One-Man IT: Focusing on One Problem at a Time

In this episode of Act on Tech, Alex discusses the reality of being a one-person IT department. Whether you're supporting a small business, managing technology on your own, or wearing multiple hats in your organization, the biggest challenge often isn't the technology itself—it's avoiding burnout while keeping everything running.

Alex shares his approach to managing IT responsibilities through preventative maintenance, automation, documentation, and structured workflows. Instead of constantly fighting fires, he explains why focusing on one problem at a time and building reliable systems can reduce stress, improve stability, and make technology management more sustainable.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by endless tickets, projects, or technology issues, this episode offers practical strategies for working smarter, not harder.

Act on Tech is the podcast from Alex Custom Tech, where we discuss technology, cybersecurity, networking, and real-world IT solutions for small businesses.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Are you ready to make technology work for you? Tune in to Act on Tech, the podcast where we break down the latest tech trends and show you how to boost your productivity at home and in your business. So subscribe to Acton Tech today and visit alexcustomtech.com to see how we can take your business to the next level. That's Acton Tech, your guide to Smarter Tech for a smarter business. AlexCustom Tech, IT means integrity and trust.

SPEAKER_02 0:31

Everyone, welcome to Acton Tech where we talk all things technology. Before I start, I want to acknowledge that it's been a little while since the last episode. So because of that, it required more of my attention. So the podcast had to take a temporary pause. But now I think I've gonna gotta figure it out. So now I'm back. I appreciate everyone who continued to listen and support the show. And today we're gonna get back on topic. But today's topic is kind of like in line with that. So today's topic is the uh-uh, I was gonna call it the rise of the one person IT department, but I'm gonna call it the one person IT department. So I'm gonna call it I'm gonna call it the rise of it. I don't know if it's a rise, like I know I have always been a loner, so I can't say it's a rise of the one-person IT department that would be accurate, or I don't have any data to say that this is what's happening. I know AI is making a lot of this stuff possible, but I think it's something that maybe is gradually happening, but I don't know, I don't have the data for it. But I'm gonna talk about it from my perspective, from my experience, and what I've been doing for the last 16 years. You may find yourself acting as the entire IT department for yourself, for your business, for your family, for whatever. If you find yourself in situations podcasts for you, I'm gonna lay this lay this out based on what I what I've learned and what I've thought about and how I'm managing this space. So the question is how do you how do you really are how do you do what how do you do it pretty much? How do you do it without burning out, right? That's the question we're gonna talk about. So I'm gonna bring it up in a set segment in a little sections. So the first one I want to talk about is what when I say one person IT department, what am I talking about? What am I what am I trying to unravel? So a lot of people, a lot of people picture it as a room full of technicians and a bunch of people, you know, with a vast amount of knowledge about working together in unisons and cooperating and that kind of stuff. That stuff does happen. There is there are IT departments with with different different levels, and and they call it like uh, you know, they escalate the problems based on how big a problem is. You might have like like level one, maybe like your health desk, and then you have like level two, which is a little bit more intricate, and then level three you might have like four-blown networking and that kind of stuff, and you break it up in that way. So each one person is not handling everything, and it's a good structure. I'm not gonna sit here and say it's a bad structure, but there are times when like like me, there's no there's no escalation of anything, it's just I I have to fix the problem. I get small problems and I get big problems, so there's no bodies that escalated too, right? And and that's fine, I have a system. I'm gonna share the system with you. So people imagine a full technical team and cybersecurity expert and support staff and all that stuff, but reality, many small businesses have like one doors, and and it's very different than what people imagine. And often there is one person who spots before, I mean it's the moment computers, printers, wifi, backup, security, phones, email, software, vendor management, documentation, user support, and the list goes on. And sometimes that same person is also responsible for other duties outside of IT. The challenge and the challenge is usually technical knowledge, right? Sometimes it's not to do with soft skills and navigating relationships and that kind of stuff. You want to come in that because people actually try to present relationships to you all the time, they don't do partnerships like I would like, they do relationships, you know. I can take things personal and the channel is managing the workload in that substream or managing that workload in a sustainable way.

unknown 6:42

Right?

SPEAKER_02 6:43

So the biggest mistake to be one of what the biggest mistake I had to struggle with, I struggle with fight is is fighting every fire, right? I learned that you can't I learn this over time. 16 years of doing this, I learned this so inside. So one of the biggest cause of burnout in IT is constantly living in a reactionary mode where you're reacting to problems. Something breaks, you fix it, something else breaks, you fix that. Then another issue appears before you before long, you are spending all your time reacting instead of improving things or improving the system or creating the system. So I've learned that when you walk into an environment with 10 problems, for instance, you don't try to solve ten problems at once, you solve the most important problem first, then you move to the next technology and feel overwhelming when you're looking at every issue at the same time. So you try to break it up into small pieces, and you deal with that way and that's very manageable. So here's another thing that I do. So that's kind of like so that's kind of like what I do right, right?

unknown 8:23

I break them up into small pieces, and then I do that.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

Another thing that I implement is automation. So automation is your best employee as a one-man IT. So if you run a one-person IT department, automation is one of the most valuable tools you can have. Every task you can automate is one less thing after you. For example, you can automate backups, you can automate monitoring alerts, you can automate schedule updates, you can automate reporting, you can automate password management system, you can automate inventory tracking, you know. Automation doesn't replace people.

unknown 9:24

Otherwise could.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

That's the key. If you find yourself performing the same task every day, every week, every month, ask yourself, can this be automated? And when you figure out automated. So the answer is yes. It's worth exploring as an option. Another thing I would point out is assigning responsibility to the specific needs. So this is kind of where the whole thing comes into play. Because right now, there's a lot of things in my plate. Um at this custom tech and I'm going to work every day and I'm managing the family. So my schedule was one week and what's at a time, and now it's an entirely different schedule I have right now. That's what caused the the break in the podcast was I have to figure out how to rearrange my schedule for Alice Custom Tech and everything else. I had to figure that out because I feel something that's gonna work. So another lesson I've learned is that not every responsibility needs attention every year. So one reason people become overwhelming, overwhelmed by things is because they're trying to mentally carry every responsibility all the time. And listen, this is a hard one for us. I even up to this day I'm still figuring it out. Like I get up and I'll be like, okay, what do I have on the table today? Because I know in my mind, I have a list in my mind or when you just say, okay, so I do this, I do this, I do this, and I have to like narrow it down and say, no, no, no. Today's Wednesday, this is Wednesday's day, this is Wednesday's true Friday. This is what I gotta do Fridays, and that's how I do it. That works better. By that structure, I still feel like I could have been more, but because I'm going by the by my structure, let's schedule. So instead of so instead of creating structure, for example, Monday might be for planning and reviewing, Tuesday might be for documentation, Wednesday might be for projects. So it's an example, might give me my design myself, but it's kind of design. Um, might have Thursday might be for maintenance, Friday might be for follow-up and preparation for the next week. And that exact schedule doesn't matter. What matters is having the system, so whatever system in place that really helps out with the managing of the things that have to have to get done. Now, another topic helps in this in the line of this thing. Documentation is your second brand. You can't keep everything in your head like that's not good. Document everything right now. I'm reading right now. I'm doing a big job on my um on a network. Um I'm doing a full ubiquity setup and installing, and and I'm I'm I designed it from every single nut and book I designed. I have it on um schematics. I have a I have a map of it and I have everything designed that way because I can't keep it all in my head. So documentation is one of the most under underrated tools in IT, I think, is documentation. And it's a surprising amount of knowledge that exists only inside someone's head. So the problem is that people get sick, people get people take vacation, people have you know whatever the leave the leave the company, right? IT people get different IT company with documentation for all these equipment in your what's connected to what, right? It's gonna take like a long time for me to figure out where things are in a new onboarding FDM documentation, and it's critical information. If critical information only exists in your memory, it's not good. Document, document password procedures, document, document network diagram, like I just told you, recovery procedure, vendor contacts, equipment inventory, standard operations procedure. This is important. I'm doing I'm doing this right now with um with my job because I I I work in uh transportation and you know roll out some new software for the for the fleet. So I just sat down, I took like I took two days. I sat down and I built a website and I called it Fleet Wiki, and I just you know all the information that drivers that could drivers could need if they really want to know how things work or or how to operate a new software and stuff like that, or what the procedures are or what the company rules are, they could go on that site and look it up and see it. And it's a site that's on the on their tablet that they have in the trucks. So instead of me trying to remember this all the time and coming to me and telling me I just have it on the top, I think you go check the tablet. You see it on here, so documentation is very important, and preventative IT versus reactive IT. So I talked about I talked about a lot of people are pushing back at me because I don't do residential anymore, and it's nothing against residential people, it's just that it it's the time and effort it takes to to work in someone's home, the the financial reward, a financial payment that doesn't justify the time it takes, and also the repair nine times out of ten is not worth what I'm charging them. So what I mean is that a computer that uh breaks or the backup situation, right? It's gonna it's more than what the computer is worth, or it's more than what that thing that we want. Well sometimes sometimes sometimes they really valuable what they have on the computer. But again, it's it's just doesn't seem the cost doesn't justify what what I'm doing. And I can't, I don't feel comfortable with it. So I'm like, well, instead of doing that, let me just let's focus on the commercial or our our the small business space. And that doesn't mean I don't have client clients that I've grandfathered, like I have some clients that I that I do work for still. These are more like senior senior citizens like that have been with me for a long time and like came out grandfathered. I mean, not because they're old people, it's just that I I've been with them so long time and I'm like, okay, these people are are are grandfathered in Alex Custom Tech, but I any more new clients, no, I'm not I'm not taking on more new residential clients. And it's because residential clients, it's reac it's it's a reactive process, it's not preventative. So our residential client won't pay for maintenance, won't pay for um MSP service, right? It's not justifiable for having to be paid every month, right? They rather just wait until something's breaking and you call me and I don't know, but right? So that's that's why. So it's not beneficial for other country to invest time in that kind of thing, right? And this is probably the biggest lesson I've learned years because that took me a long time to make the decision on the time I was gonna go with small businesses now.

unknown 17:48

I'm not gonna do anymore. It took me a long, long time to decide it.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

And it's because I want to get away, I wanted I really want to get away from the reactive IT because I feel better. It's better for me to have a preventative approach where I am planning for the disaster and opposite waiting for the disaster. So good IT isn't about fixing problems, really enjoying good IT, it's about preventing them. So reactor says we'll deal with it when it happens, when it breaks, then you say let's make sure it doesn't break in the first place. And that's kind of where I sit, that's where I like to sit. So which includes again, which includes and think about I'm gonna give you a list. If you think about residential, it doesn't it doesn't make a lot of sense. So if I'm gonna stay on preventative, I'm trying to do preventative IT, and I'm gonna be monitoring drives and health of tribes, and I'm gonna manage that it's gonna feel, I'm gonna verify backups to make sure that you know that loss I'm gonna do on a regular basis, I'm gonna apply it before vulnerabilities are exploited. I'm gonna replace aging equipment before they cause problems. This doesn't make any sense in the residential environment, but it does make sense in a business, right? A business reliable upkeep and uptime. So most IT disasters don't happen because you feel unexpectedly. Most disasters happen because warning signs were ignored. Right, people didn't want to spend money on a new search, spend money on a um uh uh new router, a new firewall, they didn't want to do the two-step authentication, they didn't want to do the the updates, you know, and that's the problem. And those people I don't I don't really work with because I don't have to have an argument with my clients, right? But often the difference between a major inconvenience and a major business interruption is just this simple preventative, overreactive. So learn to prioritize is uh another thing I think about my kids and my wife. I call it triaging. I even do it a lot with my finances to my triage to pay what's important, and I have different levels it was important first, second important, and third. Right? So one person I think department like myself face simpler simpleity all the time. Can I do everything? Can I fix everything and all at once? Can I prioritize what's the most important thing? So what I do is I'll cover custom will will there always be more projects than time? There will always be more requests than resources. What happened? Wow, that's why prioritizing matters, right? Because it asks itself what has the biggest business impact? First of all, what create the most risk? Second, what needs attention now? Third, what can we divide? See how I pass it. Let's all approach the problem. But every problem is an emergency, something else inconvenience, right? Honestly, and people don't like when you tell them that the thing that they worry about is not that important. There's this new thing about this therapy speak now. People have about this therapy speak because of YouTube and podcasts and everybody feel that I'm a therapist, and they'll say you're dismissing my feelings, and that's not what it is. I'm not really dismissing your feelings. I'm weighing. I'm saying in the grand scheme of things, I'm not saying that I'm not gonna address that problem. Not yet, and some people take offense to that. Well, that's rough, but based on my experience, you have to do what you have to do. So that's how I approach it. I triage. Very important part of my approach. Triage. Tell you this. The most important thing is gonna get addressed. And my most of my energy is gonna be another thing that I do too. I do one thing at a time. I don't I don't juggle. I'm focus on X and focus on X. When X is done, then I go to B. I don't believe in multitasking. I don't think people can people can be the multitask. People say they can, but they really can't. And it's scientific proven that you can't. You just put in less energy and less focus on the thing you're working on. Your focus is divided and that's not good. Now another thing I want to another thing I want to point out that I do helps with the one-man IT department. Is that I build system not heroics. I'm not against being a hero, but I rather build a system. A lot of IT personnel take pride in being a hero. They are the person who saved the deal, they're the person who everybody calls, they're the person who knows everything, but heroics don't scale. It cannot scale being a hero. So systems are better in my opinion. The system, I rather build a system that prevents the emergency and become the famous person that fixes it. And and here's the thing, here's here's kind of how my you can tell I'm a podcast is it's pretty dry and boring. But the information is rich and important. Again, it's a bunch of other IT people there. It's fun to listen to. But that's not how me, Alex, come from Jamaica, come America, and start the more business, operate. Operate upon a more meritocracy type of thing where we believe that um merit trumps everything, no pun intended, and they believe that the system must create a situation where it's a preventative approach to IT and approach reactive. So you know so when you hire me or if people working with me, me now I'm getting a price because my thing does work. So there's no need to come and say Alex Ray Ray nothing because it doesn't work, you're not gonna notice me because my thing doesn't break for the most part, right? No, unless you're calling me in because something did break by somebody else and I have to fix it, that's a whole phenomenon. But once I set it up, I'm all over it and I'm monitoring it, right? Not that nothing ever breaks, but even if it breaks, it's not break, it's not gonna be down for a long time. That's what I provide at its custom tech, that's what we provide here. That's why I'm bored people I can stand up. Because I'm not gonna do IT your way, I'm gonna do IT my way. Because I need to sleep. So long and short of it is that it's a lot of well I do a one-man IT shop it shop. I can I can have to like their time and I'm up to like 20 comments. And I do with automation myself of course, everything is scheduled, everything is fine for the most part. And the reason why I maintain a sanity is because I know when I'm when I'm overwhelmed and I need to take a step back from say the podcast for a little bit to reorganize my schedule so that I can achieve the things that and I can triage and do the things that I can do, and that's what happened the last couple of weeks, right? Last couple of weeks I have to do some near minute of time, and like right now, I'm recording the podcast in my house, not in the studio. I mean, I'm in my house, I had to go pick up a blue yeti, which is kind of vexing because I know I had I had one before and somebody took it out of my house, and I don't know who, and I'm kind of upset about that. But I I have a blue yeti now in my Fortress of Solitude, my house, which I promised myself I wasn't gonna ever record anything in here, but here I am using my gaming PC to record this podcast and to make sure it's up on Wednesday because I really believe in this. I'm gonna continue the podcast. I'm not gonna be sitting with this. Actually, I actually have three podcasts in the pipe right now, it's gonna be so in closing, in closing, in closing, closing. Rise, oh no, I'm not gonna call it the rise of the one man T department. One man I think department isn't really about technology, it's about systems, it's about organization, it's about automation, and it's about understanding that you don't have to solve every problem today. That doesn't mean I'm gonna solve every problem, and I'm not gonna solve it today. I'm gonna prioritize, I'm gonna triage, I'm gonna ask myself some questions before we forward. The goal isn't to work harder, the goal is to create a system that makes the work manageable. It is doable. You only need 20 pieces on the IT plan, in my opinion. I'm a loner, so maybe that's just a buy us on my end, but I never see the sense of it. I can unless you have like a big company like uh like a Walmart or a Costco or something like that, then you might need a whole staff, and then you need those levels to that. I'm gonna say listen, I actually like that. If I ever get to the point where we do grow from just me, I would probably implement that one like so I poop in a idea. But the goal is to create a system that makes it manageable. So whether you're supporting your family or a small business or an entire network, success comes from doing the right thing at the right time and preventing tomorrow's problems before that happens. That's what my belief is. I'm saying this because I got you know opinion needed podcasts and personalists generalizing. Oh, this is this is my take on IT. Thanks for listening. Like I always say, thanks for listening to iContact, where we talk about things technology. If if if this episode help you, right, like it, subscribe to the to the to the to the YouTube channel, you know, subscribe to the podcast so you can get a new podcast when it comes on Wednesday. Um, if you've got small business and you need help, by all means email me at info at leastcustomtech.com. Right, we'll get back to you. Some things I'm working on that I'm adding to. Check out the podcast, check out the website, it has a lot of things on there, but um a lot of blogs that I write. I'm gonna be putting up the um recommended page back. Took it down because I'm I rebuild a new site, so I'm gonna put back up recommended page in sometime in July. Right? So stay tuned. Like I said, it's gone for a couple of weeks, but I'm back now. Everything is stabilized for the most part, so like I always say, stay productive, and again, like I said, this podcast is not about anything in particular about any systems or hardware. This is about how IT techs have to navigate the IT space, especially if they're by themselves, how they problem solves, how they manage because it in itself and what you're working on is a massive thing, and the problem solve, and then navigate that partnership between the client and all this other stuff is very, very difficult. And the only way I'm able to do it is with these rules and these these principles and how I navigate like this. And also, again, if you listen to this and and be you're comfortable running with me by all means, and I understand that some people might not like my approach. I get that, I understand. Um everybody's not gonna like how I do things. I get that, but this is how I do it. This is how I do it, and um, it works for me because again, at the end of the day, like I don't have to carry home the stress of IT because IT can be sure because for me it's fun, and the reason why it's fun is because I do it this way, and because I can slowly pierce myself and manage the problem in a triage kind of way and leave it what's important first and then try to work my way down the list. And if people if the if the client and me work really well together where they trust my expertise and they take into consideration the merit that I bring, they we have a good relationship, but when I get in the back comfort, then I have to let you go because then you're afraid of the problem. So, that being said, like I always say, stay productive.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

Hey there, Jersey and Eastern PA businesses, ready to take your IT game to the next level? Get excited because Alex Custom Tech is coming your way. We're your go-to for IT support, bringing integrity and trust to every service. From network upgrades to virtualization and even relocating your IT setup, we've got you covered. Stay tuned as we put the finishing touches on our new site. Alex Custom Tech, helping your business provide with top-notch IT support right in your backyard.

SPEAKER_00 33:05

Welcome to Alex Custom Tech, your trusted partner for computer service and repair since 2010. We provide professional consulting services to clients throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, offering everything from computer repair to network design and installation. Our focus is on building efficient, results-driven professional relationships with our clients. We work with you to create customized solutions that fit your specific needs, whether you're an individual or an organization. Our comprehensive IT consulting services are designed to make your technology work more effectively for you. We provide solutions that meet your business's performance and utilization demands. Because we understand that when your technology doesn't work, neither do you. We specialize in network design and implementation, taking the pain out of network creation, maintenance, and repair. Our team understands that even minimal downtime can impact your productivity and revenue. That's why we offer 20 or 7 proactive monitoring and maintenance to strategically optimize and protect your infrastructure. For residential and business clients, we provide affordable and reliable computer repair services, available both on the night and our location. Our commitment to quality is reflected in our satisfied customers' experiences. We service New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Alex Custom Tech is ready to serve your mighty needs. Contact us today at 815-668-6315 or email info at alexcustomtech.com to discover how Alex Custom Tech can help optimize your technology solutions.