We are all developing our strategies to get motivated and reach our goals. They can be very different from one person to another. Some strategies can be simple to introduce in our daily routine, but some goals can also be more complicated and effortful to activate.

As a consequence, we sometimes fail to reach our goals.

Our “personal” strategies can be very efficient think for example of a to-do list is. Each line that we write down has to be done according to the importance and the urgency of each task.

But we also procrastinate…and then our tasks stay on our to-do list, unaccomplished.

Literature in psychology and motivation establishes clearly that some goal pursuit strategies are more efficient than others. Some studies revealed different efficient goal pursuit strategies. Among them, forming implementation intentions before engaging effort in goal pursuit increases your chance to reach the goal (Gollwitzer, 1999).

Indeed, forming the plan, “If I encounter situation X, then I will initiate response Y” leads to the automation of the selected action to reach your goal and thus making it “easier” to reach.