Everyday in some way or another I fail to keep one of my goals; it could be something simple like not getting my sleep in check or failing to keep to my YouTube schedule. Or it could be that I didn’t confront this person about an important issue. That’s okay; we should expect a hundred percent success arte at everything. But we should expect to get better at it. So what small change can make a big difference in achieving your goal?
If-Then Plan:
Well, in psychology there’s one tip that stands out in terms of uniqueness and the amount of scientific backing. It’s called implementation intensions aka the ‘If then’ plan. Here’s how it goes. Normally, when we have a goal we tend to think about it like this. ‘I want to achieve X’. So I want to be healthier or I want to have more money. The implementation intention is only a small tweak to this. it goes, if situation Y happens, then I will do X. so if it’s 7am on Monday, then I will do X, I will jog outside for 30 minutes or when I get my pay check, then I will first put 10% into saving, notice how the goals suddenly a lot more practical. The key is to hinge your desired action on a situation cue such as a certain time, a location or an event. Now, this only takes a few minutes to write up. Yet, the research behind it is quite convincing. A meta-analysis of 94 different studies found that having an ‘if-then’ plans significantly improved participants success rates across a variety of goals. Just to name a few, it’s helped people exercise more, be more environmental friendly and better cope with fear.
Effectiveness:
But why does it work? Well, for one, the ‘if then’ plan means that you are now looking out for situational cues. As a result, you become more aware of opportunities in your surroundings. But most importantly, this plan guides you at your critical moments. These are the times when you need to just do it. Like when you wake up and are deciding between going back to sleep or going to gym. Here the implementation intention gives a very clear, very straight-forward direction. It’s 7am so you have to exercise. This type of certainty about what to do makes it easier for us through with our plans. Now there are three ways of making the if-then plan more effective. Firstly, be specific and realistic about the cues and behaviors in your if-then plan. This just ties on to the last point about having a clear path to follow. Secondly, yes, the if-then plan has been shown to be useful on average. However, its effectiveness will still vary depending on your goal. For example, there is lots of evidence that it helps with exercise goals. However, it’s not so helpful at breaking bad habits.
Coping Plan:
The best thing you can do is pair them with coping plans. Coping plans are the specific things you plan to do when you encounter an obstacle. In fact, they follow the exact format as the if-then plan. If obstacle Y occurs, then I will do X to overcome t. so let’s say your goal was to exercise more. One of your coping plans might be if I am feeling tired, then I only have to force myself to step outside my house in fitness gear. The point is its fun to talk about our goals. What’s not as fun is being realistic and figuring out what obstacles we’ll have to deal with. This is where coping plans come in. researchers used this plan to get cardiac patients exercising. The results show doubling of exercising when added coping plans with the if-then plans compared to the control.
Transcripted By Benazir Elahee Munni