Self-management Self-management The man who can not manage themselves,

Is not able to lead others.

W. Penn

... Only one who has learned to control himself, can

easily learn to manage the state.

Confucius

1) Self-management means different things in different fields.In business, education, and psychology, self-management refers to methods, skills, and strategies by which individuals can effectively direct their own activities toward the achievement of objectives, and includes goal setting, decision making, focusing, planning, scheduling, task tracking, self-evaluation, self-intervention, self-development, etc. Self-management also known as executive processes (in the context of the processes of execution).

Self-management may also refer to:

Workers' self-management - a form of workplace decision-making in which the employees themselves agree on choices (for issues like customer care, general production methods, scheduling, division of labor etc.) instead of the traditional supervisor telling workers what to do, how to do it and where to do it.

Self-managed Companies

Some business leaders have begun to structure their companies as either partially or fully self-managed. A fully self-managed company is one that imposes no formal hierarchical structure upon employees (in some cases, having no hierarchy whatsoever). Some companies (e.g. Google, famous for their 20 Percent Time), allow their employees to have free rein for a portion of their time, pursuing projects that they find interesting or promising without requiring consent or authorization from management.

2) Self-management means taking as much control as you can of your health care and health behaviors. Like people who run a business or take care of a family, self-managers need to be organized. They need a set of useful skill sand habits, and they need support.There are four basic strategies to self-management (Goal setting, Action Planning, Tracking Change, Problem-Solving). They can be applied to any thing you want to accomplish – from healthier eating to finding a better job.

1. Goal Setting. Most people do better with self-management if they have

positive goals to motivate them, ways they want their lives and health to improve.

Change is hard, and we need reasons to do it. Goals can be about physical fitness, like walking a certain distance, or they could be about your life, like going back to school or being able to play with your dog.

They can be anything you want.

2. Action Planning. Breaking large goals into achievable chunks that we feel confident about is a great strategy for success.

Action planning identifies small, specific steps to ward larger goals, and strategies to succeed at those steps. The key is to make the plans specific - what, when, where, with whom, how often.

3. Tracking Changes. If you’re trying to make a change in your life, how will you know when you have done it? We tend to forget what we have done or how we have changed over time. How do we remember the way things used to be? It helps to keep a record of your activities. These records (or logs) will help you see what’s working and what’s getting in your way.

4. Problem-Solving. Life has a way of interfering with self-management. Usually people encounter some barriers they didn't expect when they made their plans.

3) Why is self-management important? (eg. By student)Self-management techniques are vital to be a successful student. It is quite common that students drop-out of university not because they find the course too difficult to cope with, but because they become overwhelmed by the workload and are unable to manage study commitments with work and family life. You can avoid this dilemma by being organized and maintaining a healthy balance in all areas of your life. This will help you minimize stress and stay motivated in your studies.

Self-management techniquesSome of the practical techniques you can adopt are to: • learn to cope with stress (see a counselor for assistance if needed);• develop your self esteem and personal confidence;• develop effective strategies to cope with conflicts;• develop a positive attitude to study;• be patient – learning and academic skills develop gradually;• reappraise your situation regularly and make the adjustments required to succeed;• learn from feedback to prevent repeating your mistakes;• maintain a healthy lifestyle;• reward yourself with time off from study (in moderation!; and• learn to manage your time better.

4) 12 Rules for Self-LeadershipManagement is not just for managers, just as leadership is not just for leaders. We all manage, and we all lead; these are not actions reserved for only those people who happen to hold these “positions” in a company. Consider another way, we can all learn to be more self-governing through the disciplines of great management and great leadership; these are concepts that can give us wonderful tenets to live and work by. Some author says:For instance, these are what I’ve come to think of as Twelve Rules for Self-Management. Show me a business where everyone lives and works by self-managing, and I’ll bet it’s a business destined for greatness.

1. Live by your values, whatever they are. You confuse people when you don’t, because they can’t predict how you’ll behave.2. Speak up! No one can “hear” what you’re thinking without you be willing to stand up for it. Mind-reading is something most people can’t do.3. Honor your own good word, and keep the promises you make. If not, people eventually stop believing most of what you say, and your words will no longer work for you.4. When you ask for more responsibility, expect to be held fully accountable. This is what seizing ownership of something is all about; it’s usually an all or nothing kind of thing, and so you’ve got to treat it that way.

5. Don’t expect people to trust you if you aren’t willing to be trustworthy for them first and foremost. Trust is an outcome of fulfilled expectations.6. Be more productive by creating good habits and rejecting bad ones. Good habits corral your energies into a momentum-building rhythm for you; bad habits sap your energies and drain you. 7. Have a good work ethic, for it seems to be getting rare today. Curious, for those “old-fashioned” values like dependability, timeliness, professionalism and diligence are prized more than ever before. Be action-oriented. Seek to make things work. Be willing to do what it takes.

8. Be interesting. Read voraciously, and listen to learn, then teach and share everything you know. No one owes you their attention; you have to earn it and keep attracting it.9. Be nice. Be courteous, polite and respectful. Be considerate. Manners still count for an awful lot in life, and thank goodness they do.10. Be self-disciplined. That’s what adults are supposed to “grow up” to be.11. Don’t be a victim or a martyr. You always have a choice, so don’t shy from it: Choose and choose without regret. Look forward and be enthusiastic.12. Keep healthy and take care of yourself. Exercise your mind, body and spirit so you can be someone people count on, and so you can live expansively and with abundance.

Managers will tell you that they don’t really need to manage people who live by these rules; instead, they can devote their attentions to managing the businesses in which they all thrive. Chances are it will also be a place where great leaders are found.