Coaching practices for Implementation Intention Task Writing

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Implementation Intention Task Writing, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

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 genuinely intend to do the thing
• My list is full of vague headings like "website" and "the John thing" that I keep skipping over because I don’t actually know what the first move is
• My to-do list just says "write proposal" and I stare at it not knowing where my hands even go first
• I keep telling myself I’ll get to it "sometime today" and then the day just dissolves and I never do

Practices that may help

1. 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
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. Write every Action Step starting with a verb
   An Action Step that begins with a verb is completable; one that doesn’t is usually a wish or a category, not a task.
   The Action Method, Made Practical
4. Decompose tasks to a single next physical action
   Replace any task name with the single next physical action that moves it forward.
   Task Initiation: Overcoming the Start Problem
5. 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
6. 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
7. Close with a forward-looking resolve
   Choose one concrete intention to carry into tomorrow before closing the review.
   The Ignatian Examen: Five Movements of Daily Review
8. 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.
9. Make it obvious with an implementation intention
   Pre-decide the when-and-where: “I will [behavior] at [time] in [location].”
   Atomic Habits, Made Practical
10. Journal as the person you are becoming, not the person you have been
    Writing from your desired identity’s perspective, even tentatively, strengthens its psychological availability.
    Identity Priming, Made Practical

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