January 15, 2010

[SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS]

SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILL
1. TWELVE STEPS OF SELF- MANAGEMENT 1. Live by your values, whatever they are. You confuse people when you dont, because they cant predict how youll behave. 2. Speak up! No one can hear what youre thinking without you be willing to stand up for it. Mind-reading is something most people cant 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; its usually an all or nothing kind of thing, and so youve got to treat it that way. 5. Dont expect people to trust you if you arent 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. Thats what adults are supposed to grow up to be. 11. Dont be a victim or a martyr. You always have a choice, so dont 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

January 15, 2010

[SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS]

SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Written by Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D. Self-management is a psychological term used to describe the process of achieving personal autonomy. The goal of self-management for the developmentally disabled population is to shift supervision and control from a parent, caregiver, job coach, or employer to the person him-/herself. A successful self-management program will allow these individuals to live and work independently within their environment. There are 3 components of selfmanagement. Self-monitoring. The aim of self-monitoring is teach the person to become more aware of his/her own behavior. For those with developmental disabilities, a target behavior(s) is selected, such as aggression, making nonsense noises, and staying on task; and the person is taught to monitor when this behavior(s) occurs. One strategy is to teach the person to monitor his/her own behavior at short time intervals. At first a teacher or supervisor may remind the student every 10 or 15 minutes to observe his/her behavior. Later, a kitchen timer can be used to present an auditory signal every 10 or 15 minutes to cue the person to observe whether the target behavior occurred. An eventual goal may be to teach the person to monitor his/her behavior without a prompt. For example, after performing an undesirable behavior, he/she may become immediately aware of what he/she is doing. Such awareness may then prompt the person to stop the behavior before it escalates. Sometimes there is a reactivity effect in which the undesirable behavior decreases merely because of the process of observation. Self-evaluation. The person determines whether or not he/she engaged in the target behavior in relation to the goals that have been set. For example, if the goal is to refrain from self-injury for 10 minutes, the person and those helping him/her can reflect over the 10-minute time period to determine if this goal was met. If it was, the person will proceed to the next stage, self-reinforcement. If not, goals may need to be revised and self-monitoring will need to take place again. In order to maximize the likelihood of success, goals should be realistic and attainable; and they should be made more challenging as the person experiences consistent success. Self-reinforcement. Self-reinforcement refers to self-delivery of rewards for reaching the goals which were set. For example, if the goal is to refrain from aggression for 30 minutes (e.g., three 10-minute self-monitoring intervals) and if the person has met the goal, then he/she would reward him-/herself. Researchers claim that allowing a person to choose from a variety of rewards is

January 15, 2010

[SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS]

more effective than simply making only one reward available. Initially, these rewards may be given to the person immediately, such as eating a food snack; but similar to the real world, it would be best to establish a token economy in which the person receives tokens (e.g., coins, stars) for appropriate behavior, and then exchanges them for a reward at a later time. Although tangible, external rewards are often quite effective, it would be advantageous to have the person eventually rely on internal rewards, such as knowing he/she performed well. Also, while continuous reinforcement works well when new behaviors are being established (e.g., learning not to be aggressive), the behaviors will be stronger if reinforcement becomes intermittent. Certainly, self-regulation can be challenging to teach to a person with a developmental disability; but many professionals have been quite successful using simple behavioral techniques to do so. These techniques include: modeling, rehearsal, shaping, prompting, feedback, fading, and generalization. Initially, the individual will likely need close supervision but, over time, such supervision should be gradually removed, if possible. If a self-management program is successful, it is important to develop some type of maintenance program, otherwise the person's skills may deteriorate over time. Such 'booster' training sessions should be integrated into the program.

3. PERSONAL SKILL

January 15, 2010

[SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS]

Self-Management Self-Management is the ability to manage your personal reactions to responsibilities and challenges in work and life. This involves managing your time and adapting to changing situations. It requires you to reflect on your experiences and their effect on your physical and mental state. SelfManagement requires the Background Skills of Reflection, Self Awareness, Planning and Monitoring, Time Management, Flexibility and Self-Appraisal. Independent-Learning Independent Learning is the ability to recognise gaps in your knowledge and acquire it independently. It is the capacity and desire to continue to learn, beyond the structured classroom of school and university. It requires resourcefulness, drive, initiative and planning. Independent learning requires self-motivation and knowledge of your personal learning styles and preferences. Independent Learning requires the Background Skills of Planning and Monitoring, Time Management, Flexibility, Self-Appraisal, Self-Management and Reflection. Goal-Skills Goal Skills is the ability to create, plan for and achieve personal and professional goals. Examining what is important to you allows you to direct your attention and efforts towards those things, by setting long-term and shortterm goals. Goal Skills require the ability to set specific, time-framed goals that are personally attractive, realistic in scope and that have definable outcomes. Goal Achievement requires motivation and tenacity, and the Background Skills of Goal Setting, Self-Appraisal, Flexibility, Planning and Monitoring, and Reflection. Background Skills Reflection:

Contemplating past experiences to consider their consequences (for example, on your state of mind, your emotions and feelings, your relationships with others, your behavior or your plans for the future). Being aware of your own motivations, needs and desires. Thinking about how you respond to people and situations, and about how your actions are perceived by others. Learning from this process of contemplation and awareness, for example through identifying ways to change negative behavior, feelings or attitudes, or by creating new strategies towards achieving a goal.

Self-awareness:

The perception of your skills, knowledge, responsibilities and value, both professionally and personally.

January 15, 2010

[SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS]

Being able to acknowledge your talents and feel confident about yourself and what you can do (including the ability to improve on and gain new talents and skills).

Flexibility:

Being able to adapt to new situations, by applying your skills in different areas, or by acquiring new skills as needed (such as using your mentoring skills from your sports coaching in your new job as manager of casual staff at a retail store) Being committed to working constructively with people with different values, backgrounds, views and levels of understanding.

Time Management:

Identifying the different demands on your limited time, setting priorities, and scheduling your time according to your goals, responsibilities and needs - including the need for relaxation, reflection and a social life (for example, using a planner to schedule obligations and keep track of appointments and commitments). Being aware of your personal time preferences and using these to your advantage to maximize effectiveness and minimize stress (for example, you may be a morning person who thinks more clearly just after sunrise - use this time wisely).

Commitment:

Being dependable, trustworthy and putting everything into your work Willingness to commit an obligation to your goals and persevering towards those goals Possessing a determination to achieve success, focusing on the target of your commitments

Goal Setting:

Examining your interests, desires, commitments and responsibilities, identifying goals that are important to you and committing to working towards achieving those goals (such as deciding that you want to use the experience you have gained as a unit student, so setting a goal to become a mentor for first-years students) Setting realistic, clearly-defined goals with a specific time-frame, where progress can be measured and success judged unambiguously (for example, "I will be healthier" is not a good goal, because it is vague - but "I want to exercise three times a week for 30 minutes" is better) Tracking your progress, adjusting and adding goals as a way of continually monitoring your development in life.

January 15, 2010

[SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS]

Planning and Monitoring:

Developing a detailed, realistic strategy to solve a problem or reach a goal. Anticipating problems or constraints, regularly reviewing and adjusting plans to accommodate changes in your situation and priorities. Assessing the success of a strategy in reaching the original goal, within the set time frame, resource and budget allocations.

Self-appraisal:

Objectively analyzing your own situation, skills and qualities, recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, and acknowledging areas for improvement (such as honestly describing your strengths and weaknesses at the beginning of a gym training session, so that you and your trainer can identify areas for you to work on) Reflecting on and accurately judging your efforts and progress (for example, if you have a setback along the way, making an effort not to let it get you down, but rather acknowledging how much progress you have made to that point). Identifying areas of your life where you would like to increase your knowledge or skills, and setting goals to meet those aims (for example, if you don't understand how to use the university library to research an assignment topic, you might set this as a personal learning goal - and in so doing, you would gain skills valuable for the rest of your studies and life beyond university.)

15 TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS

In the meantime, here are 15 practical time management tips to help you get started... 1. Write Things Down A common time management mistake is to try to use your memory to keep track of too many details leading to information overload. Using a to-do list to write things down is a great way to take control of your projects and tasks and keep you organized. 2. Prioritize Your List Prioritizing your to-do list helps you focus and spend more of your time on the things that really matter to you. Rate your tasks into categories using the ABCD prioritization system described in the time management course.

January 15, 2010

[SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS]

3. Plan Your Week Spend some time at the beginning of each week to plan your schedule. Taking the extra time to do this will help increase your productivity and balance your important long-term projects with your more urgent tasks. All you need is fifteen to thirty minutes each week for your planning session. 4. Carry a Notebook You never know when you are going to have a great idea or brilliant insight. Carry a small notebook with you wherever you go so you can capture your thoughts. If you wait too long to write them down you could forget. Another option is to use a digital recorder. 5. Learn To Say No Many people become overloaded with too much work because they over commit; they say yes when they really should be saying no. Learn to say no to low priority requests and you will free up time to spend on things that are more important. 6. Think before Acting How many times have you said yes to something you later regretted? Before committing to a new task, stop to think about it before you give your answer. This will prevent you from taking on too much work. 7. Continuously Improve Yourself Make time in your schedule to learn new things and develop your natural talents and abilities. For example, you could take a class, attend a training program, or read a book. Continuously improving your knowledge and skills increases your marketability, can help boost your career, and is the most reliable path to financial independence. 8. Think about What You Are Giving Up To Do Your Regular Activities It is a good idea to evaluate regularly how you are spending your time. In some cases, the best thing you can do is to stop doing an activity that is no longer serving you so you can spend the time doing something more valuable. Consider what you are giving up in order to maintain your current activities. 9. Use a Time Management System Using a time management system can help you keep track of everything that you need to do, organize and prioritize your work, and develop sound plans to

January 15, 2010

[SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS]

complete it. An integrated system is like glue that holds all the best time management practices together. 10. Identify Bad Habits Make a list of bad habits that are stealing your time, sabotaging your goals, and blocking your success. After you do, work on them one at a time and systematically eliminate them from your life. Remember that the easiest way to eliminate a bad habit, it to replace it with a better habit. 11. Dont Do Other Peoples Work Are you in the habit of doing other peoples work because or a hero mentality? Doing this takes up time that you may not have. Instead, focus on your own projects and goals, learn to delegate effectively, and teach others how to do their own work. 12. Keep a Goal Journal Schedule time to set and evaluate your goals. Start a journal and write down your progress for each goal. Go through your goal journal each week to make sure you are on the right track. Keeping a journal on your computer has never been easier!

13. Dont Be a Perfectionist Some tasks dont require your best effort. Sending a short email to a colleague, for example, shouldnt take any more than a few minutes. Learn to distinguish between tasks that deserve to be done excellently and tasks that just need to be done. 14. Beware Of Filler Tasks When you have a to-do list filled with important tasks, be careful not to get distracted by filler tasks. Things such as organizing your bookcase or filing papers can wait until you tackle the items that have the highest priority. 15. Avoid Efficiency Traps Being efficient doesnt necessarily mean that you are being productive. Avoid taking on tasks that you can do with efficiency that dont need to be done at all. Just because you are busy and getting things done doesnt mean you are actually accomplishing anything significant.

January 15, 2010

[SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS]