You have many skills - more than you probably are aware of. And each of your skills "operates" on, or with, something. If you're good with your hands, those skills often "operate" on tools. If you have good social skills, those "operate" with other people.

But one category of skills focuses exclusively on ourselves. Known as self-management skills, these are capabilities like time management and attention to detail. Any skill that's used to guide our own actions is a self-management skill.

Some of us find that certain self-management skills can be challenging to learn or improve. It's easy to focus on our other kinds of skills, because they operate on things external to us. We can learn "special knowledge" skills in a new area of information, by studying. Or we can practice "transferable skills" that can be used in a variety of situations. But our greater challenges may be when using skills focused on ourselves.

It turns out that some self-management skills come naturally to each of us, while others can be more challenging. Here's a growth opportunity: Find a self-management skill that's a little more difficult for you - perhaps something like time management. Now, approach someone you know who's really good at it. What are some of the tricks they've learned? How could you easily start with just one or two of those strategies? Starting with small wins, such as getting to an appointment 10 minutes early, instead of 10 minutes late, can help to start building new habits - and better self-management skills.