How If-When-Then thinking is the new lifehack for goal setting

ifwhenthen (25)in #lifehack • 6 years ago

Research has shown that If When Then Planners are 2 to 3x times more likely to reach their goals.

There’s a simple Lifehack strategy to reach your goals and progress faster and further. And, this strategy is the fundamental to our company philosophy.

How to start goal setting, follow your passion in a world full of distractions, and master new skills?

The answer is strategic planning.

Peter M. Gollwitzer, a professor of psychology at the New York University, has done one of the most amazing psychological research studies on goal setting.

It turns out, people who set goals by using “if-when-then” strategic thinking are 2 to 3x more likely to reach them compared to those who don’t.

This is because If When Then planning requires you to set your intentions on the implementation of the goal.

So you have to decide when, where and how to reach your goal. In other words, it requires contextual thinking.

Suppose you decided to learn Design skills. Having Design skills could help you get a promotion or even a new job. Using if-when-then’s strategic thinking, you need consider your level and situation.

Then — you need to examine your options?

Strategic thinking ensures that you focus on finding the right challenge. It activates many psychological processes to structure your thoughts to be more goal-driven. You start thinking in shorter and more reachable goals.

If I want to learn Design

When — I need an Introductory course

Then — what are my options

and, finally.

How — by using situational filters you then identify the best options for yourself [such as location, time and classroom size etc..]

Once you reach one goal. Time for a next one! It’s CRAZY how simple this Lifehack can be!!

But it’s not that simple. Technology is changing too rapidly and people don’t know where/how to find the right digital skills. In a recent survey, 66% of higher education students think they’re learning the wrong skills.

Not long ago, earning a formal university degree was good enough to make a mark on the world. But that’s changed. It used to be a simple formula, IF I want a job, WHEN I don’t have employable skills THEN just go to University.

THEN, the University and College programs are mostly the ones who decide the when, where and how you reach your learning’s goals. The traditional model of education is like a factory and it is no longer working in creative and tech sectors.

As a result, since 2011 there has been a 13% decline in students attending University and College. Students are looking for new pathways to skills development in this evolving job marketplace.

Not surprisingly, there are many in the world trying to address the need and new training programs outside formal education have been working to solve this problem.

While no global statistics are kept on non-formal education programs, there are now tens of thousands of these smaller training programs that teach every conceivable skill. Among just coding schools — the clearest, shortest pathway for students for a high growth career in tech — there are several hundred in Eastern Europe alone. The results so far are mixed.

The sheer number of schools is a blessing and a problem. The options are endless, and the infrastructure to compare, review, and approach them is nonexistent. How do you know if you are making a good decision and can plan strategically?

IF recognizes this problem and has designed competitive search ranking system for non formal education training programs in creative and tech sectors. This search engine will increase trust in non formal education and empower students to discover the right skills for the evolving job marketplace.

Because it’s not enough to just make a wish. It won’t make your goals happen.

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