Self Management

The ability to control and direct own training, career and efforts.

> Reflection         Resources

'The most important thing you can learn as a young person is how to learn for yourself.' 

Comment from Alistair Mills, BSc, Civil Engineering, 1973. Now Project Manager, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland.

Below is a list of questions to get you thinking about self management. Have a read through them and try to make a note of your thoughts, but don't feel that you have to answer them all at once. Bear in mind that this is not a formal exercise and so feel free to respond in whichever way suits you best. The important thing is for you to reflect on these issues and decide what actions you need to take to better yourself.

• At the start of the year, or indeed at the beginning of each course you take, do you think about your learning objectives or do you simply react to things as they come at you?
• What is your objective now that you are at university? Is your aim to get a good degree or a good education?
• Have you set yourself any targets for the year, and if so what actions are you planning to take to achieve them?
• How do you measure your own progress, apart from formal assessments? Do you keep a record of your development? How do you evaluate success?
• How do you think your university education will prepare you for your chosen career?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What interests do you have outside of your academic work? What aspects of university life do you intend to get involved in?