Coaching practices for If Then Planning at Work

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For If Then Planning at Work, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• My plans hold up fine until something throws them off
• I make perfectly sensible plans but they sit there feeling optional, with no real fire behind them
• I keep telling myself I’ll get to it "sometime today" and then the day just dissolves and I never do
• 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
• There’s one specific thing that wrecks this for me every single time

Practices that may help

1. If–Then Planning, Made Practical
   If–then plans (also called implementation intentions) specify in advance how you will respond to the specific situations that typically derail your goals: "If situation X occurs, then I will do Y." A meta-analysis of 94 studies found a medium-to-large effect on goal attainment — one of the most reliable single techniques in goal-setting research.
2. 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
3. Combine mental contrasting with an if–then plan (MCII)
   Fantasize about success, then vividly imagine the key obstacle, then write the if–then — the sequence matters.
   If–Then Planning, Made Practical
4. Specify the when and where for every goal action
   "I will do [behavior] at [time] in [location]" — specificity creates an automatic trigger.
   If–Then Planning, Made Practical
5. 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
6. Write an if–then plan for your biggest obstacle
   "If [obstacle occurs], then I will [specific response]" — pre-deciding removes the obstacle’s power.
   If–Then Planning, Made Practical
7. Set if-then implementation intentions for goal behaviors
   Specify when, where, and how you’ll act — not just whether you intend to.
   Hyperbolic Discounting — Why Future You Always Gets the Short End
8. Separate the planning session from the execution day
   Do your planning in a dedicated session, never on the day you intend to start.
   The Planning Fallacy — Why Your Estimates Are Always Wrong
9. 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
10. Form an if-then plan linking the obstacle to a specific response
    "If [obstacle occurs], then I will [specific action]" — this plan is what converts mental contrasting into behavior change.
    Mental Contrasting and WOOP

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