Overwhelmed with Information?

Everyone from customers to team members want to talk to you. Everyone from vendors to organizational hierarchy want to send things to you . Family and friends text you. You can access your email from home, your phone, and even your TV. We carry our phones everywhere and I am sure that most of us have seen them used in some most unusual places. So what is a leader to do when hit with the avalanche of information?

Divert daily, withdraw weekly and abandon annually.  It sounds cliche', but there is a lot of wisdom in this statement.

•  Divert daily is the needed action to keep us fresh.  Divert means to "change the course" - we need to change our course daily by taking the off ramp for a few minutes to reconnect with what brings joy.  For many its a faith connection and practice to stay grounded.  For others it may be a workout to stay energized and healthy.  Whatever the activity, it should leave you feeling better and be aligned with your core values.
• Withdraw weekly is intentionally taking a step back behind the busyness, setting aside all distractions, and recharging.  The Ten Commandments called us to do this by doing our work in six days and resting on the seventh.  Make a commitment to leave the work world behind and not use it as a catch up day.  Forget the email, the to do lists, and the next week urgencies.  In addition, some withdraw weekly with a block of time when no disractions are allowed to focus on self leadership activities - planning and reflecting.
• Abandon annually is the call to unplug from all the things that tether us to information overload.  Cut the cord, take a vacation, and let your work have a vacation from you. Spend time doing activities that you enjoy without thinking about work.

Leadership takes energy.  When our energy is low we are much more susceptible to start down a path that will lead us away from our values and things that matter.  Divert daily, withdraw weekly and abandon annually is a great way to stay energized and put you in position to lead from strength.