Coaching practices for Implementation Intention When Where

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Implementation Intention When Where, 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
• I genuinely intend to do the thing, but the day just fills up and suddenly it’s night and I never found the moment
• I keep telling myself I’ll get to it "sometime today" and then the day just dissolves and I never do
• I make perfectly sensible plans but they sit there feeling optional, with no real fire behind them

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. Make it obvious with an implementation intention
   Pre-decide the when-and-where: “I will [behavior] at [time] in [location].”
   Atomic Habits, 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. 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.
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. End every AAR with one specific, time-bound next action
   An AAR without a concrete next action produces insight without change.
   After-Action Review: The US Army’s Tool for Continuous Learning
8. 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.
9. Attach approach goals to implementation intentions
   Lock approach goals to specific when-and-where plans so the positive aim has a concrete trigger.
   Approach vs Avoidance Goals
10. 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

Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.