T I m e m a n a g e m e n t

Beliefs Become Realities 
What are your beliefs about yourself and your ability to
manage your own time? Do you see yourself and think about
yourself as a highly efficient and effective time manager? Do
you believe you are highly productive and in complete con-
trol of your life and your work? Whatever your belief, if you
think of yourself as an excellent time manager, you will nat-
urally do those things that are consistent with that belief. 
Because your self-concept causes you to continually
strive for consistency between the person you see yourself
as, on the inside, and the way you perform on the outside, if
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T I M E M A N A G E M E N T
American Management Association / www.amanet.org

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you believe you manage your time well, you will be a good
time manager.
You can take all of the courses on time management,
read all the books, and practice the various systems, but if
you perceive yourself as being a poor time manager, nothing
will help. If you have developed the habit of being late for
meetings and appointments, or you believe that you are a
disorganized person, those habits become your automatic
behavior. If you do not change your beliefs about your per-
sonal levels of effectiveness and efficiency, your ability to
manage your time will not change, either.
Make a Decision
How do you develop new, positive beliefs about yourself
and your level of personal productivity? Fortunately, it is
not difficult. You simply use the four Ds: desire, decisive-
ness, determination, and discipline. Most important, make
a decision to develop a specific time management habit,
like being early for every meeting for the foreseeable future.
Every change in your life comes about when you make a
clear, unequivocal decision to do something differently.
Making the decision to become an excellent time manager
is the first major step.