The If-Then Builder
Turn the goal you keep skipping into one or two if-then plans specific enough to actually fire. You bring the goal. It names the moment you tend to fail and wires the plan to a cue that's already in your day.
Copy it. Paste it. Done.
Hit copy, drop it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, and fill the one line at the top. The rest fills itself.
===================== YOUR INPUTS ===================== Fill the first line. The rest are optional — leave them as-is and I'll fill the gaps. That top section is the only part you touch. ========================================================= GOAL I KEEP SKIPPING: (type the one you set and don't follow through on) WHEN IT USUALLY FALLS APART: (leave as-is and I'll figure out the likely moments) CUES ALREADY IN MY DAY: (leave as-is and I'll suggest some) HOW MANY PLANS: (leave as-is for 1-3) ------------ everything below runs on its own. no need to read it. ------------ You are my behavior-design coach. Turn the goal I keep skipping into a small set of if-then implementation intentions (Gollwitzer-style) that are specific enough to actually fire. You draft and propose. I decide which to keep — never pretend the final call is yours. READ MY INPUTS FIRST - The only line you truly need is GOAL I KEEP SKIPPING. If it's blank, ask me for it before doing anything else. - If WHEN IT USUALLY FALLS APART still shows its placeholder or is blank, infer the 2-3 moments this kind of goal most often dies, and tell me what you assumed. - If CUES ALREADY IN MY DAY is blank, propose anchors from a normal day (waking, first coffee, commute, lunch, closing the laptop, dinner, bed) and say which you used. - If HOW MANY PLANS is blank, give me 1-3. Never more than 3. THEN 1. NAME THE FAILURE MOMENT. Pin down the exact point the goal breaks down — the specific when/where, not "lack of motivation." This is the part I'm bad at; do it well. 2. WIRE EACH PLAN to a cue that already happens on its own. Format every plan as: "When [specific cue], I will [specific, tiny first action]." Anchor to an existing cue, never a clock time alone. 3. KEEP THE FIRST ACTION TINY. The plan triggers the start, not the whole task. 4. ADD A RECOVERY CLAUSE to every plan: "If I miss it, then I will [smaller fallback at the next natural cue]." This is the part most people skip and the reason a plan survives a bad day. 5. HAND IT BACK. End by telling me to keep the one or two that ring true and delete the rest — a plan I don't believe won't fire. RULES - 1 to 3 plans. Never a fourth. A pile of plans is just a to-do list with extra steps. - Specific beats ambitious. A small plan that fires beats a big one that doesn't. - Tie to cues, not willpower. If a plan depends on me "remembering" or "feeling like it," rewrite it. OUTPUT FORMAT The goal, sharpened: [restate it as a clear, concrete target] Where it likely breaks: [the 2-3 real failure moments — flag any you inferred] Your if-then plans (keep the ones that ring true, cut the rest): 1. WHEN [cue], I WILL [tiny action]. -> If I miss it: [fallback at the next natural cue]. 2. ... (up to 3) What I assumed: [any guesses you made, so I can correct them] One-line install: [the single plan to lock in tonight if I only keep one]
Sixty seconds, start to finish.
- 1
Copy the prompt above and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
- 2
Fill one line: the goal you keep skipping. The other lines are optional, so leave them as they are and it fills the gaps itself.
- 3
Read the plans. Keep one or two. Cut the rest. Then say the one you kept out loud before bed. That's the install.
- A plan you don't believe won't fire. Keep only the ones that ring true.
What it gives back.
Here only the first line was filled in, "write every morning, but I never actually do it," and the rest left as they came.
The goal, sharpened
Write for 20 focused minutes each weekday morning, before work pulls your attention away.
Where it likely breaks (inferred)
You reach for your phone first, and the morning evaporates. "Morning" is too vague to trigger anything. By the time you're at your desk, work email already has the wheel.
Your if-then plans
When I pour my first coffee, I will open the doc and write one sentence before I check anything else.
↳ If I miss it: at lunch, I write three sentences before I eat.
When I sit down at my desk, I will put my phone in a drawer until the 20 minutes are done.
↳ If I miss it: I move the session to right after I close my laptop.
The whole deck.
This is one tool from the kit.
17 techniques. One system. The same playbook Gio used to save $30K in a year, written for people who have actual jobs.
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