If-Then Plans (Implementation Intentions)
What it is
An implementation intention is a plan written in a specific shape: "If situation X happens, then I will do Y." Instead of a vague goal like "I'll exercise more," you name the exact cue and the exact response — "If it's 7 a.m. and I've made coffee, then I put on my shoes and walk for ten minutes."
The construct comes from psychologist Peter Gollwitzer, who introduced "implementation intentions" in a 1999 paper in American Psychologist. A goal intention says what you want ("I want to do Y"). An implementation intention says when, where, and how you'll act on it — it links a concrete situation to a concrete action ahead of time, so the decision is already made when the moment arrives.
Time & frequency
Two minutes to write one. Write a new one whenever you keep meaning to do something and keep not doing it.
How to do it
- 1Name the goal in plain words — the thing you keep meaning to do. "Reply to that email." "Stretch after work."
- 2Pick the exact trigger: a time, a place, or an event you can't miss. "After I close my laptop." "When I sit down at my desk."
- 3Pick the exact action, small enough to actually start. Not "get fit" — "do ten pushups."
- 4Write it in one sentence: "If [trigger], then I will [action]."
- 5Put it where the trigger lives — a sticky note on the laptop, a phone reminder tied to a time or a place.
- 6Run it as written. If the trigger never shows up or the action's too big, rewrite the if or the then, not both.
Why it works
A plain goal leaves the hardest part undecided: the exact moment to act. When that moment comes, you're still deciding, and "later" usually wins. An if-then plan settles that in advance — you pre-commit to a specific action tied to a specific cue, so when the cue shows up, the response is already chosen.
Gollwitzer named this construct "implementation intentions" and drew the line between a goal intention (what you want) and an implementation intention (the when, where, and how). This write-up teaches the technique — how to phrase the cue and the response — not any claim about how well it works for you. The rep is writing a clear if-then and running it as written.
Common mistakes
- Writing a wish, not a plan. "I'll be more focused" has no trigger and no action. Name both.
- Picking a trigger you can miss. "When I feel like it" isn't a cue. Tie it to a time, place, or event that actually happens.
- Making the action too big. If the "then" is a whole project, you won't start. Shrink it to the first physical step.
- Writing ten at once. One clear if-then you'll actually run beats a list you'll ignore.
Practice it now
Write one if-then now
Turn one nagging goal into a cued plan in under two minutes. Free, no signup.
- Name one thing you keep meaning to do.
- Pick an exact trigger — a time, place, or event.
- Pick one small action you can start.
- Write it: "If [trigger], then I will [action]." Put it where the trigger happens.
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