Coaching practices for If Then Planning Commitment

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

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

• I genuinely intend to do the thing
• My plans always assume a good day, and then the predictable thing happens
• Right now I’m fired up and ready, but I already know future-me is going to talk myself out of it when the moment comes
• I make perfectly sensible plans but they sit there feeling optional, with no real fire behind them
• 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

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. 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
3. Pre-identify your temptations before writing the contract
   Knowing specifically when and how you’ll be tempted lets you write a contract that covers those scenarios.
   Commitment Contracts, Made Practical
4. Use commitment devices to make future behavior harder to avoid
   Pre-commit to the behavior now — when your current self is motivated — to bind your future self.
   Action Planning
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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
9. 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
10. Commitment Contracts, Made Practical
    A commitment contract binds your future self to a course of action by attaching real costs — financial, social, or reputational — to failure. The evidence from savings programs and behavioral economics is solid for financial commitments; effects on health and habit change are positive but more variable, and contracts work best when you already want to change.

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