If-Then Planning: The Simple Trick That Turns Goals Into Action

Wanting to do something and actually doing it are two different steps. Psychologist Peter Gollwitzer studied that gap and found a remarkably simple bridge: implementation intentions.

What an implementation intention looks like

It's an if-then plan: 'If it's 7am and I've poured my coffee, then I will write for 15 minutes.' You link a specific situation to a specific action, so the situation itself becomes the cue.

A 2006 meta-analysis by Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran, covering 94 studies, found that forming if-then plans had a medium-to-large positive effect on reaching goals.

Pair it with your one goal

After you set today's goal, add one sentence: when and where will you do it? 'Call Mom' becomes 'After dinner, I'll call Mom from the porch.' That's often the difference between done and 'tomorrow.'