Implementation intentions - how to create habits
Summary
- Implementation intentions are small and specific prompts that help us to change our behavour
Details
- Based on a study in Boston in 2015. 2 groups of people were given fitbits and told to try to increase the number of steps they take every week.
- One group was given the fitbit with no further instructions, and after 6 weeks there was no increase in their steps
- The second group were given the fitbit, but also asked to explain when they wanted to add the steps. Then they were emailed a request to review what they did their schedule for the next day and identify when they would add the steps. the second group increased their step count from an average of 7000 to 9000 each day.
- If you decide before hand when you will do a particular action, you are more likely to do it.
- If you add a cue or trigger, such as 'when I go to the bathroom i will do 10 pushups' we are more likely to change this into a habit
References
Quotes
In the autumn of 2015, flyers started appearing around Boston addressed to people who ‘did not feel like they had enough time to exercise’. The research group responsible wanted to understand the most effective ways to get people to do more exercise. People who responded were invited to take part in a study where
they were set a goal to increase the number of steps they took each week. They were each given a Fitbit, a device that tracks health metrics like daily step count, and instructed to wear it for five weeks. Without the participants realising, they’d already been split into
two groups. The first group was just given the Fitbit with no further instructions. The second group was given the Fitbit and a series of prompts, starting with a request to explain when they would add steps to their day. Every evening from then on, they were emailed with a request to review their schedules for the following day and identify the time slot when they could commit to the activity. The results of this tiny intervention were transformative. By the
end of the five weeks, the first group (who just got the Fitbit with no instructions) saw virtually no change from their original step count. In contrast, the second group (who got the Fitbit with specific prompts) increased their steps from an average of 7,000 per day to almost 9,000.
These little triggers to action are called ‘implementation intentions’. And the science of behaviour change indicates they can be revolutionary. Implementation intentions have been the research focus of Peter Gollwitzer, a psychology professor at New York University. They offer a method that builds moments for your new behaviour into your daily routine, just like the cues in that Boston study.
If you decide beforehand when you’re going to do something, you’re much more likely to do it. According to Gollwitzer, the best formula for implementation intentions is a conditional statement: ‘If X happens, then I will Y.’ If you want to practise mindfulness but aren’t sure how to fit this practice into your schedule, create a trigger: ‘When I get up for my regular midday cup of tea today, I will take five deep breaths before walking to the staff kitchen.’ If you want to turn your one-off act of eating fruit into a long-term behaviour change, create a trigger: ‘When I walk into the kitchen, I will eat an apple.’