The document discusses key concepts of effective self-management, including being proactive, setting goals, prioritizing tasks, and reducing distractions. It defines proactivity as anticipating situations and taking control rather than just reacting. Effective goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timed. Progress is secured through continuous improvement using the PDCA cycle. Prioritization involves focusing on important urgent tasks using the Eisenhower matrix and addressing the vital 20% of causes using the Pareto principle. Organization involves automating routines, delegating recurring tasks, and reducing internal and external distractors to the main focus.

1. Key Concepts of Effective Self-Management
Thorsten Sachtje
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.com
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2. Agenda
Proactivity
Effective
Self-Management
Definition Organization
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3. Proactivity: Breaking the conditioning
Stimulus Black Box Response
Possible Conditioning: Activity Levels
• Genetic determinism • Inactive
(Evolutionary approach) (“wait & see”, letting things happen, no
• Psychic determinism motivation to change the way things are)
(Psychoanalytic approach)
• Reactive
• Environmental determinism (“crisis mode”, change only as a response to an
(Behaviourist approach)
event)
• Active
(doing what is expected, playing the game by
its rules, not necessarily planned)
Creativity • Proactive
(anticipation & planning, changing the rules of
+ Problem-Solving the game, taking control of the situation, be
= “MacGyver Approach“ “response-able”, get inspired & reflect)
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4. Proactivity: Setting the right focus
No Concern
Levels of Control
Circle of Concern
• Direct Control issues
(own behaviour)
Circle of Influence
• Indirect Control issues
(people„s behaviour)
• No Control issues
(situational)
Source: Covey, Stephen (2004):
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People; pp. 81-88.
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5. Definition: Effectiveness needs goals
“Problem-Solving“ (fix issue/reach goal):
• Which situation do you want to solve? /
What is the psychological strain? “If one does not know to
• Elevator Pitch: 1-2 sentences which port one is sailing,
• Include just 1 issue/goal no wind is favorable.”
• Don‟t name possible cause or solution
• Which resources (information, data,
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
contacts) do you need to solve the issue? (1 – 65 AD, Roman stoic
philosopher and advisor of
Roman emperor Nero)
Smart goals:
• S Specific
• M Measurable
• A Attainable
• R Realistic
• T Timed (Beware of Parkinson„s Law!)
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6. Definition: Securing progress in reaching goals
Shewhart Cycle/ Genba: Go and see (actual place)
Genbutsu: Get the facts (actual thing)
Deming Cycle/ Genjitsu: Grasp the situation (actual situation)
PDCA Cycle
Define,
Six Sigma
Measure,
DMAIC Analyze
Act Plan
3G„s of
Kaizen Understand Goal
Control
situation
Implement
Check Do
Improvement
Current
New
Situation Standard
Time
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7. Organization: Effective Prioritization
Eisenhower Matrix: Urgent Not urgent
I II
Important
“What is important is seldom Do it yourself Schedule/
urgent and what is urgent is immediately monitor and
seldom important.” do it yourself
Dwight D. Eisenhower III IV
Not important
(1890 – 1969, US General
and 34th president of the Delegate Trash
USA) or do after
the important
tasks
Pareto Principle:
• Principle of the vital few and useful many
• Roughly 80% of the outcomes result from 20% of the causes
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8. Organization: Reduction of external distractors
• Regularly identify and constantly monitor the main distractors that take away
focus for the activities that matter most
• Try to remedy those distractors (e.g. with the PDCA Cycle)
Analyze the “Stuff” and find out
who/what is stealing your focus
with this app from Xerox:
http://www.businessofyourbrain.com/
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9. Organization: Reduction of internal distractors
“Stuff”
• Trash
• Someday/Maybe
• Reference
In-basket
No Yes
Do it
What is it?
Is it actionable? One step action
No Delegate it
+ less than 2
Yes minutes? Defer it:
• Calendar
What is the next • Next actions list
action?
• “Project” (Plan)
Multistep
• Project plan
Source: Simplified version of action?
(Review)
Allen, David (2001):
Getting things done; p. 32.
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10. Organization: Automation
• Achieving focus for important tasks “The first rule of any technology
by automating standard procedures
(e.g. by software routines or personal used in a business is that
habits) automation applied to an
• Delegation/Outsourcing of reocurring efficient operation will magnify
activities the efficiency. The second is
that automation applied to an
Producer*: inefficient operation will magnify
the inefficiency.”
Input Output
Bill Gates
(born 1955, Founder and
Manager*: Chairman of Microsoft)
Input Output * Source: Covey, Stephen (2004):
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People; p. 172.
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11. Key Learnings
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12. Key Learnings
“Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing:
the last of human freedoms to choose one‟s attitude in any given
set of circumstances.”
Viktor E. Frankl (1905 - 1997, Austrian Neurologist and
psychiatrist as well as Holocaust survivor)
“What gets measured gets managed.”
Peter Drucker (1909 - 2005, business thinker and
“inventor of Management”)
Doing it all gets nothing done!
So: Focus on your focus.
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