Implementation Intention

 

 

When it comes to self-care, do you find that you’re having trouble sticking to what you said you would do?

 

Maybe you said you would go for a walk after work and – once again – you didn’t.

 

Or you decided you would eat a healthy breakfast every morning, but that only lasted a week.

 

If so, then let me tell you a secret…you’re doing it wrong.

 

Because while you might want to blame it on a lack of motivation, or a lack of energy, neither of those reasons is valid.

 

The real reason that we don’t stick to the promises that we make to ourselves is because we set tasks that are vague.

 

And the result of a vague task is that, because we’re not sure exactly what we’re supposed to do, our brain finds itself in a state of uncertainty…or perhaps even confusion. And that requires a lot of mental effort. Which our brain does not like. So that is why we eventually abandon our commitment.

 

Now, there is a way to fix this problem and double – or more – your success rate. And it’s a technique called implementation intention. Basically, it’s about creating a plan for implementing your chosen task.

 

This is how it works…

 

Let’s say you decide that you want to start doing yoga at home. So you hop online and find a YouTube channel that you like. You even bookmark some videos. And now you’re feeling happy and ready, and you tell yourself that tomorrow after work will be your first session.

 

Now, this is usually where the planning ends.

 

And the problem with that is that there are some important things missing with this plan…

 

 

Date

 

Which days are you going to practice yoga on exactly? Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays? Tuesdays and Thursdays?

 

So, you need to ask yourself how many days a week you’d like to do yoga on, and which days exactly.

 

 

Time

 

When are you going to do your session? As soon as you get back home? After 30 minutes of chill time? After taking your dog for a walk? When?

 

Once you’ve decided where about in the evening you’d like to do your yoga classes, then fine tune it. Pick an exact time. For example, you could decide that 6:30pm will work for you because even if you worked a little later than usual you could still make it back home for that time.

 

So pick a time that is realistic and won’t put you under pressure or cause you to miss your scheduled session.

 

 

Location

 

Where are you going to do your session? In the bedroom? In the lounge? Maybe on the balcony? You must know exactly where that will be.

 

…

 

So that’s what you need – date, time and location.

 

And the result is that instead of saying to yourself:

 

I’m practicing yoga in the evenings.

 

You say to yourself:

 

I practice yoga every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30pm on the balcony.

 

I’m sure you can see the massive difference between the two. The latter just feels so much better, doesn’t it? It’s comfortable and definite. And that’s what the brain needs.

 

You could even take it a step further and write it down in your calendar. Then each morning when you look at the day ahead, you can see exactly what you planned. That way you don’t have to strain your brain each evening trying to remember whether you said you’d do yoga or not. It’s outsourcing, that’s what it is. And the brain loves that. 

 

And remember, I’ve given just one example here, but this is something to keep in mind with whatever task you want to carry out – not just health and exercise.

 

Using this technique with any commitment – especially a long-term commitment – will greatly increase your chances of maintaining your task, watching it turn into a habit, and ultimately finding the success that you aspire to have.