Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success : A Self-management Approach

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MANAGEMENT OF EMOTION AND EFFORT 133

Self-observation and evaluation. How does anxiety influence

my academic and personal life? Do I need to change the

way I deal with anxiety? If yes, what problem do I

encounter? What are the symptoms of my problem (i.e.,

when, where, and how often does my problem occur)? What

factors (e.g., beliefs, perceptions, feelings, physiological

responses, or behaviors) contribute to this problem? What

do I need to change to reduce or eliminate my problem?

Goal setting and strategic planning. What are my goals?

What strategies will I implement to reduce my anxiety?

When will I use these strategies? How will I record my

progress?

Strategy implementation and monitoring. What strategies

did I use to reduce my anxiety? When did I use these strate-

gies? What method(s) did I use to record my progress (e.g.,

documents, charts, logs, tally sheets, checklists, or record-

ings)? When did I use these methods? How and when did I

monitor my progress to determine if my anxiety-reducing

strategies were working? What changes, if any, did I make

along the way?

Strategic-outcome monitoring. Did I attain the goal(s) I set

for myself? Has the reduction in my anxiety improved my

academic performance or personal life? What strategies

were the most and least effective? What changes, if any, do

I need to make in the future?

4. Assess Self-Talk

During the next week, monitor your self-talk and evaluate how it

affects your motivation and self-confidence. Consider all the situations

and tasks in which you engage—academic, athletic and recreational,

social, occupational, and personal. Include in your report the

following information: date, situation (e.g., academic), setting

(describe where you were and what you were trying to accomplish),

and report the self-talk as specifically as possible. Finally, discuss what

strategies you used to deal with any negative self-talk.

Date: ______________________________________________________________

Setting: _____________________________________________________________

Self-talk:____________________________________________________________

Strategy:____________________________________________________________