How can I effortlessly improve myself in lots of little ways?

Answer: Set 30 implementation intentions and implement them!

An implementation intention looks like this:

If………………………………………….then I will…………………………

Some examples from Gollwitzer’s research studies:

If I am riding the bus home from work, then I will eat an apple. (Intended goal is to increase fruit intake.)

If I am watching television and want a snack, then I will reach for the fruit bowl and take an apple. (Intended goal is to reduce unhealthy snacking while watching TV.)

If, while doing this task, a distraction arises, then I will ignore it. (Intended goal is to concentrate hard on a boring task.)

My current 30 implementation intentions:

1. If I am about to go upstairs, then I will run up the stairs. (Intended goal: to increase my incidental exercise.)
2. If I am outside jogging, then I will apply my daughter’s two jogging tips. (Intended goal: to be able to jog without hurting my hip.)
3. If I am walking down the hill,  then I will mindfully study the city skyline for signs novelty and difference. (Intended goal: to be more mindful of my beautiful environment.)
4. If I eat, then I will mindfully savor the taste of what I am eating. (Intended goal: to savor my food and not mindlessly bolt it down  so fast.)
5. If my husband gets out of bed in the morning, then I will note the time and make sure I get up no more than 10 minutes later. (Intended goal: to get up earlier than I do.)
6. If I catch myself wallowing in morbid thoughts, then I will count backwards in 7’s from 102. (Intended goal: to tip myself out of negative, unproductive thinking.)
7. If I am wanting to concentrate hard on my work and I catch myself wanting to get up and take a break, then I will make myself work at least another 5 minutes before stopping. (Intended goal: to build up my “concentration muscle”.)
8. If I catch myself automatically getting up from my work, then I will make myself sit down again and work another 5 minutes before I can stop. (Intended goal: to strengthen my “concentration muscle” and to stay more in charge of my decisions.)
9. If I think of a good idea but am not near my computer, then I will write the good idea down on my hand. (Intended goal: to capture my good ideas and not forget them.)
10. If I have a shower, then I will spend a couple of minutes trying to recall what I’ve been recently reading or watching. (Intended goal: to consolidate my long-term memories.)
11. If I am about to play the Stroop game on Posit Science, then I will mentally rehearse focusing just on the number of numbers rather than the numbers themselves. (Intended goal: to strengthen my impulse control.)
12. If I am playing the n-back game and I make some errors, then I will calm down and re-focus on the new stimuli coming in. (Intended goal: to improve my ability to recover from failure.)
13. If I am about to meditate, then I will spend a minute mentally rehearsing doing all the right things to create a good meditation session.( Intended goal: to improve my meditation success.)
14. If I am meditating and my thoughts wander from focusing on my breath, then I will calmly bring my thoughts back to the breath. (Intended goal: to improve my self-control.)
15. If I catch myself biting my fingernails, then I will stop. (Intended goal: to stop biting my fingernails.)
16. If I go to get something to eat during the day, then I will first eat a small amount of vegetable before eating anything else. (Intended goal: to eat more vegetables during the day.)
17. If it’s Friday, then I will water the house plants. (Intended goal: to keep plants alive.)
18. If an email comes in requiring a reply, then I will reply to it before going to bed. (Intended goal: to be courteous and reply to emails promptly.)
19. If I have trouble going to sleep, then I will recall all the happy things that happened to me during the day. (Intended goal: to replace anxiety with a happy frame of mind to help me sleep.)
20. If I am doing my stretching exercises, then I will mindfully focus on my muscles stretching. (Intended goal: to get more out of the stretching exercises by concentrating on what I’m doing.)
21. If I come across a fascinating fact, then I will note it down and add it to my fascinating fact file. (Intended goal: to build up my repertoire of fascinating facts.)
22. If I come across some good material for my website but am not sure what to do with it, then I will add it to my “still to be processed” file. (Intended goal: to file good stuff away safely so I don’t forget it.)
23. If a friend or one of my children comes over, then I will greet them heartily. (Intended goal: to train myself to greet people heartily.)
24. If I make a promise to someone, then I will write that promise down on my checklist. (Intended goal: to keep all promises I make.)
25. If I see a small mess I’ve made, then I will clean it up. (Intended goal: to be more orderly.)
26. If I am cleaning my teeth, then I will then apply my skin cancer cream afterwards. (Intended goal: to remember to apply my cream twice a day.)
27. If I finish reading an article or chapter of book, then I will spend a couple of minutes trying to recall what I’ve just read. (Intended goal: to remember and think about what I read, rather than to just read mindlessly.)
28. If I am reading something, then I will note down practical ways to apply ideas I’ve read. (Intended goal: to read purposefully and extract practical value from what I read.)
29. If I hit a serve off the end while playing ping pong, then I will serve more conservatively for the rest of the game. (intended goal: to control my mindless recklessness.)
30. If I am about to phone up or see a friend,  then I will spend a couple of minutes thinking about what my friend has been up to recently. (Intended goal: to practise being other-person focused.)