Creatures of Habit

Effective advice for lasting habit change

by Ian Newby-Clark

What Went Right? You Made Mini-Plans!

Make mini-plans for effective habit change.

Published on August 20, 2010 by Ian Newby-Clark in Creatures of Habit

Now we're getting down to the nitty-gritty. You've come a long way. You read my earlier posts, this last one being extremely important, and you have a plan. Good for you!

But it's not enough.

You need mini-plans.

In social psychology, mini-plans have a longer name: "implementation intentions." And there's a lot of evidence that these mini-plans work. If you make mini-plans you will be far more likely to follow through on your intention to change your habits.

So What's a Mini-Plan?

Simple. A mini-plan is a short sentence that you say to yourself. The sentence takes an important form.

If X, Then Y

Mini-plans are extremely specific. They involve a certain thing happening and a certain behavioral response. It turns out that simply saying such a sentence to yourself radically increases the chances that you will follow through on your intentions.

I suspect that a lot of you created these mini-plans for yourselves the last time that you successfully changed your behavior. Or, if you didn't, you were changing your behavior the hard way, because these mini-plans work!

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Let's say that you're trying to get yourself to the gym each morning. Your "mini-plan" could be something as easy as, "If I hear the alarm clock, I will go to the gym." If you're trying to eat better your mini-plan could be something as simple as "If I open the fridge, I'll make a salad." If you're trying to be more social your mini-plan could be "If I meet someone new at the party tonight, I'll talk to him for five minutes."

I know. I know. It seems so simple. It is, and it's incredibly effective. Peter Gollwitzer, the man behind the mini-plan, has documented the effectiveness of "implementation intentions" for all sorts of behaviors. From countering racist remarks to recycling, from eating low fat to male self-exams, mini-plans just plain work.

It's time to supercharge your habit change efforts. Using the scientifically proven power of mini-planning should be part of your approach.

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