Implementation Intention
Scientific citation: Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist.
Scientific Definition
A cognitive-behavioral self-regulatory strategy formatted as a highly specific 'If-Then' planning formula. It functions by pre-determining a goal-directed behavior to be executed upon encountering a specific environmental trigger, event, or cue. By linking a prospective action directly to a situational cue, it offloads behavioral control to the environment, bypassing the conscious friction of starting.
Historical Origin
Introduced by German psychologist Peter Gollwitzer in 1999 during his extensive research on goal attainment at New York University. Gollwitzer's experiments showed that while setting goals ('I intend to achieve X') increases success slightly, link-binding those goals to a trigger ('If situation Y arises, then I will execute action Z') increases task completion rates by over 100% across diverse cohorts, especially when under stress.
Rather than allowing vague daily commitments (e.g., 'work on marketing'), Pip prompts you to format your Daily 3 goals around explicit triggers. Instead of writing general intentions like 'work on marketing', Pip encourages you to write: 'When I sit down at my desk with my morning coffee, I will send three outreach emails.' This triggers execution automatically, removing the mid-day friction of deciding what to do and how to start.
Build science-backed habits
Ditch the complex, distracting setups. Download Pip to write your Daily 3 goals, lock them in early by 10 AM, and build streaks grounded in human biology.