Page 64 - Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

e sentence they lled out is what res earchers refer to as an

implementation intention, which is a plan you make beforehand about when
and where to act. at is, how you intend to implement a particular habit.
e cues that can trigger a habit come in a wide range of forms—the feel
of your phone buzzing in your pocket, the smell of chocolate chip cookies,

the sound of ambulance sirens—but the two most common cues are time
and location. Implementation intentions leverage both of thes e cues.

Broadly speaking, the format for creating an implementation
intention is:

“When situation X arises, I will per form response Y.”

Hundreds of studies have shown that implementation intentions are
e ective for sticking to our goals, whet her it’s writing down the exact time
and date of when you will get a u shot or recording the time of your
colonoscopy appointment. ey increase the odds that people will stick with

habits like recycling, studying, going to sleep early, and stopping smoking.
Res earchers have even found that voter turnout increases when people
are forced to create implementation intentions by answer ing questions like:
“What route are you taking to the polling station? At what time are you

planning to go? What bus will get you there? ” Other successful gover nment
programs have prompted citizens to make a clear plan to send taxes in on
time or provided directions on when and where to pay late traffic bills.
e punch line is clear : people who make a speci c plan for when and

where they will per form a new habit are more likely to follow through. Too
many people tr y to change their habits without thes e basic det ails gured
out. We tell ourselves, “I’m going to eat healthier” or “I’m going to write
more,” but we never say when and where thes e habits are going to happen.

We leave it up to chance and hope that we will “just remember to do it” or
feel motivated at the right time. An implementation intention sweeps away
fogg y notions like “I want to work out more” or “I want to be more
productive” or “I should vote” and transforms them into a concrete plan of

action.
Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is
clarity. It is not always obvious when and where to take action. Some people