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If–Then
Planning
Give your intention a cue.
Replace “I should do that sometime” with a specific situation and a small action. Build one plan you can recognize, try, and revise.
Write an if–then plan ↓Free to use and print. No account needed.
From a goal to a response
Peter Gollwitzer’s work on implementation intentions distinguishes wanting an outcome from specifying how to act when an anticipated situation occurs. His 1999 paper reviews plans that link a critical situation with a goal-directed response. [1]
If a specific, recognizable situation occurs,
then I will take a defined action.
The format is not a promise that motivation, time, or resources will appear. It is a way to make a chosen response explicit before the moment arrives.
Choose a cue you can notice
“When I feel productive” is difficult to observe consistently. “After I put my breakfast plate in the sink” points to an event. A time and place can also be a cue when they fit your routine.
Keep the response under your practical control and small enough to begin. “Become fluent” is a goal; “review three sentences aloud” is an action. The right size depends on the activity and your situation.
Our worksheet adds a brief feasibility check and a review date. Those fields are our adaptation, not a standardized research instrument.
A worked example: a weekly project update
Omar intends to keep a volunteer team informed, but “send an update every week” repeatedly slips behind other tasks. He chooses an existing cue and prepares the materials.
Vague intention: I should communicate better.
Specific plan: If I finish the Friday check-in, then I will open the saved update template and write three bullets: what changed, what is next, and where help is needed.
He keeps the template beside the meeting notes. If the meeting is cancelled, his fallback is to draft the same update at a scheduled desk session that afternoon. This is a second explicit cue, not an expectation that he will somehow remember.
After two weeks, Omar checks whether the cues occurred and whether the update was useful. If the meeting regularly overruns, he changes the cue or shortens the drafting task. This fictional trial does not predict how much the method will improve someone else’s results.
Check the plan before you rely on it
- Pick a goal you actually intend to pursue.
- Describe a cue clearly enough that you will know when it has happened.
- Name one action and prepare the materials it needs.
- Consider a likely obstacle and, if useful, one fallback.
- Review after a few real opportunities and revise from what happened.
Record “the cue did not happen” separately from “the cue happened but I could not act.” Those observations suggest different changes.
Plans need judgment
- Do not automate a bad goal. A well-specified response can still be unhelpful.
- Allow exceptions. An urgent responsibility or changed condition may justify choosing differently.
- Avoid competing scripts. Several actions attached to the same moment can collide.
- Do not promise an effect size. Findings depend on goals, people, and circumstances; this page makes no universal success-rate claim.
Put it to work
If–then planning worksheet
Print this sheet or copy the prompts into a notebook. Nothing needs to be entered into this website.
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If–then planning worksheet
Success Archives · successarchives.com/if-then-planning/
1. My intended goal
What do I want this plan to help me do?
2. My if–then sentence
If __________________ occurs, then I will __________________.
3. Readiness
Where, when, and with what materials can I perform the action?
4. Obstacle and fallback
What might block the action? Is there a clear alternative cue?
5. Trial and review
After which opportunities will I check whether the cue and response worked?
What if my routine changes every day?
An event cue may fit better than a fixed clock time, but only if that event actually happens and leaves room for the action. Test one realistic cue. If there is no stable opportunity, solve that scheduling problem before adding more if–then statements.
Sources & editorial notes
- Gollwitzer (1999): Implementation Intentions — NYU-hosted paper PDF — American Psychologist, 54, 493–503; theoretical account and research review.
- University of Konstanz publication record — Author and publication details.
The update example and worksheet are original material. This is a practical exercise, not a validated assessment or a guaranteed habit intervention.
Sources reviewed September 16, 2026. All worksheets and worked examples are original Success Archives material. Source links are ordinary references; no affiliate links are enabled.