{"id":484,"date":"2010-01-18T17:08:49","date_gmt":"2010-01-19T01:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.noomii.com\/?p=484"},"modified":"2019-03-15T12:26:09","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T19:26:09","slug":"make-commitments-stick-by-specifying-place-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.noomii.com\/blog\/?p=484","title":{"rendered":"Make Commitments Stick by Specifying Place & Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\""When

"When and where are you going to do that?"<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

Most coaches know about SMART goals<\/a> \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 ones that are Specific, Measurable, Attractive, Realistic, and Time-framed. The idea is that the more a goal meets these criteria, the more likely a person is to achieve it. So the goal \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cI will lose weight\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d could be made SMART by re-writing it as \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cI will lose 20 pounds and be down to my old weight of 170 pounds by my birthday next year.\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d Research, however, has shown that there is a lot more to goal achievement than the way we phrase our goals.<\/p>\r\n

Specifically, researchers who study goal-related behavior differentiate between goal intentions (i.e. what goals I hope to accomplish) and implementation intentions (what actions I intend to do to accomplish them). See the table below for some examples.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Goal Intention
\r\n<\/strong><\/td>\r\n		 Implementation Intention
\r\n<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Lose 20 pounds<\/td>\r\nI will only buy only nonfat milk<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Get into better shape<\/td>\r\nI will go to the gym straight from work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Have better eating habits<\/td>\r\nI will not eat after 8 o’clock pm<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

<\/br><\/p>\r\n

Specify When & Where<\/h2>\r\n

Just like writing SMART goals makes them more effective, researchers have discovered ways to make implementations intentions more effective, too. Specifically, the best implementation intentions are ones that specify when and where a behavior is to be performed.<\/p>\r\n

In a recent study, psychologists Pascal Sheeran and Thomas Webb at the University of Sheffield, along with Peter Gollwitzer at New York University asked students to write how many hours they intended to study in the coming week (their goal intentions). They then asked half of the students to write down when and where they intend to study, e.g. \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201c2 to 4 pm. at the library\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d (their implementation intentions). The other half of the participants were asked to write down only their goal intentions (how many hours they intended to study) but not their specific implementation intentions (when and where). A week later, students in the \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cwhen and where\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d group had studied significantly more hours than those who were not asked to specify a place and time.<\/p>\r\n

The bottom line is that for every goal your client has, it\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s not enough to make them SMART \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 they also need to specify clear and unambiguous implementation intentions, ideally ones that include a place and time.<\/p>\r\n

Coaching activity \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 make commitments with a place and time<\/h2>\r\n

Now that you know the importance of place and time in goal achievement, here\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s a simple activity you can do with your clients to improve their likelihood of success.<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n
  1. Go through each of their goals and select two or three high priority goals to work on. Remember the \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cless is more\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d rule \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 the fewer goals, the better.<\/li>\r\n
  2. For each goal, re-write it as a SMART goal (clicking on this link will take you to a more detailed description of how to do this).<\/li>\r\n
  3. For each SMART goal, ask your client to commit to two or three implementation actions and write them down. Make sure each commitment specifies a place and a time, if appropriate.<\/li>\r\n
  4. Finally, make sure your client writes down their commitments and posts them in a place where they can be easily seen, for example next to their computer screen, on their bathroom mirror, etc. If you are using Noomii\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s client management tools<\/a>, your client can even have their goals and commitments emailed to them every day.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    Example goal:<\/h3>\r\n

    I want to do better in math class.
    \r\nMake it SMART:<\/span>
    \r\nI will get an A average in my calculus class that finishes in May of next year. This will help me achieve my dream of going to med school when I finish my undergrad degree.<\/p>\r\n

    Example commitments that include a \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cplace and time\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u009d:<\/p>\r\n