Are you your own best friend? Or, do you know how to hold yourself accountable during daily tasks? Self-management skills mean taking responsibility for your actions while making sure you are performing to the best of your ability.
Self-management skills apply to both professional and personal situations. If you have healthy self-management skills, then you can stay organized and offer your ideas to any project, big or small.
Accountability, organization, and initiative are the three key self-management skills that everyone should possess. To fully understand what effective self-management is, you should start by perfecting these three skills.
The Most Important Self-Management Skills
Let’s explore the three most important self-management skills and how to strengthen them.
Initiative
Taking initiative is crucial in any workplace, as well as in life. Initiative means working without being told what to do. You can show initiative by taking action when needed, not when directed to. This involves having the drive to achieve what is required to be done. You will also need the motivation to take initiative.
Initiative is a necessary trait to have because employers often want employees who know how to respond and deal well with problems if they occur. Additionally, this proves to them that you can handle any situation that comes your way, even when they are not there.
Accountability
Accountability means you take ownership of the responsibilities given to you or those that come your way unexpectedly, whether good or bad. Through accountability, you will also learn to take pride in your work.
Accountability is not just about being successful. It is about your attitude toward the task throughout the process, even in stressful situations or when failing. If a task you have been given does not go well, having accountability means you will ensure the same mistakes are not repeated.
Accountability is vital to your employer. It is crucial to have a positive attitude and be reliable in your workplace. Employers want to know you will take any assigned tasks seriously. Taking responsibility for your actions can be a great way to excel in your career and be handed more difficult tasks in the future.
Organization
Organization is key. Being organized allows you to prioritize tasks by priority. This will ensure you are prepared and have tasks completed on time. Another trait of organization, you must be able to identify specific tools needed to complete tasks.
Proper organization will help improve your workspace and your life. An organized employee understands what they need to do and when they need to do it, and where the necessary tools to complete their tasks are located.
With organization comes punctuality and time management. Organization means making lists, having a calendar to follow, and being able to manage time. Being able to remain organized allows you to be on time and arrange your schedule to succeed.
How to Improve Your Self-Management Skills
Improving your self-management skills is essential to improving yourself and growing as a person. You will be able to better prepare yourself for the future by improving your self-management skills. Below are some ways to build upon the key self-management skills of organization, accountability, and initiative.
Take the Initiative
Some important practices to improve and boost your initiative include starting a project, volunteering, or completing a course. Starting your own project and following through with it is an excellent way to show initiative.
Additionally, volunteering in your spare time to a good cause will make you stand out amongst other applicants in an interview. This shows initiative and helps you develop other skills such as stress management, problem-solving, and getting some physical activity if the volunteering involves it.
Deciding to develop your own skills by taking a course or class in your spare time also shows employers how motivated you are.
Get Organized
You can continuously practice and improve your organization skills throughout your life. Some best practices include setting deadlines for yourself, creating a routine, and using a planner.
Setting your own deadlines will help you achieve your goals, even if it is earlier than the actual deadline. Additionally, creating a routine that works best for you will help improve your organization. Set a routine starting from when you wake up as this will help you get ready for the day ahead.
Using a planner is essential for staying organized, especially in the workplace. Depending on your preference, you can use a paper planner or even an online one to better manage your deadlines, tasks, and other relevant information. Along with a planner, which may be a list of tasks to do for that specific day, a calendar is also important to see deadlines coming in the future.
Take Accountability
Accountability is critical to self-management. Two tasks you can practice is owning your tasks and going the extra mile.
When you are given a task, whether at work or in your personal life, view it as your task, as the more you believe it is yours and not handed off to you by your employer the more passion and work you will put into it. You will take more pride in what you do using this thinking.
As well as believing the task is your own, always go the extra mile for that task. Continuously think about what you could do to make the project better and any other action you can take to make this happen. Looking at the project as a whole and wanting to improve will show your drive.
Conclusion: Keep Holding Yourself Accountable
Initiative, accountability, and organization are all skills that define self management. Initiative means starting a task or project without being told what to do. Accountability translates to always taking responsibility for your actions whether they are good or bad. Organization means being clean and orderly both physically and mentally. Together they make up key self management skills.
Companies are constantly looking for employees with these skills so be sure to add them to your resume. It is recommended to add them under a skills list.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
