Turn intentions into action with if-then planning
Specifying exactly when, where, and how a behaviour will happen — not just that it will — more than doubles the likelihood of follow-through.
- When agreeing on any action or behaviour change at the end of a session
- When a client has good intentions but keeps failing to follow through
- When reviewing a habit that was agreed but not actioned
- Before any session ends — to ensure every goal has a when, where, and trigger
Most clients leave a session with good intentions: "I'll exercise more", "I'll eat better", "I'll get to bed earlier." The problem is that vague intentions rely entirely on motivation — which fluctuates. Research by psychologist Peter Gollwitzer found that forming a goal intention ("I intend to do X") leads to follow-through rates of around 30–40%. Adding an implementation intention — "When [situation], I will [behaviour]" — raises this to 60–90% across dozens of studies.
The mechanism is simple: by pre-deciding the when, where, and how, the client creates a mental link between a situational cue and the behaviour. When that cue appears, the action can fire automatically, without requiring a fresh decision or a spike of motivation to remember it.
"I'll try to eat more protein at breakfast" — vague, no trigger, forgotten within a week. Coach tries again: "When you sit down with your morning coffee on weekdays, what's one thing you could add that has protein in it?" Client: "I could boil eggs — I already do it on weekends." New intention: "When I sit down for my morning coffee on weekdays, I'll boil two eggs while it brews." One month later: consistent. The when and where created the hook that willpower never could.
Word-for-word phrases you can use in session.
- When exactly will you do this?
- Where will you be?
- What's the specific cue that will trigger it?
Don't accept 'I'll try to remember' as a plan. Keep asking until the when, where, and trigger are all concrete.
Review your last three client goal-setting conversations. For any goal that doesn't have a specific when, where, and how, go back and add one. Ask: "When exactly will you do this? Where will you be? What will be the trigger?"
Make implementation intention planning a standard close to every goal-setting conversation. Before moving on, ask: "What's the specific situation that will be your cue for this?" Don't accept "I'll try to remember" as a plan.
- Accepting 'I'll do it in the morning' — that's still vague. Push for: 'After I pour my coffee, before I open my laptop.'
- Using implementation intentions for goals rather than behaviours — they work best for specific, repeatable actions, not one-time decisions.
- Building the plan for the client rather than with them — if they didn't choose the cue, it won't feel natural when the moment arrives.
Keep reading.
Tie new habits to existing ones (habit stacking)
Linking a new behaviour to an existing routine dramatically increases follow-through by using established neural pathways as an anchor.
Make the target behaviour ridiculously small to start
Shrinking a new behaviour to its smallest possible form lowers the motivation threshold, making the first repetition almost effortless.
Design the environment to make the right behaviour the easy one
Changing the physical and social context — removing friction from good behaviours and adding it to bad ones — is more reliable than relying on willpower or motivation.