From Intentions to Actions: Achieving Goals with Implementation Intentions
How psychology research can help you follow through on your UX (and life) ambitions this year
Summary: Struggling to accomplish your goals? Learn how Psychology and Implementation intentions can help bridge the gap between intentions and actions. Find out how to apply this research-backed technique to achieve your UX objectives in 2024!
Happy new year, readers! It's a new year, and for many of us that means new goals! As UX professionals, we’re constantly striving to learn new skills, take on new projects, and achieve our ambitions. However, like most people, we don’t always follow through on our intentions.
Luckily, psychology research has uncovered techniques to bridge the gap between intentions and actions. One method proposed by Peter Gollwitzer is to form “implementation intentions” - simple if-then plans that link situational cues to goal-directed behaviours (Gollwitzer, 1999).
What the Research Says
The idea behind implementation intentions is that deciding on a goal is not enough - people also need to plan out the when, where and how of achieving it. By choosing a specific situational cue and linking it to an effective response, the action becomes automated when the cue is encountered. This increases the likelihood of following through plans and achieving a goal.
Many studies have shown implementation intentions to be an effective tool to help us achieve our goals. For example, a meta-analysis by Gollwitzer and Sheeran (2006) analysed 94 experiments involving over 8,000 people. They found implementing if-then plans had a powerful positive effect size of 0.65 (Cohen's d) on rates of goal completion. This indicates a medium-to-large effect, suggesting if-then planning meaningfully increases goal achievement.
For example, in one study participants who planned when and where they would collect a coupon were twice as likely to redeem it compared to people with just a goal intention (Aarts, Dijksterhuis & Midden, 1999).
This effect was consistent across many areas like health behaviours (exercising more), consumer choices (buying eco-friendly products), academic performance, and personal goals. Forming implementation intentions helped people initiate behaviours, shield goals from distractions, disengage from failing efforts, and preserve self-control.
Applying Implementation Intentions
We can use the principles of implementation intentions to more effectively pursue goals related to UX skills, career development, and work performance.
To put this into practice:
1. Choose a clear, specific goal intention
What exactly do you want to accomplish? Start by identifying the target behaviour or outcome. For example, if you want to learn more about user research methodologies this could be: "I will complete a course on user research methodologies."
2. Identify a good situation to link to your response
When will you have a suitable opportunity to act on your goal? How can you best recognise this cue? For instance, "When we have a learning day at work."
3. Specify the goal-directed response
What action will directly advance you toward your aim? Detail the behaviour you need to initiate when you encounter the situational cue. Such as, "I will spend one hour studying the course materials."
4. Form an if-then plan statement
Put together an “If [situation], then I will [response]” statement. For example, "If it is learning day at work, then I will spend one hour studying the user research course.
5. Repeat and commit
Write down the plan, repeat it over in your mind, and firmly commit to following through. Rehearse and frequently visualise enacting it.
Here are some other examples of implementation intentions UX professionals could apply for common goals:
- Learn a new design skill: “If it is Saturday morning, then I will watch tutorial videos and practice wireframing for 2 hours.”
- Improve productivity: “If I finish an activity in my daily work plan, then I will immediately start on the next one.”
- Network with colleagues: “If it is the office happy hour this Friday, then I will introduce myself to at least 3 people I don’t know.”
You can, of course, apply this methods for non work related goals such as:
- Exercise regularly: “If I arrive home from work, then I will go for a 30 minute walk around my neighbourhood.”
Conclusion
Implementation intentions are a simple but powerful technique backed by substantial research. Forming if-then plans can help UX professionals reliably follow through on our goals and intentions throughout the year.
This strategy can also be applied when designing products and services to encourage specific user behaviours and habits. Linking situational cues to actions through triggers and reminders can promote behaviours like healthy eating, saving money, using an app feature, or making eco-friendly choices. This is something we can cover in a future post.
Hopefully, this post can help you achieve your 2024 goals. Let me know if you're planning to use implementation intentions.