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

Do What You Can, with What You Have, 
Right Where You Are
You should say to yourself, “My life is precious and impor-
tant, and I value every single minute and hour of it. I am
going to use those hours properly so that I accomplish the
most I can, in the time that I have.”
The good news is that time management is a business
skill, and all business skills are learnable. Time management
is like riding a bicycle, typing on a keyboard, or playing a
sport. It is made up of a series of methods, strategies, and
techniques. It is a skill set that you can learn, practice, and
master with determination and repetition.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
3
American Management Association / www.amanet.org

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The Psychology of 
Time Management
O
N
E
H O W Y O U T H I N K
and feel about yourself largely determines
the quality of your life, and the emotional core of your per-
sonality is your self-esteem, defined as “how much you like
yourself.”
Your self-esteem is largely determined by the way you
use your life and time in the development of your full poten-
tial. Your self-esteem increases when you are working effi-
ciently, and your self-esteem goes down when you are not. 
The flip side of the coin of self-esteem is called “self-effi-
cacy,” defined as the degree to which you feel you are com-
petent, capable, and productive, able to solve your problems,
do your work, and achieve your goals.
The more competent, capable, and productive you feel,
the higher your self-esteem. The higher your self-esteem,
American Management Association / www.amanet.org

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the more productive and capable you will be. Each one sup-
ports and reinforces the other.
People who manage their time well feel positive, confi-
dent, and in charge of their lives.