In leadership courses I have taught, one of the most common questions learners have asked is how to get and stay organized. With the many tasks leaders perform, meetings they attend, and work they must generate, organizing time and resources for greatest impact is one of a leader’s greatest challenges.

Information overload in the form of email; available online tools; articles and books on relevant topics; and social media compound this challenge. Avoiding all the enticing jewels of information and getting lost in tasks that do little to further one’s mission can be overwhelming.

We like to feel connected, we like to be informed, and we like to explore novel ideas. All these can get in the way of productive leadership. I cannot say I have slain this dragon, but I am working with some strategies that help to cool its fiery breath.

The first and most important step for any leader in choosing how to spend time and energy is to be clear on the mission for oneself and one’s organization. What is the direction? What activities will lead to that end? What strategies must be in place to ensure those activities? Mission should guide nearly every action.

The next step is to look at priorities. What actions will have the greatest impact if completed today? What actions can wait? The third step is to have a strategy for dealing with all the thousands of pieces of information and activities that compete for our time.

One of my colleagues, Doris Reeves-Lipscomb, introduced me to a very helpful model that simplifies the process for dealing with information overload and task overwhelm. The model, presented in the January 2011 issue of McKinsey Quarterly suggests that CEOs focus, filter, and forget as they attempt to cope with daily doses of overload.

• Focus requires a clear understanding of priorities. Effective leaders recognize that multitasking is an inefficient way to spend their days. After reviewing the mission, effective leaders make time and space available to concentrate on one task at a time. An important consideration is where they will work so they can avoid distractions. Effective leaders set aside specific and limited timeframes to check emails, meet with colleagues and employees, catch up on reading, do research and work on prioritized tasks. They make declarations to others about when and how they will respond to questions and concerns.

• Filtering reduces the amount of information leaders must process. It requires a leader to say_no_ to information and activity that is not essential. The time-honored skill of effective delegation helps leaders spend time on the most critical tasks. Finding and using tools such as RSS feeds, email folders, calendar reminders and apps such as Symbaloo (to create an online dashboard of frequently used sites) or Last Pass (a security password generation and access system) helps leaders manage information and time they spend online. Critically choosing books and articles that are necessary for accomplishing the mission gives more time to complete it. Finding ways to reduce meetings and meeting times is another essential filtering strategy. 

• Forgetting is a component of this model that busy and overworked leaders often ignore. Leaders must take time to reflect and assess their work. Just as important as reflection is down time—time that allows the brain to regenerate, learn and allow their creative energy to return.

This model and these strategies can only work in the presence of self-discipline. The benefits are many. It can reduce stress, increase productivity and provide clarity in a world that can be too noisy and demanding. The model can be very effective in slaying the dragon that keeps many of us locked in our cramped and overcrowded caves.