Coaching practices for If Then Planning with Friends

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For If Then Planning with Friends, 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 tend to figure out my plan the same morning I’m supposed to start, in a rush to just get going
• I genuinely intend to do the thing
• My plan only works if a whole chain of things all go right

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. 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
5. 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
6. Audit plans for scenario inflation
   Before committing to a plan that depends on multiple things going right, count the dependencies.
   The Conjunction Fallacy — When "More Details" Feels More Likely
7. Map your current edge: what is one step away from where you are?
   List everything that is genuinely accessible from your current skills, relationships, and resources — your adjacent possible is defined by what you already have.
   The Adjacent Possible, Made Practical
8. 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
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. 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

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