Manage You!

M. J. Pontus

© Copyright 2022 M. J. Pontus, Malu Me Limited

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ISBN: 978-1-7397389-4-5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Part A – It Starts with You - Self-Management Skills

Chapter 1: Organisation

Chapter 2: Goal Setting

Chapter 3: Time Management

Chapter 4: Self-Motivation

Chapter 5: Stress Management

Chapter 6: Decision Making

Chapter 7: Accountability

Chapter 8: Confidence

Chapter 9: Problem-Solving

Chapter 10: Meaningful Productivity

Chapter 11: Adaptability

Chapter 12: Conscientiousness

Chapter 13: Develop Self-Management Skills

Part B – All About Time Management

Chapter 14: Time Management Challenges

Chapter 15: Steps for Better Time Management

Part C – Life-Work Balance

Chapter 16: Redefine Work-Life Balance

Chapter 17: Managing Your Free Time

Chapter 18: Deal With Changes

Chapter 19: Learning to Say No!

Chapter 20: Focus on Self-Care

Chapter 21: Meaningful Relationships

Chapter 22: Preventing Burnout

Conclusion

References

INTRODUCTION

Three decades ago, it was a common belief that everything you are and everything you can or cannot do was determined by a piece of paper called a diploma. What are your exam scores? How well did you perform in college? Did you even go to college? How about university? And even though everyone knew that education alone was not the only metric for how successful a person will be, a lot of weight rode on it.

Skills, on the other hand, were deemed an on-the-job learning opportunity. Sure, they were important, and if you had them, you stood out. But they always took a back seat.

Over the years, however, people have understood just how important these skills have become. How well you manage your time and set SMART goals, what it takes to be a productive member of society. How you manage yourself and the world around you and whether you're dynamic enough to embrace change have all become stipends of a successful individual's growth.

In short, skills are essential. And if you're in a management position, these skills are a must!

In this book, you will be introduced to some of the most basic, life-altering skills you will need to change how you view and interact with the world. You will learn all about managing your personal life, whether it's stress, problem-solving or just finding the motivation to keep going. You'll learn how to organise yourself and the world around you to reap the benefits of being a whole person who can differentiate between what's important and what's not without anxiety. You'll learn how to set SMART goals and the skills needed to follow through. You'll master time management and the different theories and practicalities that come with taking control of every minute of your day.

You'll come out a different person and be the better for it.

So let's dive in, shall we?

Part A

It Starts with You: Self-Management

Self-management skills do not just improve your performance at work but also bolster your productivity and efficiency. They are tools to help you achieve your professional goals and improve your chances of employability, offering control over the career path you have pursued. As a manager, developing these skills will showcase how dependable you are.

So, what are self-management skills? They are the self-regulating skills a person needs to control emotions, behaviours, and thoughts. They ensure you can efficiently deal with any situation. Managers with strong self-management skills establish not only independent goals for themselves, but they do everything required to achieve them as well. By developing new skills, you can appreciate and understand the importance of regulating your emotions and behaviour in the workplace. Any potential employer will tell you they want candidates with strong self-management skills because they can regulate their thoughts and emotions, which means they are more in control of themselves and the situation. You can take smarter actions to achieve your professional and career goals by regulating your behaviour.

Before you learn about the different self-management skills and how to develop them, understanding their importance is paramount. Knowing the benefits associated with any change you are trying to implement in your life is crucial. The benefits themselves act as a motivation for you to make the change sustainable. Developing self-management skills will improve your organisational skills and confidence and enhance your sense of accountability and responsibility. It will give you the strength and abilities to deal with any challenge that arises in the workplace. In addition, these skills enable you to set goals and prioritise to achieve the best possible results. In this opening chapter, you will be introduced to various self-management skills any successful manager must develop.

Organisation

The ability to stay organised is the backbone of self-management skills. But why? The answer to this lies in how the brain functions. The human brain is an incredibly complex organ - the most powerful one. It is the motor of our creativity, thinking, memory, problem-solving abilities, and much more. The brain is better equipped to think than to store. You might remember something that you did years ago but, struggle to recollect what you wore to work the other day. This is normal and has to do with short- vs long-term memory.

By offloading the storage function of the brain to an external system, staying organised becomes easy. An efficient organisation system gives you a means to not just capture ideas but also make a note of all the things you need to do. It will help keep track of all your tasks. Additionally, an organisation system will help store and retrieve information as needed. When you are organised, your overall efficiency will improve. Once you learn how to become organised, you are less likely to forget an important meeting or let things slip through the cracks. Over time, all the information, data, and notes gathered can gain helpful insights for reflection, analysis, and improvement. A combination of these factors will improve your efficiency as a manager.

Creating an effective organisational system isn't as daunting as it seems. You need to consider first the nature of the task at hand, which will allow you to carry it out in the best way possible. It's also essential to distinguish between important and urgent tasks to prioritise your workload and complete your day's or week's work. We will explore this in greater detail later.

Goal Setting

The second aspect of improving workplace productivity for all managers revolves around goal setting. Goals are essential objectives you wish to achieve, and only when a concrete plan of action supports a dream does it become a goal. A constant debate in the world of productivity is whether goals or systems are better. Some believe that goals are pointless without a system that enables us to achieve them. You cannot run a marathon by simply setting a goal. Instead, you will need to train daily, sign up for one, and then run the marathon.

For this reason, you need a combination of targets and systems to get where you want. A goal is your compass, showing the right direction. And the system enables you to move forward toward the goal you have established.

A goal is not just a random thought or a vague idea that pops into your head. It's not just something you find appealing or exciting. It is a destination, but it doesn't become a goal unless it has some personal meaning or value. Any goal you establish must be meaningful to you, measurable, attainable, and, most of all, have some kind of deadline. Chances are, without combining these aspects, you are merely setting yourself up for failure.

The reason most people fail to meet their goals has to do with a lack of vision. What are you trying to accomplish? How will you feel once you've achieved a particular goal, and by contrast, what will it cost you if you cannot achieve it? These are all important considerations you must remember to optimise your goal-setting.

Time Management

A precious non-renewable resource most people take for granted is time. We all have a fixed number of hours at our disposal every day. However, only a few are successful when it comes to spending them wisely. The difference lies in the ability to manage the time available. Unless you learn to manage your time wisely, you cannot make the most of your life or any opportunity that comes your way. Mastering the art of time management is a crucial self-management skill, and it takes a great deal of dedication. As with any other skill, it is never too late to learn.

The first thing to understand about time management is that your time is your own. You do not owe it to anyone else. When you say that you don't have time for something, it just means the task is not a priority at the moment. Don't make the mistake of thinking you are doing things that others won't. Regardless of who is asking you to do it, you are ultimately the one doing it. Therefore, your time is within your control. It starts with learning to prioritise what you want to do and where you want to concentrate on the bulk of your efforts. When it comes to time management, you need to identify which task is important or urgent and prioritise it. It should add value to your life in some form. Whether it's a personal or professional goal, you cannot work on it without time.

Self-Motivation

There are times when you have something to do but just don't feel like doing it. Or perhaps you were excited to start a project only to realise that it would drain your energy. Both instances illustrate a lack of motivation. Self-motivation is an internal force or strength that pushes you to move ahead. It's the desire to develop, produce, achieve, and move forward in life. There will be instances when you want to quit something or don't even know how to get started with it. Or perhaps you are facing an obstacle that makes you want to give up altogether. No matter the situation, self-motivation is the fuel that propels you ahead and limits the urge to quit. It ensures that all your efforts until now come to fruition. One of the crucial aspects of a manager's job description is to motivate their employees and teams. That being said, you cannot inspire others if you are not motivated yourself.

Generally speaking, the key to self-motivation is to adopt healthy and sustainable habits and eliminate distractions. These not only drain your brain power, but they can also cause procrastination. Sharpening your focus is important in enabling you to find the motivation to pursue your goals and achieve whatever it is you want to achieve professionally.

Stress Management

Stress has become a staple of the modern lifestyle. If you want to lead a happy and satisfying life, you must ensure that stress does not get in the way. Not only is it a joy killer, but excessive stress and the inability to cope with it can hinder your sense of wellbeing. It can eat away your productivity and leave you unable to carry out even the most routine tasks.

We commonly toss the word stress around in regular conversations. Unfortunately, few understand what it really is. Stress is an internal reaction triggered by your body when it feels it is under threat. This stress can be physical and psychological. For instance, the nervousness you experience right before a big presentation is a response to the stress the situation is causing. The thought of not meeting a deadline can also cause stress, and this would be the same trigger response if a wild animal started chasing you.

Stress is one of the most overwhelming feelings anyone can experience. When left unregulated, it can precipitate the onset of physical health disorders and mental conditions. If you don't want to put your health at risk, then learning to tackle stress is critical. Stress management is bound to come in handy in your personal and professional life. In the end, when you can manage your stress effectively and efficiently, your wellbeing and ability to be productive improve.

Decision Making

We all make decisions every day. Some of them are minor, while others have significant impacts on our lives. Deciding something as simple as what to eat for dinner, where to go on holiday, or even the route you take to work are all decisions you make. Some major decisions include making a career change, accepting a promotion, and even moving. Because every decision produces its own effects, whether big or small, learning how to decide is a pillar of effective management.

As a manager, your decision-making skills are vital. That's because they not only influence what you do, but have great bearings on your team and their performance. You need to have faith in your decisions and show confidence. To make good decisions, you need to get rid of emotional attachment, be fair and unbiased, and avoid conflicts of interest. You must base your decisions on facts, sound logic, and reasoning, with a little touch of analysis. Others can weigh in, but, in the end, the decision must be yours to make. There will be different situations where the thought of deciding makes your head spin, throwing your management skills into question. All decisions are associated with low to high risk. However, once you go through the suggestions about decision-making given in the latter part of this book, your overall productivity as a manager will reach new heights.

Accountability

Many of us will look for a scapegoat whenever things don't go as planned. However, this is not a great attribute for a manager. Managers need accountability, not just toward their team, but themselves as well. Accountability refers to your capacity to take ownership of your thoughts, actions, and behaviours. Once you learn to become accountable, you can stop blaming others for your mistakes. It also