Developing an Action Plan: 10 Evidence-Based Coaching Practices
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Developing an Action Plan, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Practices that may help
- Action Planning
Action planning — specifying when, where, and how you will execute a goal-directed behavior — is one of the best-supported techniques for closing the intention-behavior gap. Orbell and Sheeran’s research, along with Peter Gollwitzer’s work on implementation intentions, shows that forming specific plans reliably increases behavior over vague intentions alone, with meta-analytic effect sizes in the small-to-medium range. - Write when, where, and how plans for every behavioral goal
Specify exactly when, where, and how you will act — not just what you intend to do.
Action Planning - Review and update action plans at a fixed weekly cadence
An action plan that is not reviewed weekly becomes stale — regular review keeps the plan matched to current reality.
Action Planning - Plan for obstacles with coping plans
Anticipate the specific obstacles most likely to block your plan and pre-decide your response to each.
Action Planning - Build a Massive Action Plan (MAP)
Brainstorm every possible action that could move you toward the result, then ruthlessly prune to the ones that actually will.
Tony Robbins’ Rapid Planning Method (RPM), Made Practical - Test your action plan for specificity before relying on it
Before counting on a plan, check that a stranger could execute it from your written description — if not, it is not specific enough.
Action Planning - Decompose distal goals into proximal action plans
Break long-term goals into short-term action plans with specific behavioral targets for this week.
Action Planning - Mentally simulate the planned behavior in its specific context
Rehearse the action plan in your mind — visualizing the cue, the response, and the environment — to prime automatic execution.
Action Planning - Use if–then commitments for predictable barriers
Pre-plan your response to the specific situations most likely to derail the action.
Committed Action, Made Practical - Implement the chosen solution with a concrete plan
Translate the chosen solution into specific actions, times, and checkpoints.
Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I genuinely mean to do it, but the day swallows it every time and “I’ll get to it” never actually turns into doing it
- I made a plan a while back, my life has shifted since, and I keep failing the same plan over and over without ever sitting down to actually update it to fit how things are now.
- My plans hold up fine until something throws them off
- I have a goal but no path to it, just a mountain of things I could do that all feel equally important
- In my head my plan feels totally clear, but every time I go to actually do it I realize I never decided the details and it falls apart
Related concerns
- Action Plan Examples For Work
Action planning — specifying when, where, and how you will execute a goal-directed behavior — is one of the best-supported techniques for closing the intention-behavior gap. Orbell and Sheeran’s research, along with Peter Gollwitzer’s work on implementation intentions, shows that forming specific plans reliably increases behavior over vague intentions alone, with meta-analytic effect sizes in the small-to-medium range.
- Action Planning As A Caregiver
Anticipate the specific obstacles most likely to block your plan and pre-decide your response to each.
Plan for obstacles with coping plans
- Action Oriented Planning
Action planning — specifying when, where, and how you will execute a goal-directed behavior — is one of the best-supported techniques for closing the intention-behavior gap. Orbell and Sheeran’s research, along with Peter Gollwitzer’s work on implementation intentions, shows that forming specific plans reliably increases behavior over vague intentions alone, with meta-analytic effect sizes in the small-to-medium range.
- Action Planning At Work
Action planning — specifying when, where, and how you will execute a goal-directed behavior — is one of the best-supported techniques for closing the intention-behavior gap. Orbell and Sheeran’s research, along with Peter Gollwitzer’s work on implementation intentions, shows that forming specific plans reliably increases behavior over vague intentions alone, with meta-analytic effect sizes in the small-to-medium range.
- Action Planning Behavior Change
Action planning — specifying when, where, and how you will execute a goal-directed behavior — is one of the best-supported techniques for closing the intention-behavior gap. Orbell and Sheeran’s research, along with Peter Gollwitzer’s work on implementation intentions, shows that forming specific plans reliably increases behavior over vague intentions alone, with meta-analytic effect sizes in the small-to-medium range.
- Action Planning Cadence
Action planning — specifying when, where, and how you will execute a goal-directed behavior — is one of the best-supported techniques for closing the intention-behavior gap. Orbell and Sheeran’s research, along with Peter Gollwitzer’s work on implementation intentions, shows that forming specific plans reliably increases behavior over vague intentions alone, with meta-analytic effect sizes in the small-to-medium range.
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.