---
title: "Learning From Obama: How the President Gets Things Done"
id: "13393"
type: "post"
slug: "learning-from-obama-how-the-president-gets-things-done"
published_at: "2012-09-21T19:00:49+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-11-09T19:20:29+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2012/09/21/learning-from-obama-how-the-president-gets-things-done/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2012/09/21/learning-from-obama-how-the-president-gets-things-done.md"
excerpt: "Even with dozens of aides, President Obama has to have some killer management skills to keep everything in line."
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  - "Executive Leadership"
---

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 » Learning From Obama: How the President Gets Things Done

No matter your politics, you have to agree President Barack Obama fits a lot into his day.

> I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.

Between speeches, policy debates, and executive decisions, the president has to do a lot of legwork to keep everything together. In fact, his daily schedule starts the night before, so he’s ready to go first thing in the morning.

[The idea-oriented blog 99U (opens in a new tab)](http://99u.com/tips/7223/How-Barack-Obama-Gets-Things-Done)
 recently compiled a list of organizational techniques the president uses to keep things manageable. Some highlights:

- **Limit decision-making to the big stuff:** In a Vanity Fair piece, [Obama told journalist Michael Lewis (opens in a new tab)](http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/10/michael-lewis-profile-barack-obama) , “I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” Obama also has his staff filter his decisions through memos with three checkboxes — agree, disagree, or “let’s discuss.”
- **Ignore the noise:** Rather than listen to what’s being said about him on CNN or Fox News, the president prefers to tune in to ESPN when traveling — a spot where people are unlikely to be talking about him or his policies.
- **Get in some exercise:** The president, in an effort to be more productive throughout the day, gets in 45 minutes of exercise per day.
- **Fit in some Obama time:** Don’t mess with dinner. The evening ritual remains a constant in the president’s life, no matter what else is going on. “Sometimes Michelle and I not doing the circuit and going out to dinners with folks is perceived as us being cool,” [he told CNN’s Jessica Yellin (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/02/politics/obama-fatherhood/index.html) recently. “It actually really has more to do with us being parents.”

With all the big stuff out there, how do you fit in the small stuff? And what can you — or your association — learn from the president’s process? Shoot us a comment below.

The president compartmentalizes his day to make room for both his job and the things he loves. (Pete Souza/White House/Flickr)

[Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/)

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/)

Tags: [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/)
 [#organization growth](https://associationsnow.com/tag/organization-growth/)
 [#productivity](https://associationsnow.com/tag/productivity/)

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