Get Unstuck And Act: 5 Behavioural Change Tools to Propel You Forward

Don't get in your way but use practical tools to take action instead

Photo by Niyas Khan on Unsplash

Most of us want to improve or change at least one aspect of life. Without taking action, these dreams become regrets about a life half lived.

During my psychological coaching diploma, we explored different ways people prefer to manage stress.

We used a tool called BASIC-ID to break down which stress management approaches work best for someone (read this article if you want to explore more), e.g., mindset, bodily sensations (physiology), emotional regulation etc.

You must identify your specific needs - if you’re more receptive to emotional, behavioural, or body-related methods, a mindset-focused tool may be less effective.

We’ll focus on behavioural change tools and strategies here, drawing on insights from behavioural scientists, including Katy Milkman and Richard Thaler.

These piggyback our internal biases to jumpstart action for change.

Reduce your reliance on motivation alone, and use a practical approach to create an action plan to your goals.

Feeling stuck has many causes, so focus on outcomes you want

Feeling stuck is frustrating, annoying and there’s no one way to get past it. There are many reasons we feel like this, such as fear of change, stress and anxiety, lack of clarity, limiting beliefs and so on.

Perfectionist traits get in my way and keep me stuck if I don’t explore and challenge the drivers - it’s usually not knowing how to do something, fear of failure or fear of making mistakes.

Once I accept the discomfort and remind myself the outcome is more important than the process, I nudge forward.

From a nervous system perspective, taking action is the best way to learn and retrain yourself - to let go of unhelpful habits and build helpful ones.

Through neuroplasticity, repetition, and neurogenesis, our brains rewire neuronal connections at the single neuron, network or whole-brain system levels.

This establishes new actions into the long-term.

As usual, pick small tests to experiment with and be a curious scientist.

Ditch what needs improving and tweak what shows promise to build an action plan towards your goals.

Tool #1: Temptation Bundling

If you tend to procrastinate, temptation bundling could be for you.

It’s a behavioural change strategy that involves pairing an activity you need to do (and procrastinate on) with an activity you enjoy.

Shared by Katy Milkman, this uses our natural desire for immediate gratification to make less appealing tasks more attractive.

I’ve used this approach with a client who wanted to exercise more regularly but couldn’t get into the habit.

After a few false starts, they bundled going to the gym to time with their daughter.

This pairing creates a positive association with the (initially) less desirable activity, and boosts motivation to do it.

My client saw it as wonderful bonding time, and they held each other accountable to stick to the new fitness routine.

By linking a necessary task with a pleasurable one, temptation bundling helps get unstuck, put aside excuses, and take useful action more consistently.

Tool #2: Implementation Intentions

When I’m wrapping up a coaching session, I ask my client what actions they’ll take away. I want them to decide their next steps, but I’m also listening for vague statements.

If that happens, we drill down into specifics so they prime their brain for action.

Implementation intentions are specific plans that outline when, where, and how you’ll achieve a goal.

It’s a handy tool when you’re not committing to change enough.

Pioneered by psychologist Peter Gollwitzer, this tool uses "if-then" statements to create clear, actionable steps that bridge the gap between intentions and actions.

We all have the best intentions. But as mentioned above, without action these are unrequited dreams for the future.

For example, instead of vaguely deciding to "write an article weekly," you could plan, "If it is Saturday at 9 a.m., then I will create a draft outline for my article. I’ll flesh this out into my first draft between 11am - 1pm."

By pre-determining the exact circumstances and actions, it’s easier to follow through, even in the face of obstacles.

It’s useful to define what to do if obstacles occur so you know what your plan A and B are. This further reduces chances of getting distracted or delayed - make it excuse-proof.

Continuing this example, you could add, “if a friend calls to chat, that’ll be a distraction from writing time. So, I’ll put my phone on airplane mode so I get into writing flow state when I want to.”

Implementation intentions help achieve goals because they offer a conditional, structured framework to reduce decision-making effort.

This increases your likelihood of taking action.

Tool #3: Fresh Start Effect

In that week between Christmas and New Year, there’s a surge in “lose weight and get fit” adverts. How many times are you bombarded with adding diet or exercise to your New Year’s Resolutions list?

Marketers have just spent 3 months telling you to gorge yourself for the holidays, so this is their chance to rebalance. Thanks marketing!

This example demonstrates the fresh start effect. It refers to the psychological phenomenon where temporal landmarks, such as New Year's Day, birthdays, or the beginning of a new month, create a sense of a new beginning.

Katy Milkman and her colleagues explored this concept in various studies, and noticed these temporal markers provide a mental reset.

This makes people feel more motivated to pursue their goals.

So what’s going on?

Well, these moments are seen as opportunities to leave past failures behind and start with a clean slate. A fresh page of sorts.

I wanted to create a weekly newsletter routine so I used this myself at the start of 2024. Using the fresh start effect, I felt like any patchy legacy was left behind.

This temporal landmark, a natural break in time, was a great point to set new goals or recommit to existing ones.

We often use this on a weekly basis. I’ll restart my <insert desired habit> on Monday.

Align your behavioural change efforts with these fresh starts, and harness a renewed sense of purpose and motivation.

Take note though - if you’re rolling these efforts over several fresh starts with limited progress, investigate what’s getting in your way and revise your approach.

Tool #4: Commitment Devices

Being held to account isn’t comfortable - we don’t like being called out for failing or letting others down.

Avoiding accountability is equally unhelpful. When we take responsibility, we kickstart a learning process and explore where our plans fall over.

If you need external accountability to get things done - you know who you are (me too btw!) - commitment devices are a useful tool to deploy.

Commitment devices are tools or agreements that bind you to your goals by creating consequences for failing to follow through.

This is a popular concept developed by behavioural economists like Richard Thaler.

It involves setting up mechanisms that make it costly or difficult to abandon your goals.

Consider making a public commitment to a goal - I see this often with business building on social media. Having public accountability is a powerful social motivator so you stick to your goals.

Even if you fail, you’ve created an audience who want to know how it went. Win-win.

Another example could be publicly announcing a fitness challenge - you could pledge a sum of money to charity if you don't meet your weight loss target

Separately, you could use apps that create commitment contracts by locking away a certain amount of money until you achieve your goal.

Another example I’ve read about is allocating a financial donation to a cause you don’t support if you miss the goal - that can be a bigger motivator than money going to something you support!

Commitment devices work because they use the power of external accountability and the desire to avoid negative consequences.

We’re wired to be more sensitive to avoiding negative costs, so this increases the likelihood of sticking to your intentions for sustained progress.

Tool #5: Choice Architecture

Our brains and nervous systems predict our responses based on inputs from internal (through our sensory organs (interoception)) and external data (from the environment).

Choice architecture uses this knowledge to design the environment in a way that makes desired behaviours easier to perform and less desirable behaviours harder.

If you’ve heard about using ‘friction’ to create or undo habits, this is what it relates to.

This concept, rooted in the work of Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, emphasises the importance of how choices are presented and structured.

You strategically use your environment to nudge towards healthier or more productive behaviours, reducing the need for significant willpower.

One of my previous clients wanted to stop snacking during the day when working from home. When they explained the habit, I realised the snacks were too easy to access on the kitchen worktop.

There is something to the adage “out of sight, out of mind”. My client used that approach and put all snacks into the cupboards.

They also stuck Post-It notes with messages onto the doors in case they were tempted for a snack (planning for obstacles!).

At our next session, they recounted how their snacking habit had reduced significantly, and they’d developed better eating habits.

By reshaping your surroundings to support your goals, choice architecture helps you create automatic, helpful behaviour changes.

Consider how to adapt the environment - have less friction to create a habit, or more friction to undo a habit.

To do the thing, align it to what you care about

Change isn’t always easy. Behavioural activation focuses on aligning your change actions to your values and interests. To increase your chances of taking action, reflect on the points below.

When we’re stressed or busy, we stop doing fun hobbies or interests that make life enjoyable.

Fun or meaningful activities transport us away, and restore our minds and bodies so we function better and are happier overall.

When you identify and schedule fun or meaningful activities with the tools above, you’ve got a better chance to get unstuck and ignore avoidance behaviours.

A recent client was overworking in their business - they were tired and miserable, making tough decisions for the future.

When we explored what they wanted to focus on, they yearned to get back to their football habit.

They missed the exercise, but more than that, they missed the social interaction with their mates. It was lonely in the business under so much pressure.

They used the implementation intentions tool to determine which date and session they would go to. We also worked through any blockers and alternatives if plan A didn’t happen.

In our next session, they were more motivated overall.

Having a plan for something enjoyable in the diary gave them much needed energy and a mood boost.

Key takeaways

Use the tools above to inspire a new way to structure your day, week or month.

Don’t feel stuck in indecision or fear. Pick a tool for the goal you want to achieve.

Grab a piece of paper and jot down what you’ll do, how and when you’ll do it.

Celebrate your small wins to stay motivated and on track.

Share it with a friend or accountability group for social support.

Here’s a summary of the 5 behaviour change tools if you need a cheat sheet:

1. Tool #1: Temptation Bundling:

   1. Pair enjoyable activities with necessary but less enjoyable ones to boost motivation, such as watching a favourite TV show while exercising, or studying with a friend.

2. Tool #2: Implementation Intentions:

   1. Create specific "if-then" plans to meet challenges, like "If I get distracted, then I’ll put my phone in the other room," and adapt plans for common stressors.

3. Tool #3: Fresh Start Effect:

   1. Use significant temporal landmarks, like the beginning of a week, month or year, to motivate new behaviours. Recognise personal moments to set and pursue goals.

4. Tool #4: Commitment Devices:

   1. Implement tools or agreements to create accountability for goals, such as financial penalties for missed targets. Use digital tools and social accountability to maintain commitment.

5. Tool #5: Choice Architecture:

   1. Design environments to drive desired behaviours (reducing friction), like organising a workspace to limit distractions. Adjust personal spaces to make positive actions easier.

Behavioural change tools are powerful as they link well to social and environmental parts of your life. This takes the pressure off you to do it alone.

Be creative with your approach - have fun so you get unstuck and enjoy the journey along the way.

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Are you surprised by any of these behavioural tools? Which one are you curious to try first?