The most important time management skills are the skills we use to manage ourselves.  One of the best skills you can develop for effective time management is to learn how to use self-confidence to manage yourself – and therefore your time – more effectively.

Today, I’m sharing how to use self-confidence to overcome some of the most common time management hurdles.

How to use self-confidence to overcome time management hurdles:  Introduction

Can we ever truly manage time?  No.  However, we can manage ourselves in the context of time.  Time management is about 20% tools, tactics, and strategies, and 80% mindset management.

That means that the most effective tools in your time management arsenal are mindset-based tools.  In other words, the skills that help you manage and cultivate your cognitive-emotional state, so you can get more done in less time.

Of all of those mindset-based tools, self-confidence is one of the most valuable.  Before we jump into how to use self-confidence to overcome time management hurdles, let’s talk about what self-confidence is.

Confidence vs. self-confidence:  What’s the difference?

You might be wondering, “What does she mean by self-confidence?”  Or even, “Aren’t confidence and self-confidence the same thing?”

Let’s get this cleared up right now, so we’re all on the same page.

First, confidence and self-confidence are both emotions.  You can also think of them as emotional states, if that helps.

Confidence is based on your past.  It’s feeling assured of what the results will be.

For example, let’s say I asked you to recite the alphabet.  I’m guessing you’d be pretty confident that you could do it.  Why?  Because you’ve probably done it many times before in the past.

Self-confidence, by contrast, is based on your future.  It’s a trust in yourself that you have what it takes to handle whatever comes up.

Self-confidence doesn’t mean that you feel assurance about what the results will be.  Rather, it’s a trust in yourself that you can navigate whatever comes up, take care of yourself (and anyone/thing else you’re responsible for), and make sure that you will be okay in the end.

For example, I gave my first keynote speech at a conference in 2023.  Honestly, I felt pretty nervous.  But I thought about how I wanted to react if I did a great job.  I also thought about how I wanted to react if I didn’t do a great job.

I had self-confidence going into the speech as a result, because I could trust myself to handle whatever came up.  I knew that, no matter what happened, I’d be able to handle it.

Now that you know what self-confidence is, let’s talk about how you can use it to help manage your time.

Using self-confidence to navigate indecision

Indecision can cause you to waste tons of time and energy.  Indecision often results in overthinking, delaying getting started, and second-guessing yourself. None of that is conducive to good time management.

What could it look like to choose self-confidence in the face of indecision?  Making a choice, and trusting yourself to handle whatever comes up as a result.

If it turns out to be an excellent choice, great!  If the choice results in additional challenges, you could trust yourself to assess the situation, make any needed adjustments, and move forward.

At the end of the day, indecision is often about “making the wrong choice.”  If you feel self-confident in your ability to respond to whatever comes up, much of the worry around the “wrong choice” melts away.  As a result, you can be more decisive, act more quickly, and deal with challenges more effectively – all of which save time.

By the way, I don’t mean to imply here that you should be making knee-jerk decisions without all the necessary information.  Rather, I’m talking about using self-confidence to stop spinning in indecision, when you have the information you need.

Using self-confidence to navigate fear of failure

Another mindset-based time suck?  Fear of failure.

Many of the small business owners I work with struggle to get things done because of fear of failure or rejection.  Naturally, that impacts their time management.

Whether it’s adding a new product or service, reaching out to potential clients or referral partners, or starting a whole new business, it can be easy to feel afraid.  If you give in to that fear, it can result in endless revisions to your work, procrastination, or not taking action at all.  All of which create difficulty in managing your time.

When you learn how to use self-confidence in the face of failure or rejection, you know that you can handle them (and whatever comes up from them, as a result).

That doesn’t mean that they won’t sting, or that they’ll be enjoyable.  Instead, it means that even if they DO sting, and they AREN’T enjoyable, you’ll be able to handle it, take care of yourself, and do what you need to do to move forward.

Using self-confidence to navigate overwhelm

Finally, let’s talk about how to use self-confidence when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Overwhelm occurs when your brain perceives all the stuff that you need to do and says, “No, thanks!  Too much work!”  When people are overwhelmed, they often overthink about where to start, jump around from task to task without finishing them, or give up altogether.

Obviously, all of that is terrible for time management.

Here’s how to use self-confidence to overcome overwhelm.  Choose a place to start (even if it feels totally random), get started, and trust yourself to deal with whatever unfolds.  If you need to backtrack or change course, decide now that it you can handle that.  Choose to not make it a big deal in your mind.  Decide that you’ll make the necessary changes, not beat yourself up for your decision, and move forward.

How to use self-confidence to overcome time management hurdles:  Conclusion

As I always say, time management is 80% mind management.  When it comes to mindset-based tools, self-confidence is invaluable.  Cultivating self-confidence can save you so much time and energy, and improve your quality of life.

Today, I shared how to use self-confidence to overcome three common time management challenges:

• Indecision
• Fear of failure
• Overwhelm

If you’re naturally a self-confident person, you now have some new ways to use that valuable emotional skill.  If you’d like to develop self-confidence, here are 3 things to know:

• It’s totally possible to grow your self-confidence
• You don’t have to do it alone
• Working with a coach like me can help shorten your learning and growth curve

I’d love to help you build the self-confidence you need so you can get more done in your business, create more impact, and make more money.  Schedule a free call with me today!