My first suggestion would be "face time". Understandably you've a busy schedule but you would be amazed at how much small talk makes. Be a face, not just an unidentifiable person behind emails or a phone. Typically IT professionals are considered to be somewhat aloof and self-absorbed, don't let this stereotype proceed you. The more comfortable and familiar your users are with you the more they will see you as a person.
Delegate! I can't stress this enough. There are many silly things that can be taken care of that do not actually require your expertise. While you may be the company "computer guy" there are other people who can take care the minute task of user creation etc. If you did your job correctly to begin with this should be very easy to accomplish. Granted, there might be some intricate details to attend to but overall you should be able to entrust someone to accomplish this. Someone is managing these user's at a lower level, let them be responsible for the small fixes. You'll be amazed at not only how much free time this should create, but those responsible will begin to see a side of your job and possibly gain some respect and patience in the process.
Don't let IT become the "do all". Rememeber, your position in the company is to facilitate work, keep and maintain healthy network environs, and ASSIST users with technical problems. Far too often a non IT related project is pushed off into the "computer world" because users haven't any idea what to do or where to start. "I can help you with that" > "I can do that".
Be informative. Everyone of us has run into problems that are beyond our control. Do your best to inform them before the calls come in. You should always be the first person to know if something has taken place on YOUR network! An email to those affected would do wonders, and prevent you from cleaning out your inbox or fielding a dozen calls.
And finally, people are people. You're always going to like some more than others, but this doesn't provide you an excuse to treat one any different than the other. Perceived preferential treatment will put you in hot water fast.
Have fun with it, it's your means to an end. Work to live, don't live to work. Do your very best to walk out at the end of the day and leave work at work. If you're at home and thinking about work you really aren't getting a break from it at all.
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My first suggestion would be "face time". Understandably you've a busy schedule but you would be amazed at how much small talk makes. Be a face, not just an unidentifiable person behind emails or a phone. Typically IT professionals are considered to be somewhat aloof and self-absorbed, don't let this stereotype proceed you. The more comfortable and familiar your users are with you the more they will see you as a person.
Delegate! I can't stress this enough. There are many silly things that can be taken care of that do not actually require your expertise. While you may be the company "computer guy" there are other people who can take care the minute task of user creation etc. If you did your job correctly to begin with this should be very easy to accomplish. Granted, there might be some intricate details to attend to but overall you should be able to entrust someone to accomplish this. Someone is managing these user's at a lower level, let them be responsible for the small fixes. You'll be amazed at not only how much free time this should create, but those responsible will begin to see a side of your job and possibly gain some respect and patience in the process.
Don't let IT become the "do all". Rememeber, your position in the company is to facilitate work, keep and maintain healthy network environs, and ASSIST users with technical problems. Far too often a non IT related project is pushed off into the "computer world" because users haven't any idea what to do or where to start. "I can help you with that" > "I can do that".
Be informative. Everyone of us has run into problems that are beyond our control. Do your best to inform them before the calls come in. You should always be the first person to know if something has taken place on YOUR network! An email to those affected would do wonders, and prevent you from cleaning out your inbox or fielding a dozen calls.
And finally, people are people. You're always going to like some more than others, but this doesn't provide you an excuse to treat one any different than the other. Perceived preferential treatment will put you in hot water fast.
Have fun with it, it's your means to an end. Work to live, don't live to work. Do your very best to walk out at the end of the day and leave work at work. If you're at home and thinking about work you really aren't getting a break from it at all.