The most effective CIOs make sure to schedule in time to take care of their minds and bodies for optimal performance. But IT leaders can supplement that self-care with a number of practical tactics to accomplish truly important tasks during the workday.
There's always an opportunity to allocate much of what's sitting on the CIO's desk to others in the IT organization. The more an IT leader deputizes his or her workforce to deal with these demands, the more time he or she has to deal with the issues that require C-level attention.
One of the best ways that many companies and IT leaders follow is to outsource some of the processes. For example, design, development, and services. Finding the right company to outsource is not a challenge these days.
After that, the IT leader should serve only as a consultant – not micro-manager. And check on success metrics and addressing shortfalls at the end.
CIOs can experiment with different tools for determining what's critical. Mead has found useful prioritization mechanisms in Simon Sinek's "Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team" and the six "horizons of focus" in David Allen's Getting Things Done work-life management system. "Simon's books are about finding your purpose, and David's work is about organizing and having clarity around your goals," says Mead.
"David is an advocate of breaking down goals based on envisioning the outcome you want. Then breaking that vision into small individual, action-oriented steps." Mead uses a concise definition of what he needs to accomplish to be successful. A list of three to five easily memorized goals for instance. He then shares and validates them with his boss and direct reports.
Most of us check our email every few minutes. When it comes to taming an unwieldy inbox, Pozen recommends IT leaders adopt the "OHIO" principle – only handle it once. Most of us check our email every few minutes. "That's a mistake", says Pozen. Checking your inbox once every hour or to and doing so with some rules in mind is best Pozen says.
"Skip over 60 to 80 percent of your emails based on subject or sender," Pozen says. "For important emails, answer right away." The vast majority of digital correspondence, Pozen argues, does not require a reply.
"When it comes to productivity, for me it starts with being smart about how you structure your week – taking the time each week to just think about your priorities and the strategic objectives you want to achieve," says Jeff Reis, Vice President of Information Technology at Softchoice.
Smart technology leaders figure out what part of the day is most productive for them. It helps them tackle their more difficult work during that period. And schedule their less demanding tasks for those hours when they know their attention or energy will be lower.
Those who work best later in the day can flip this arrangement on its head.