I have some mixed feelings about 2018 so thankfully this post has nothing to do with looking back, not in the main anyway, but more around what I'll be doing in 2019.
First, there's blogging. I didn't get round to getting anywhere near the amount of posts that I wanted to last year which is disappointing. I've always taken great enjoyment in writing so that is something that I want to change right away. Firstly I'm moving the more technical posts over to DTA IT, it makes sense and leaves SQL Clarity to host more of my thoughtful posts - or waffle as I like to call it. I've also enlisted some much needed help on the blog/community side of things which will undoubtedly make masses of difference.
Then there's speaking. I've always enjoyed talking about SQL Server and just before Christmas put in to speak at a couple of user groups next year; Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham. It's something that I have intended to do but had never taken the jump, now, I cannot wait. The session is about the query optimiser with a side of guillotines and satellite navigation - really, come along if you'd like to know more.
Training others is something I've always been passionate about and through DTA I'll be kicking off an exciting new project in the next couple of weeks. I don't want to give anything away now but it very much relates to a back to basics approach to training material that I'll be offering. The courses through DTA have also been revised and reduced to three core elements; administration, performance management and querying - all of which are aimed "from the ground up".
Mentoring deserves a mention as it's something that has been on my mind for a while. It probably warrants a separate post but in the meantime what I will say is that whilst it's an activity that I will still be undertaking I'll be working to a much more structured approach and I've also learnt to step away when it isn't working, this should allow me to spend more time actually mentoring!
For my own development I'm focusing on a few things, Bob Wards Pro SQL Server on Linux is a highly recommended purchase as the Linux space will become much more critical for SQL Server; as will containers and Kubernetes - I also recommend Chris Adkins blog post to get you going on that front.
There's an awful lot to learn and even more to do but I'm very focused on having a very successful 2019, and I wish anyone who happens to read this the same, all the best!
