In a recent blog post, Mark Johnson, CEO of JP & Associates, referenced a trick he uses to complete proactive tasks.

The concept of implementation intentions was introduced in 1999 by psychologist Peter Gollwitzer.

You can supercharge your effort by predetermining a specific behavior in response to a particular cue.

Here’s an example:

“If I’m feeling tempted NOT to make my prospecting calls, I’ll text my accountability partner.”

The basic structure of an implementation intention is:

IF {situation} THEN I will {your planned behavior}.

Developing good recruiting habits often means doing some tasks you initially find unpleasant.

Most people need a trigger event to jump start the right activity.

That trigger can be self-generated (ex. a time-block on your calendar or an alarm on your phone), but that doesn’t work for some people.

If you’re one of those people, give Dr. Gollwitzer’s method a try.