Implementation intentions

By the Startr team · Published 25 October 2026

What is an implementation intention?

An implementation intention is a plan that says exactly when, where and how you'll act on a goal. Peter Gollwitzer set it apart from an ordinary goal intention. A goal intention has the form "I intend to reach X", such as "I intend to finish my thesis". An implementation intention has the form "When situation X arises, I will perform response Y", such as "When I sit down at my desk at 9:00, I will open chapter 2 and write one sentence" (Gollwitzer, 1999).

The goal says what you want. The implementation intention sits underneath it and says what you'll do and when, so the goal actually gets acted on. You'll also see the idea called if-then planning or an if-then plan.

How to write an if-then plan

An if-then plan follows one format: "If [situation], then I will [action]." The situation is the cue, and the action is what you do as soon as you notice it.

• The if-part should be a moment you'll definitely notice: a time and a place ("at 7:00, at the kitchen table") or something that already happens every day ("after I pour my first coffee").
• The then-part should be one small, physical action you can start straight away, such as "open the notes at chapter 4". "Revise biology" is a goal, and it leaves you deciding what to do at the moment you should be starting.

The if-then wording matters more than you'd expect. In a study described by Gollwitzer and Sheeran, people agreed to do some concentration tasks on their computers every Wednesday morning. Some wrote "I will perform as many arithmetic tasks as possible each Wednesday at ___", and others wrote "If it is Wednesday at ___, then I will perform as many arithmetic tasks as possible". The if-then version had a large effect on how close to their chosen time people actually started (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, NCI overview).

If you plan your whole day in blocks, each block works the same way, with the start time as the cue. The guide to time blocking covers that approach.

What does the research say about implementation intentions?

The research on implementation intentions is large and mostly positive, and the effects are strongest for getting started on tasks people tend to put off.

• The meta-analysis. Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran combined 94 independent tests and found that if-then plans had a medium-to-large effect on goal attainment, d = 0.65 (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006). In their summary of that work, the effect on failing to get started was of similar size, d = 0.61 (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, NCI overview).
• A report over Christmas. Students were asked to write a report on how they spent Christmas Eve within 48 hours of it. Of those who wrote down exactly when and where they would write it, three quarters sent it in on time, compared with about one third of those who didn't (Gollwitzer, 1999).
• Flu jabs at work. In a field experiment at a large company, 33.1% of employees in the control group got vaccinated. Employees prompted to write down the date and time they planned to go had a vaccination rate 4.2 percentage points higher, while writing down only a date made no significant difference (Milkman and colleagues, 2011).
• Procrastinators in particular. In a study of 152 university students, those who made if-then plans to attend an experiment had nearly eight times the odds of turning up. The plans helped high and low procrastinators to a similar degree (Owens, Bowman and Dill, 2008).

The flu study also shows why the time matters. A date alone wasn't specific enough to change what people did, and a date with a time was.

Why do implementation intentions work?

If-then plans work because they move the decision from the moment of action to the moment of planning. Gollwitzer describes two processes (Gollwitzer, 1999).

• The cue becomes easier to notice. Choosing a situation in advance makes it stand out in your mind, so you're more likely to spot it, even when you're busy with something else, and to remember that it was your moment to start.
• The action starts more automatically. Because you linked the situation and the action ahead of time, starting becomes quick and needs little conscious effort. Gollwitzer compares this to a habit that is formed by one decision instead of by repetition, and calls implementation intentions "instant habits".

He also describes the effect as passing the control of your behaviour on to the environment. In practice it means that when 9:00 arrives, you don't have to weigh up whether now is a good time, because you already decided that yesterday.

10 implementation intention examples for procrastination

Each example below pairs a cue you'll notice with a first step small enough to start on the spot.

You can also plan for the obstacle most likely to stop you: "If I notice I'm scrolling at my start time, then I'll put my phone in the other room and start the timer." If you're still waiting to feel ready before you plan anything, the guide on how to get motivated explains why it helps to start first.

Mistakes that make if-then plans fail

The cue is vague

"Tomorrow" or "when I get a chance" doesn't mark a moment. Gollwitzer and Sheeran point out that a plan to "exercise more" with "tomorrow" as the cue leaves you deciding when and what in the moment, which makes you no better off than someone with the goal alone (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, NCI overview).

The action is too big

"Then I'll write the chapter" brings back the dread at exactly the moment you planned. Keep the then-part to something that takes about two minutes and ends at an obvious point.

Too many plans at once

Planning helps with one goal, but the benefit doesn't automatically carry over to many. In a series of studies, making detailed plans for several goals drew attention to how hard it would be to do them all, which weakened people's commitment and made them less successful (Dalton and Spiller, 2012). Start with one goal. For that goal, a second plan for the main obstacle is fine, as long as the two plans don't use the same cue.

The cue won't happen

"If I'm at the library" doesn't help if you go twice a term. Pick a cue that's already part of your week.

You don't really want the goal

If-then plans work best when the goal behind them is one you actually want. Strong effects showed up mainly when the underlying goal intention was strong and active (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, NCI overview). If you can't make yourself care about the goal, look at the goal before the plan.

Treating a missed plan as a failure

Missing a planned start doesn't undo the plan's value. In the studies Gollwitzer and Sheeran describe, people whose if-then plans were blocked went on to try harder and more often than people with the goal alone. Make a new plan for the next opportunity and carry on.

How implementation intentions pair with the two-minute rule

The two-minute rule decides what you'll do, and an implementation intention decides when and where. Each one covers the other's weak spot. A two-minute step with no time attached drifts to "later", and an if-then plan with a big then-part fails at the moment it fires. Together they give you a plan such as "If it's 9:00 and I'm at my desk, then I'll open chapter 2 and write one rough sentence." For the rest of the toolkit, from countdowns to self-forgiveness, read how to stop procrastinating.

How Startr builds if-then plans in

Startr is built around this pairing. In the Plan stage, which is capped at 60 seconds, it writes a two-minute first step for the thing you keep putting off, and you pick a time and a place for it. That's your if-then plan: at this time, in this place, do this step. On iPhone and Android, the app reminds you at the time you picked. When you start, it counts down 3, 2, 1 and runs a 5-minute timer that can't be paused. It also records your start delay, the minutes between your planned time and your actual start, so you can see whether the plan is working. How Startr works goes through the full daily loop.

Questions people ask

Who came up with implementation intentions?

The psychologist Peter Gollwitzer introduced the idea in 1993 and summarised the research in a 1999 paper in American Psychologist called "Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans".

What's the difference between a goal and an implementation intention?

A goal names the result you want, such as "finish my thesis". An implementation intention names the situation and the action that will move you towards it, such as "if it's 9:00 and I'm at my desk, then I'll open chapter 2 and write one sentence".

How many if-then plans should I make?

Start with one goal and one or two plans: one for when you'll start, and maybe one for the obstacle most likely to stop you. Making detailed plans for many goals at once can backfire (Dalton and Spiller, 2012).

Do implementation intentions work for building habits?

They can help a habit get started. Gollwitzer found that a single if-then plan can make starting about as automatic as repeated practice does, which is why he called them instant habits.

Sources

1. Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493–503. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493
2. Gollwitzer, P. M. & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119. doi:10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1
3. Gollwitzer, P. M. & Sheeran, P. Implementation intentions. Health Behavior Constructs, National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. cancercontrol.cancer.gov
4. Milkman, K. L., Beshears, J., Choi, J. J., Laibson, D. & Madrian, B. C. (2011). Using implementation intentions prompts to enhance influenza vaccination rates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(26), 10415–10420. doi:10.1073/pnas.1103170108
5. Owens, S. G., Bowman, C. G. & Dill, C. A. (2008). Overcoming procrastination: The effect of implementation intentions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38(2), 366–384. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00309.x
6. Dalton, A. N. & Spiller, S. A. (2012). Too much of a good thing: The benefits of implementation intentions depend on the number of goals. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(3), 600–614. doi:10.1086/664500