"If - Then" Goal Planning
Fast Company
FC Expert Blog
Want a Simple Way to Double or Triple Your Own Productivity? Here's How.
BY FC Expert Blogger Heidi Grant Halvorson
This blog is written by a member of our expert blogging community and expresses that expert's views alone.
Very few of us are as productive as we could be. We want to be focused with laser-like precision on critical tasks and make the best, most efficient use of our time. Instead, we get distracted by coworkers, lost in our Inboxes, and too absorbed by unimportant aspects of a single project when we'd be better off turning our attention to other things.
Wanting to be more productive isn't enough to actually make you more productive. You need to find a way to deal effectively with the distractions, the interruptions, and the fact that there is just way too much on your plate. Fortunately, there is a very simple strategy that has been proven to do the trick.
If you've already read my book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals, then know that I am a big fan of planning. If-then planning, in particular, is a really powerful way to help you achieve any goal. Well over 100 studies, on everything from diet and exercise to negotiation and time management, have shown that deciding in advance when and where you will take specific actions to reach your goal (e.g., "If it is 4pm, then I will return any phone calls I should return today") can double or triple your chances for success. Making if-then plans to tackle your current projects, or reach your 2011 goals, is probably the most effective single thing you can do to ensure your success.
If-then plans take the form:
If X happens, then I will do Y.
For example:
If I haven't written the report before lunch, then I will make it my top priority when I return.
If I am getting too distracted by colleagues, then I will stick to a 5 minute chat limit and head back to work.
If it is 2pm, then I will spend an hour reading and responding to important emails.
How effective are these plans? One study looked at people who had the goal of becoming regular exercisers. Half the participants were asked to plan where and when they would exercise each week (e.g., "If it is Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, then I will hit the gym for an hour before work.") The results were dramatic: months later, 91% of if-then planners were still exercising regularly, compared to only 39% of non-planners!
A recent review of results from 94 studies that used the if-then technique found significantly higher success rates for just about every goal you can think of, including monthly breast self-examination, test preparation, using public transportation instead of driving, buying organic foods, being more helpful to others, not drinking alcohol, not starting smoking, losing weight, recycling, negotiating fairly, avoiding stereotypic and prejudicial thoughts, and better time management.
Why are these plans so effective? Because they are written in the language of your brain--the language of contingencies. Human beings are particularly good at encoding and remembering information in "If X, then Y" terms, and using these contingencies to guide our behavior, often below our awareness.
Once you've formulated your if-then plan, your unconscious brain will start scanning the environment, searching for the situation in the "if" part of your plan. This enables you to seize the critical moment ("Oh, it's 4pm! I'd better return those calls"), even when you are busy doing other things.
Since you've already decided exactly what you need to do, you can execute the plan without having to consciously think about it or waste time deliberating what you should do next. (Sometimes this is conscious, and you actually realize you are following through on your plan. The point is it doesn't have to be conscious, which means your plans can get carried out when you are preoccupied with other things, and that is incredibly useful.)
So if you are finding, day after day, that too many important tasks have gone unaccomplished, and you are looking for a way to introduce better habits of time management into your life, look no further: try making a simple plan. By starting each morning making if-thens to tackle the day's challenges, you won't actually be adding hours to your day, but it will certainly seem like you did.
Heidi's new book is available wherever books are sold. Follow her on Twitter @hghalvorson.Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals
Access Content Source And Other Great Stuff: http://www.fastcompany.com/1734722/want-a-simple-way-to-double-or-triple-your-own-productivity-here-s-how
Heidi Grant Halvorson - Motivational Psychologist - New York City, NY
Heidi Grant Halvorson is a motivational psychologist and author of SUCCEED: How We Can Reach Our Goals. She is the author and co-editor of the highly-regarded academic book The Psychology of Goals (Guilford, 2009), and has authored papers in her field’s most prestigious journals, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, European Journal of Social Psychology, and Judgment and Decision Making. Heidi has received numerous grants from the National Science Foundation for her research on goals and achievement. Her writing has been praised by Carol Dweck, Peter Bregman, and Matthew Kelly, among many others.
Dr. Grant Halvorson is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and was recently elected to the highly selective Society for Experimental Social Psychology. She gives frequent invited addresses and speaks regularly at national conferences, and is available for professional speaking and consulting engagements, primarily in education and management. She received her PhD from Columbia University.
Her new book SUCCEED: How We Can Reach Our Goals is available wherever books are sold. Its publisher is Hudson Street Press, an imprint of Penguin.
Heidi also blogs about self-improvement, health, relationships, and parenting for Psychology Today. Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com
Dr. Grant Halvorson is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and was recently elected to the highly selective Society for Experimental Social Psychology. She gives frequent invited addresses and speaks regularly at national conferences, and is available for professional speaking and consulting engagements, primarily in education and management. She received her PhD from Columbia University.
Her new book SUCCEED: How We Can Reach Our Goals is available wherever books are sold. Its publisher is Hudson Street Press, an imprint of Penguin.
Heidi also blogs about self-improvement, health, relationships, and parenting for Psychology Today. Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com
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http://dreamlearndobecome.blogspot.com This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.
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