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Productivity methods and focus

WOOP method

A four-step goal method from psychologist Gabriele Oettingen: name a Wish, picture the Outcome, name your inner Obstacle, then make an if-then Plan.

What It Means

WOOP is a goal-setting method with four steps: Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan. You name something you want, picture the best result of getting it, name the thing inside you most likely to get in the way, and then write an if-then planImplementation intentionAn if-then plan that ties a goal to a specific moment: "If situation X happens, then I will do Y." See more for the moment that obstacle shows up. Researchers call the technique behind it mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII), and WOOP is its everyday form.

Try It: Walk Through WOOP One Step at a Time

Four steps, with an example answer under each. Do yours in your head or on paper as you go.

Wish (1 of 4). Name one wish that matters to you. Example: walk for 30 minutes on weekday evenings.

How People Say It

  • "I WOOPed my morning run last night."
  • "What's the obstacle, though? Be honest."
  • "My plan is: if I open the fridge after nine, I close it and make tea."

The Breakdown

The four steps

  1. Wish. Choose one wish that's important to you, for a day, a week or longer.
  2. Outcome. Picture the best thing about reaching it. Take a minute and let the picture be concrete.
  3. Obstacle. Ask what inside you stops you, such as a habit, a feeling or an excuse. Picture that moment too.
  4. Plan. Write one if-then sentence: "If [the obstacle], then I will [action]."

Worked example (Buhata's own)

StepAnswer
WishFinish my online course by the end of the month
OutcomeThe certificate on my resumeResumeA short document that sums up your work history, skills, education and results for an employer, usually sent with a job application. See more before review season
ObstacleI open my phone "for a minute" after dinner and lose the evening
PlanIf I finish dinner, then I'll put my phone in the kitchen drawer and open the course

Short version to try today. Take five quiet minutes, run through the four steps for one wish, and write the Plan sentence where you'll see it.

Where It Comes From

WOOP was developed by Gabriele Oettingen, a professor of psychology at New York University, and her research team, whose publications are listed by NYU's Motivation Lab and on her WOOP my life site. It joins two lines of research: mental contrasting (setting a wished-for future against present obstacles) and implementation intentions, the if-then plans studied by psychologist Peter Gollwitzer.

Good to Know

The Obstacle step asks about something inside you, such as an urge, a feeling or an excuse, which is how the VA study record on ClinicalTrials.gov describes it. A meta-analysis on PubMed Central, "A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions on Goal Attainment," reports that the combined technique improved goal attainment in health, academic and interpersonal goals. It's also being tested in medical settings; ClinicalTrials.gov lists a VA study using WOOP for weight management in primary care.

FAQ

What does WOOP stand for?

Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan. The steps run in that order, and the last one is an if-then plan for handling the obstacle.

Who created the WOOP method?

Gabriele Oettingen, a psychology professor at New York University, building on her research on mental contrasting and on implementation intentions.

Why picture the obstacle instead of only the goal?

WOOP sets the future you want against what's holding you back now, so the plan is aimed at the real sticking point. The if-then plan then decides in advance what you'll do when that moment comes.

Do It in Buhata

Notes (Premium) and Reminders

Write each WOOP in Notes (Premium) in Buhata, then set a Reminder for the "if" moment of your plan.

Open Buhata

Related Terms and Categories

  • Implementation intention

    An if-then plan that ties a goal to a specific moment: "If situation X happens, then I will do Y."

  • SMART goals

    Goals written to pass five tests: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, an idea first published by George T. Doran in 1981.

  • New Year's resolutions

    Goals a person sets at the start of a new year to change a habit, learn something or improve their health, money or relationships.

  • Habit loop

    The three-part pattern behind a habit, as described by Charles Duhigg: a cue that triggers it, the routine you do, and the reward that makes it stick.

  • Procrastination

    Putting off a task you intended to do, even though you expect the delay to leave you worse off, often to escape how the task makes you feel.

Productivity methods and focus

Sources

WOOP my life, "Publications" (woopmylife.org); NYU Motivation Lab, "Gabriele Oettingen's Publications"; "A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions on Goal Attainment" (PubMed Central); ClinicalTrials.gov, "WOOP VA: Promoting Weight Management in Primary Care"

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