I’ve been talking a lot about Data Guardians, and how I believe they are the future of Database Administration.

Part of the Guardian’s role is to protect the data, and usually that means maintaining guardrails.

The Distributed DBA is one that works remotely along with most, if not all, of their team.

So just like with the data, it is important for the remote worker to place guardrails to protect their time.

Explore this with me!

Guardrails to protect your time

It is important for a Data Guardian to place guardrails over their time.

You need to know when you do your best deep work that requires focus, and protect it from interruptions.

But part of the Data Guardian’s job is to help educate their co-workers about responsibly working with the data.

Yes, this means talking to your co-workers. You can’t ignore them all day.

In a year of people figuring out how to work remotely, your guardrails may need adjustment.

There are two areas that remote work requires guardrails.

We often hear of work-life balance.

But when you are working from home, the line between work and life blurs.

So you need guardrails for your time at life and at work.

Life guardrails

You may have suddenly found yourself working from home with everything you need to do your job.

This means that it is extremely easy to check your email or team chat any time of the day or night.

If you find an issue being discussed there, you can hop right on and help fix it.

But hold on!

You may not have to commute hours to work anymore, but that doesn’t mean your company suddenly should get 24/7 access to you.

That is a fast-track to burnout.

Obviously, if you’re on call and get paged, that’s part of the job. But emails and chat discussions are not emergencies.

Put guardrails around your time, and set expectations with your co-workers of when you are not checking in.

And then stick to that. Enjoy down time.

Work guardrails

But just as you set expectations for when you are not at work, you should show up and work when you should be.

It’s too easy to roll out of bed 5 minutes before you should be starting to get to your desk.

Then it takes you another hour to be awake and ready to engage with your colleagues effectively.

And what about distractions?

If your kids, pets, or your spouse see you, they will be interrupting your work.

If you’re in a common area and see something that needs to be fixed, do you stop working to do that?

You need to put guardrails up to protect your work hours, as well.

Find a spot free of distractions, hopefully with a door that can be closed.

Tell your family you are off-limits except for emergencies.

Set up routines for starting and ending your day, like walking around the neighborhood or driving to get a coffee.

This helps your brain get into work-mode!

Conclusion

Data Guardians protect their time so they can protect their data.

There may be some evil companies that try to abuse your time as you work from home.

But don’t let them.

If you find yourself struggling working remotely and are facing burnout, you need to put guardrails over your time.

These guardrails come in the form of setting expectations with your co-workers of when you are not working.

But when you should be working, work.

Don’t let your surroundings distract you from being present.

What has been your biggest struggle for working remotely? Let me know in the comments!