may find some useful tips along the way. The one I most appreciated is how exercise early in the morning can release certain chemicals in the brain that mean you are better set for the day ahead. When you exercise in the evening then these chemicals and changes to the brain cannot be put to good use although you could do a light exercise in the morning and a longer one in the evening if that suits your lifestyle.

As I continue to learn and read more areas for effective productivity whilst having a healthy work/life balance I will continue to share these thoughts on my blog.

Moving onto a new adventure…

With all the job posts I’ve read recently I thought it was time to add my own especially as I’ve had a few questions bouncing off various rumours and it looks like it’s the season for new jobs.

As you probably know by now, I joined EMC 3 years ago having come from being a datacenter customer for many years. Having had a lot of experience in virtualisation, Microsoft apps and a barage of other tech areas it wasn’t natural for me to join a company that was known for storage only but for me the intrigue of working for a vendor was always there. I never had the guts to make the move early on in my career as I always preferred the easy work hours and the simple life but when the role presented itself I was eager to have the conversation and 3 years later I’m still enjoying the world of presales. With the coming together of Dell and EMC it was perfect timing as this opened the door to other parts of the datacenter that I had more experience in and so I knew this was where I wanted to remain.

Having been exposed to many varying types of customer conversation and having the opportunity to travel globally and meet many people both internally and externally fit my profile perfectly as I always enjoyed having different conversations with varying job roles at the other end. Solving customer challenges and talking about how Dell EMC solutions can make a real difference is where I am most comfortable.

Since I was still predominantly storage focused and still passionate about all things VMware I was at a crossroads where I wanted to take a more focussed role on how the software defined era will shape businesses of tomorrow.  I’m always eager to learn more and step out of my comfort zone and in order to this I had to expand my sphere of influence and ensure I continue to develop my brand both internally and externally.

For this reason I’ve taken a new role and YES I will still be staying within the Dell Technologies family at Dell EMC. The pillars of digital transformation are strong and ones that I remain very close to and for that reason I knew I wanted to continue to build upon what I had started.

My new role will be focussed on the synergy between VMware and Dell EMC for Enterprise customers in the UK and Ireland being an enabler for both my colleagues and customers to understand the full value of the synergistic nature of the relationship from both a technical and business perspective. Bringing these powerhouses together under the banner of Dell Technologies is where the true value lies and it was clear to me that I could add most value by applying my skills to this rapidly evolving tech supremo.

It’s clear that the software defined datacenter and hybrid cloud represent the essential building blocks for companies to expand and grow in the digital age and I always knew I wanted to play my part in this journey.

2019 will be the year of realisation that organisations need to rationalise the amount of vendors they have to deal with and ensure they have a consistent and dependable technology vendor to depend on and so I’ve placed my big bet on this along with organisations seizing the opportunity to be more agile in the datacenter.

I wanted to thank all my friends, colleagues and managers who have helped me on my career path so far and I will continue to be a strong advocate for software defined technology adoption as the weeks and months pass by. 

Don’t hesitate to reach out for any knowledge on why the VMware portfolio on Dell EMC can help in transforming your life and your business objectives of tomorrow.

2014 Review – The Year that worked for me…

i-kept-calm-and-did-it-my-way

2014 is just about over and I wanted to take a few moments to review all that I have achieved and areas for improvement (as always). I have not had my blog set up for long and to be part of Eric Sieberts top blogger list was a great honour even though it was in a very low position. This gave me a firm impetus to be stronger in the community and spread my thoughts and knowledge to gain a more active following. I was also lucky enough to attend VMworld in Barcelona and numerous local VMUG’s as well as being recognised by VMware with a blogger pass although the company I work for agreed to fund the trip. I also attended a key Gartner conference where I learned a lot from some of the future writers and researchers and this has made me broaden my horizons. I’ve written a lot of articles over the last year and gained a tremendous amount of support from other technologists with a passion for writing about new innovations and I feel that I have really come on strong in sharing this with you all. This has been shown in the comments from those of you I met during events and also in my ever increasing Twitter following.

My posts have been varied in content and I’ve tried to balance both technical deep dives with my thoughts on the dynamic world of virtualisation. As we all know things change at such a fast pace that its important to keep in touch with what is happening both in the Enterprise and in the startup market.

Networking must not be thought of as something to be scared of. Initially I was always hesitant in talking to like minded individuals but I have found that talking to peers and other technology enthusiasts has really opened my eyes and indeed led to my development as a technologist. Its fundamental to all things we do to become successful as a blogger or writer so please remember this. I will be doing this a lot more in 2015 and continue to make myself known to the wider community.

I was also grateful to be awarded to the prestigious vExpert title from VMware which shows that I was heading in the right direction when it comes to my external speaking engagements and blog management.

Although leadership, management and technology strategy forms a large part of my current position, I have still been able to stay in touch with my technical side by learning more about Cloud, SDN and EUC and also sitting exams where I have wanted to keep my technical knowledge current and be able to contribute to discussions both in and out of the workplace. I wanted to take my VCAP-DCA exam this year but alas life, both personally and in business, was very hectic and so I could not but I was glad to recertify my VCP and also complete my VCAs.

Above all, I will be setting myself some goals to further my career and ensure that I continue to push my own limits and learn new areas of virtualisation. I am very happy with the way 2014 turned out and have more exciting opportunities in 2015 to stretch myself further. I hope you, as readers, have enjoyed my posts over the last year and will keep coming back for more as I continue to stretch the boundaries of technology in 2015. Thank you for your support.