How to double your chance of success

After reading this post, you’ll learn:

• What are implementation intentions.

• Why it works.

• How you can use it in your personal & professional lives.

Have you ever set a goal,

e.g. “I want to lose 3 Kg in 1 month”.

And started a new diet / exercise ritual ?

BUT

After a few days you find yourself slipping back to your old habits?

It feels painful to start something, fail, and feel like you’re spinning around in the same place. Doesn't it?

Most of the time, life gets in the way, you lose motivation and all of a sudden, the year has passed.

What if I told you, there is a simple tip (backed by science) to boost your chance of success?

Enter implementation intentions.

But what is it?

It's a framework that bridges the gap between the goal and action needed. All you need to do is specify:

• When

• Where

• How

You will carry out your goal. Think of it as a GPS for your goal.

Ok. Why does this work?

It removes the uncertainty and mental effort to carry out the goal. e.g. consider a common goal of losing weight. One part of this is to be physically active. You may say your goal is:

"I'll work out daily".

When it's time to act, you burn calories daily:

• When should I work out? Morning / evening?

• Where should I work out? Home /gym?

• What exercise should I do? Cardio / weights?

Rather than doing the activity, we waste calories thinking about all this. The beauty of implementation intentions is, you've already decided. So all you need to focus on is the activity, not all these questions.

A general format you can follow is:

I will do [activity] at [time] and [place]

The research:

Study source. 248 participants were allocated to 3 groups:

• Group 1: were told no information about exercising

• Group 2: were told about benefits of exercising, and risks of not exercising.

• Group 3: were given the same information as group 2. Additionally, they were asked to complete this plan:

During next week I will partake in at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on [day] at [time] and [place].

The results?

Let's look at some common goals and how we can use this framework.

Health: I'll [work out] at [6:00 AM] everyday in my [local gym].

Mindfulness: I'll [meditate] at [5:30 AM] everyday in my [prayer room].

Finances: I'll [invest 20% of my pay cheque] on the [1st day] of [each month].

Hobby: I'll [practice guitar] at [6:00 PM] in my [bedroom].

Learning: I'll [study for my certification] at [7:00 PM] in my [library].

How to get started?

1. Set a goal.

2. Decide where you will do the activity.

3. Decide when you will do the activity.

4. Write it down (I put it in my calendar)

My current implementation intentions:

• I’ll [write my morning pages] at [7 AM] in [my desk].

• I’ll [write my evening pages] at [9 PM] in [my desk].

• I’ll [read in my kindle] at [9:30 PM] in [my sofa].

Yes. I’m a nerd who tries to read and write a lot 😁 

I hope this concept helps you set up & crush your goals. This simple tip has helped me a ton. And I hope it helps you too

If you found this helpful, share with someone who will benefit.

Further reading:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear.

P:S Did you like this edition? If there is something you want me to research & write about, please let me know.