Self-management skills focus on how you understand and regulate your emotions, behaviours, and thoughts to achieve your goals and navigate challenges effectively. They involve taking ownership of your actions, managing your time and priorities, and maintaining focus on your objectives.
You can see a full list of the skills included in this category at the bottom of this page.
Think about which of these skills you are developing through your study and daily life using the list at the bottom of the page, and use the Skills Discovery Tool to evaluate your skills.
Easy ways to get started
These skills can be developed through everyday practices and mindful attention to your habits. You could try:
- Setting small, achievable daily goals and tracking your progress - this builds goal-setting skills and self-motivation while creating positive momentum.
- Practicing mindfulness or reflection for a few minutes each day - notice what emotions you're feeling, what triggered them, and how they affect your behaviour.
- Using the "pause and breathe" technique when you feel stressed or overwhelmed - take three deep breaths before responding to help develop emotional regulation.
If you're struggling with self-management, remember that these are skills that can be developed with practice. Have a look at the CamGuide for time management. You could learn new techniques through Student Support workshops to develop skills such as managing your time, procrastination or perfectionism.
If you have a disability or neurodivergence that makes self-management difficult, speak to your ADRC advisor or mentor for additional resources and advice tailored to you.
Skills development opportunities
There are many structured ways to develop these skills. Here are some suggestions:
- See if your College offers personal development programmes such as Homerton Changemakers, Hughes Hall Pathways Programme, Murray Edwards Gateway programme, or Pembroke LEAP programme.
- Take part in physical activity and sport to build your grit, resilience and self-motivation. Consider working towards a personal fitness goal.
- Access digital productivity courses from UIS Training.
- Engage with the Cambridge Careers Service to advance your career management through workshops, self-reflection activities and Career Fairs.
- Try a new activity - check out the Give it a Go programme for beginner sports or see which societies you might be interested in. Going out of your comfort zone will develop many skills in this category, and you might find a new hobby along the way!
- Work on your financial literary by managing your budget. Take a look at this student budgeting planner for guidance and techniques.
Check out the activities pages for more ideas on how to get involved and develop your skills in this area.
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Skill |
Definition |
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Ability to reflect |
The ability to engage in introspection, evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses, and seek feedback from others. |
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Ability to work remotely |
The ability to navigate hybrid or fully remote work setups (e.g., the use of email and virtual meetings and work without in-person guidance). |
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Accountability |
The ability to take ownership of one's behaviours and responsibilities and being able to provide reasonable explanations for one's decisions and actions. |
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Achievement orientation |
The ability to concentrate on achieving one's goals and developing or modifying plans to achieve them. |
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Adaptability |
The ability to change one's attitudes or behaviours to accommodate new changes (e.g., new technologies, work patterns, new skills). |
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Autonomy |
The ability to make your own decisions and to govern your actions and decisions. |
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Career management |
The ability to create a long-term vision of future careers, seek opportunities for growth and skill development, reflect on one's progress, and ensure one's skills remain relevant and diverse. |
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Compassion |
The ability to understand other people's hardships and express sympathy and the desire to help them. |
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Coping with uncertainty |
The ability to navigate and perform adeptly in situations with significant levels of unpredictability or potentially unexpected changes. |
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Courage and risk taking |
The ability to embrace uncertainty and potential setbacks in the hope of desired results or great achievements. |
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Emotional intelligence |
The ability to have awareness over and to control one's emotions and their expression in order to handle interpersonal relationships thoughtfully and empathetically. |
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Financial literacy |
The ability to understand and make use of basic principles of business and finance (e.g. budgeting, investing, etc). |
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Goal monitoring, adjusting and evaluating |
The ability to regularly track progress towards a goal, evaluate the effectiveness of activities, and adjust future steps and strategies to ensure alignment with desired objectives. |
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Grit and persistence |
The ability to pursue a long-term task, mission, or journey in spite of obstacles and discouragements. |
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Independence |
The ability to rely only on oneself or one's own abilities, judgment (e.g.,to complete a task) |
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Learning to learn |
The capacity to take personal responsibility for one's own learning; the ability to pursue and persist in learning, to organise one's own learning |
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Motivation to learn |
The desire to learn the content of the training and development activities |
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Positive thinking |
The ability to focus on thoughts of success, as a strategy for achievement |
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Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility |
The ability to quickly recover from setbacks or challenging situations and easily adjust to changing circumstances or requirements. |
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Seeking relevant information |
The ability to identify missing and relevant information and the most effective resource or medium where to find it. |
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Self control & regulation |
The ability to stay rational and in control of one's emotions, reactions, and behavioural patterns, even in emotionally charged situations. |
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Self-awareness |
The ability to perceive and understand one's own character, desires, motives, and feelings. |
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Self-confidence |
The ability to trust one's abilities, judgements, and personal qualities. |
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Self-development |
The ability to pursue personal growth and improvement through learning, self-reflection, and intentional development efforts. |
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Self-motivation |
The ability to do something enthusiastically without pressure or encouragement from others. |
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Time management and prioritization |
The ability to manage one's time, organise tasks according to their urgency, and choose the most efficient method of executing them. |
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Understanding biases |
The ability to recognise when pre-existing patterns affect one's thinking process or judgement, often in an unconscious or unfair way. |
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Understanding own emotions and triggers |
The ability to understand when and how emotions affect personal decisions and the factors that trigger specific emotional responses. |
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Understanding own strengths |
The ability to identify personal values, skills, experience, and knowledge to assess areas of excellence. |