Are You Managing Yourself? Part I: What is Self Management?

In my roles as trainer/facilitator and coach, I often witness (and help untangle)  similar workplace issues. One of  the most common tends to carry the over simplified label  "Time Management". Deadlines are tight,  there  are too many fires  to put out, too many meetings  and not enough hours in the day. Employees become overwhelmed. This leads to mistakes which in turn leads to fires which as many of us know, have a tendency to consume large parts of the day. Exhaustion and stress seep in.  By the end of the day we wonder where the time  went and why we weren't more productive.  Instead of us controlling the objectives and the outcome of the day, the day bulldozes over any good intentions and leaves morale and motivation in the rubble. 

This is where the idea of Self Management comes in.  According to Wikipedia, 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, time management, task tracking, self-evaluation, self-intervention, self-development, etc."

I appreciate this definition  because it  clearly states that individuals direct their own activities in the pursuit of achieving objectives.  In other words, it's  our own responsibility to set and accomplish our own objectives. There are various strategies to get this ball rolling, but before strategy shopping, consider this : Are you controlling your day or is your day controlling you?  Is your non-stop can't get a breath day filled with unproductive meetings?  Is the timeline you set for the latest project realistic? Do you allow time for "fires" or "catch up" time in your schedule? Are you spending some time each day doing those daily tasks that lead up to long term goal attainment or have your resigned yourself to become engulfed in the flames of the newest crisis?

Over the course of the next several weeks I will be talking about several key issues related to self management including self awareness, effectively handling yourself (and  your time) and goal setting.

Any words of wisdom? I'd love to hear from you!  I  look forward to exploring this topic with you.