Although setting goals improves performance robustly across various settings, it is nevertheless a skill: one must learn how to effectively set goals.
Multiple studies show a significant improvement in achieving a goal by writing a clearly defined statement including when and where their goal would take place.
“Women who stated when and where they would perform a breast self-examination did it 100% of the time. Meanwhile, those who didn’t state when and where only performed the exam 53% of the time.”
“People who wrote down when and where they would take their vitamins each day were less likely to miss a day over a five-week span than those who did not.”
“Dieters who formulated a plan for when and how they would eat healthier were significantly more likely to eat healthy than those who did not.”
REFERENCES
Int J Psychophysiol. 2017 Sep;119:93-107. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2017.06.001. Epub 2017 Jul 28
Implementation intentions and the theory of planned behavior. Orbell, S., Hodgkins, S., & Sheeran, P. (1997). Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 945-954.
“Good intentions, bad habits, and effects of forming implementation intentions on healthy eating JO” – European Journal of Social Psychology JA – Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. VL – 29 IS – 5-6 PB – John Wiley & Sons