That's why time management is so critically important in finance -- trying to balance the many demands and still be effective as a leader, while stuck in a chain of meetings, obligations, and unfocused activity.

Actually, trying to get it all done is a misguided and impossible exercise, according to Peter Bregman, whose New York-based consultancy Bregman Partners advises C-level executives on leadership issues. (He also .)

In an interview with CFOworld, he offers some advice on determining the right work to get done, based on , 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done (Business Plus, September 2011).

Because I was finding my days frustrating; I wasn't getting done the things I considered to be most important. And in fact, when I thought about it, I realized I didn't really know what the most important things were. I just had a bunch of things I needed to get done, and I was just going down my list, and I found at the end of the day, I hadn't made as much advance in my work as I would have liked to have done. The idea of relying on willpower to get things done is a mistake, because our willpower weakens as the day goes on. I needed a system, some way to make it more likely that I'll get the right things done than less likely.