If-then plans: the small trick behind following through

What an if-then plan is

An if-then plan names a situation you will meet and the small action you will take then.

Researchers call that an implementation intention. If-then planning means writing the pair before the moment. A goal is an endpoint you could check. An intention is how you want to show up. The plan is the moment that joins them. See intention vs goal and how to set an intention.

You decide while the day is still quiet. Later, you notice the cue and do the small action. One plan is enough.

Try it now (1 minute)

Try it now (1 minute): Think of tomorrow. Write one if-then plan for a moment you will actually meet. If [that moment], then I will [one small action]. For example: If I pour my morning drink, then I will write three lines before I check any messages. Stop when the minute ends. A plain sentence is enough.

Paper is enough. Or use the free intention worksheet: one page a week, no email.

Everyday if-then plan examples

Twenty-one if-then plan examples, three for each ordinary part of a day. They are prompts. The studies below did not test these sentences. Pick one for tomorrow.

Sleep

• “If I get into bed, then I put the phone on the charger across the room.”
• “If I am still scrolling when I meant to sleep, then I set the phone down and turn off the lamp.”
• “If the alarm goes, then I sit up before I open any app.”

Your phone

• “If I pick up my phone between tasks, then I put it face down after one look.”
• “If I open a social app while I meant to start, then I close it and write the first line of the task.”
• “If I sit down to eat, then I leave the phone in another room until I finish.”

Movement

• “If I finish my morning drink, then I put on my shoes and step outside for five minutes.”
• “If I have been sitting through two meetings, then I walk to the far end of the hall and back.”
• “If I tell myself I will move after one more task, then I stand up before that task starts.”

Water

• “If I sit down at my desk, then I fill a glass of water before I open the laptop.”
• “If I walk into the kitchen, then I drink one glass of water before I look for a snack.”
• “If a meeting ends, then I take a sip of water before I open the next tab.”

Journaling

• “If I pour my morning drink, then I write three lines about yesterday before I check messages.”
• “If the evening feels scattered, then I write one sentence about what I actually did.”
• “If I open the notebook, then I write the date and one true sentence before I decide what else to write.”

Work focus

• “If I open my laptop, then I stay with the one document I named for ten minutes before any other tab.”
• “If a new idea pulls me off the task, then I write it on a list and return for ten minutes.”
• “If I have three tabs open for the same task, then I close two and finish the next paragraph.”

Kindness to yourself

• “If I make a small mistake, then I say one sentence I would say to a colleague.”
• “If the inner critic starts, then I name one thing I tried, and I stop there.”
• “If I need a quiet hour, then I ask for it without calling myself lazy.”

Make the cue one you will meet

Make the cue a moment you would notice on an ordinary Tuesday, such as the alarm, the kettle, the desk or the end of a meeting. “If I have a better day, then I will be consistent” does not name a moment. “If I open the laptop, then I stay with one document for ten minutes” does.

Keep the action small enough for a tired day: ten minutes, one glass, one sentence, one walk down the hall. The plan names an action you can do, and leaves the outcome alone. If it sounds like a poster, rewrite it until it sounds like you. The same lines fit on the intention worksheet.

What research suggests, and what it doesn’t

These studies are modest, and each one is narrow. The if-then plan examples above are prompts. Those papers did not test those sentences. We do not claim that thoughts, on their own, bring an outcome.

Webb and Sheeran (2008) studied the mechanism. Across 66 tests, forming an implementation intention had little effect on how strongly people wanted the goal, or on how confident they felt. In a further study, the effect on reaching the goal was carried by two things at once: the cue was easier to notice, and the cue was linked to the response they had already chosen. The mechanism was not harder deliberation in the moment (Webb and Sheeran, 2008, PubMed).

Adriaanse and colleagues (2011) ran a systematic review and meta-analysis on eating behaviour, with 23 studies. Some studies found a larger effect for increasing healthy foods, about d = 0.51, than for reducing unhealthy eating, about d = 0.29. Weaker comparison conditions tended to show stronger effects in the healthy-food studies, so some of those numbers may be inflated. This is about eating, not the other examples on this page (Adriaanse and colleagues, 2011, PubMed).

McWilliams and colleagues (2019) ran a systematic review and meta-analysis on smoking cessation, with 12 studies. Some studies found an odds ratio of about 1.70 at follow-up. About 10.7% of people in the plan groups had stopped smoking, compared with about 4.9% in the comparison groups. The studies varied widely. This is about smoking cessation, not the plans above, and our app does not offer help with smoking (McWilliams and colleagues, 2019, PubMed).

Wang, Wang and Gai (2021) meta-analysed mental contrasting with implementation intentions: a wish, a pictured outcome, the obstacle and an if-then plan, across 21 studies. Some studies found a small to moderate link with goal attainment, about g = 0.34. Possible publication bias means the true effect may be smaller. A small average includes people who felt no change. That is the fuller sequence, not an if-then sentence on its own (Wang, Wang and Gai, 2021, PubMed).

Here is what that does not mean.

• You may not follow through. A small average includes people who felt no change.
• An eating result, or a smoking-cessation result, stays inside that study.
• It is not medical advice. Nothing here promises a result.

We say “research suggests”, “some studies found” and “may help” because that is as far as the evidence goes. The science page says what each week draws on.

Sources

Each link below is the PubMed record behind a claim on this page.

• Webb and Sheeran, 2008, Br J Soc Psychol. PMID 18096108, PubMed.
• Adriaanse and colleagues, 2011, Appetite. PMID 21056605, PubMed.
• McWilliams and colleagues, 2019, Health Psychol. PMID 31414843, PubMed.
• Wang, Wang and Gai, 2021, Front Psychol. PMID 34054628, PubMed.

In our app

In our app, Week 5, Action is one if-then plan: if a moment you will meet shows up, then you take one small step. Action follows Calm, Focus, Heart and Vision, in a six-week practice of about five minutes a day. Week 1 is free. One $4.99 purchase unlocks Weeks 2 to 6. No subscription and no account. In the current version, your notes stay on your phone. Write the line on the intention worksheet, or read intention vs goal and how to set an intention. Early access is out now on iPhone. Official launch 17 November. Get updates.