9 Chapter 9 – Self Management
Self Management
Self-management has become increasingly important in today’s workplace as work environments and expectations continue to evolve. In flat organizations, where there’s less oversight and direction, you need to be skilled at motivating yourself, setting priorities, managing your time, and ensuring your work aligns with the organizational goals. The rise of remote and hybrid work models also demands greater autonomy and personal responsibility. With fewer direct interactions, it’s up to you 
to stay on track and ensure your work meets expectations. Additionally, in a world full of distractions and options, self-management helps you maintain focus, handle stress, and stay adaptable in the face of uncertainty and change.
Self-awareness is the foundation of self-management. There are two types:
- Internal self-awareness is about knowing things like your values, interests, emotions, strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, and beliefs.
- External self-awareness is about understanding how others see you.
People who are aware of others’ perceptions tend to be more empathetic and better at seeing things from different perspectives. It’s associated with higher job and relationship satisfaction, greater personal control, and happiness, while being negatively related to anxiety, stress, and depression. Achieving self-awareness involves balancing both internal and external viewpoints by reflecting on your experiences and seeking feedback to understand how others perceive you.
WSIPP Framework
Self-management builds from self-awareness and means things like managing emotions, staying organized, and prioritizing tasks while also being flexible and responsive to changing situations. Self-management is foundational in that it influences how all other soft skills are implemented. This skill set directly contributes to your sense of agency—your ability to make decisions and take control of your life. GitLab, one of the world’s largest all-remote companies, describes this as being a “manager of one.”
Here we outline five factors in self-management drawn from research on independent working and self-directed learning.
- Willingness to assume control: Do I want to do it?
Everything begins with the psychological willingness to take over some control. This means that you have to become your own “boss” and take full ownership of the responsibilities that come your way, often without a lot of guidance on how to get your work done. To assume control, you have to step back and see the big picture rather than just checking off a to-do list and assuming someone else will figure out how everything fits together or fix a problem if something goes wrong. “Do I want to do it” means taking on the responsibility and being willing to be accountable for the outcome.
- Self-efficacy: Am I capable?
This is the belief that you can do it; that you have the capacity and the skills to figure out a way to meet your objectives (Bandura, 1997). This doesn’t mean that you have all the answers. Rather, it means that you believe you can manage yourself through it.
- Initiative: What do I do to get started?
Taking initiative means that you proactively make decisions under conditions of uncertainty. This involves asking questions like: What are the norms and values that should guide this? What is needed or useful at this time? What specifically do I need to know to do this? Where can I find the answers I need? You may not know exactly how to do what is asked of you, but you are willing to take the risk to figure out what is needed.
- Persistence: How do I keep going until it’s done?
This is about follow-through. Once you decide what needs to be done and the steps required to get there, persistence is the ‘doing it’ even when you might not want to. When it comes to remote work, “doing it” includes working when no one is there to reassure you or when your video games might be calling. Persistence is the energy to maintain forward motion regardless of what external circumstances or barriers may present themselves through to successful implementation.
- Performance monitoring: What did I learn for next time?
This is about the ability to step outside of yourself and monitor your learning and performance (this is called metacognition).
Self-awareness provides the insight needed for meaningful movement—or agency—allowing individuals to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and values that guide their actions. Self-management builds on this and includes regulating behavior, staying focused on goals, navigating challenges effectively, and adjusting and learning for the future.
A meta-analysis (Eurich; 2018) of ten studies on self-awareness revealed that it is a relatively uncommon skill. Interestingly, the author believes that this is because people are reflecting wrong. Simply reflecting on one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors does not always enhance self-awareness. The prevalent method of asking “Why?” during introspection is ineffective. This is because people often just don’t have access to their deeper thoughts and motives, leading them to generate answers that feel correct but are frequently inaccurate. Additionally, asking why can also lead to rumination and negative emotions. They suggest asking what and how questions instead. Here are some examples.
- A – Unproductive: “Why do I always feel overwhelmed by my tasks?” This reinforces a sense of helplessness rather than focusing on practical solutions.
- A – Productive: “What strategies have I used in the past to manage my stress effectively, and which ones worked best?” This focus on past successes allows you to replicate effective strategies and manage stress more effectively.
- B – Unproductive: “Why can’t I seem to manage my time effectively?” This leads to frustration and self-blame without offering a clear path for improvement.
- B – Productive: “What are the key areas where I struggle with time management, and how can I reorganize my schedule to address these issues?” This question targets specific areas of struggle and seeks actionable solutions.
- C – Unproductive: “Why do I keep getting distracted from my work?” This reinforces a sense of frustration rather than providing solutions.
- C – Productive: “What changes can I make to my work environment or routines to improve my focus and persistence despite distractions?” This question encourages you to proactively address sources.
- D – Unproductive: “Why can’t I stick to my goals?” This induces frustration and self-blame, potentially undermining motivation.
- D – Productive: “What obstacles are preventing me from achieving my goals, and what steps can I take to overcome them?” This question helps identify barriers and formulate actionable plans to address them.
“What?” and “How?” questions.
These questions focus on actions, patterns, and concrete steps forward, making reflection a tool for growth rather than a source of frustration. Ending each reflection with “So what?” clarifies next steps, guiding us from insight to action. For instance, after identifying past successes or current obstacles, ask yourself, “So what can I do differently now?” This final step encourages a forward-thinking mindset, using reflection as a practical way to continuously improve and adapt.
Time
One of the most critical resources needed for effective self-management is time. Time management is about being able to set priorities, address tasks in order of importance, and adhere to those plans in the face of distractions and external pressures. When you manage your time effectively, you’re exercising control over your actions and choices. Many people struggle with time management, yet multiple studies have shown that good time management enhances work performance, wellbeing, and life satisfaction (Aeon, Faber & Panaccio, 2021; Ali, 2021).
Three key components of time management
According to researchers Aeon, Faber, & Panaccio (2021) good time management can be thought of as having three main components:
- Protecting: Protecting your time has two key aspects. 1. Knowing where your time usually goes and 2. knowing what really matters to you. Thinking about the different roles you hold can help you prioritize and give the right amount of attention to each one.
- For example, outlining time for your family or making sure you have time for self-care ensures that these important parts of your life aren’t overlooked. By scheduling specific time blocks for different activities, you can give each role the focus it deserves without getting distracted. Also, learning to say no to extra tasks is key to keeping these boundaries intact.
- Structuring: Structuring is establishing systems that organize your time in ways that are meaningful to you, and that align with your roles and values. It starts with identifying the most important tasks that need immediate attention and prioritizing from there.
- This process can be facilitated by using tools like calendars, planners, or digital apps to schedule specific times for various activities. Consistent habits such as a morning routine, can help streamline tasks and lower your cognitive load. Additionally, breaking down larger projects into smaller, manageable steps helps with accurate estimations of time. Test out different systems and see what works for you.
- Adapting: This is 1. identifying lost time and 2. using time purposefully that emerges unexpectedly like when you are waiting in a line for example. At the end of each day, reflecting on how your time was spent allows you to pinpoint periods where you could have been more intentional or where you were distracted. Based on these reflections, you can adjust your schedule or habits to better align your desires with your reality.
- For instance, if you find yourself spending a lot of time on social media, you might implement limits. Additionally, you can have plans for unexpected free time, such as reading a book while waiting in line or brainstorming ideas during a commute. Being open to changing your plans when necessary and making the best use of available time enhances your efficiency but more importantly, it helps you stay aligned with your priorities and values.
Self-management, self-awareness, and time management can be seen as both foundational and recursive in nature. As these skills improve, they enhance other soft skills, which further reinforce them in turn.
References
Aeon, B., Faber, A., & Panaccio, A. (2021). Does sel-management work? A meta-analysis. PLoS One, 16(1).
Ali, B., Anwar, G., Gardi, B., Othman, B. J., Aziz, H…Sabir, B. Y. (2021). Business communication strategies: Analysis of internal communication processes. Journal of Humanities and Education Development, 3(3), 16-38.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Henry Holt & Co.
Eurich, T. (2018, January 4). What self-awareness really is (and how to cultivate it). Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awareness-really-is-and-how-to-cultivate-it
Supplementary material
Carnegie Mellon University [username]. (2008, February 6). Randy Pausch lecture: Time management
. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTugjssqOT0
Dr. Liane Davey [username]. (2024, August 9). The ultimate guide to time management
. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJOH-vhn3NE
Indeed Editorial Team. (2024, August 17). Personal management skills (with definitions and examples). Indeed. https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/personal-management-skills