Providing computer support for a busy team of graphic designers, account managers, and other creative pros is a challenging job. It demands an odd combination of long-term planning and short-term crisis response.

A new book published by O’Reilly does a good job addressing the real-world, interruption-based environment most system administrators find themselves working in:

Time Management for System Administrators.

As author Thomas Limoncelli says, “A System Administrator’s life is divided between putting out fires and building new buildings.”

Good time management is crucial to keeping creative teams happy. There aren’t many mentoring opportunities that teach these crucial skills to professional system administrators.

While this book does not address the unique issues involved in supporting creative teams, we do recommend this book for anyone who finds themselves supporting clients and their computers for a living.

Source: A related book by Thomas Limoncelli is The Practice of System and Network Administration. This book focuses on general principals of providing IT support to extended teams. The general principals can be applied to any type of computers — although at 776 pages it is not a casual read.