WOOP: plan for what gets in the way

Updated

WOOP stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan, and it comes from Gabriele Oettingen’s research. You picture what you want, name what inside you gets in the way, and write a rule for the moment it happens. It’s free, and you can start without an account.

Gabriele Oettingen’s research on mental contrasting found that picturing a good outcome on its own tends to make people less likely to act. WOOP puts the obstacle right beside the picture.

The four steps of WOOP

  1. W is for WishPicture it in the present tense: "I run the whole route at seven in the morning without checking my phone." Pick something that stretches you and that you’ve a fair chance at.
  2. O is for OutcomeWrite what you get out of it: “An hour of my own before anybody needs me.” Stay with this one for a moment before you move on.
  3. O is for ObstacleName the thing inside you that gets in the way: "I tell myself I’ll do it later, and later never comes."
  4. P is for PlanWrite a rule with a trigger: if X happens, then I do Y. "If I reach for the phone before the kettle, the phone goes in the drawer."

Name an obstacle inside you

At step three, write down something about you. Busy weeks, the kids and the weather are all out of your hands.

Look for a habit, a story you tell yourself, or a time of day when you do the other thing. You can see those coming, so a rule can catch them.

The difference

An obstacle you can’t use: "I don’t have time in the mornings."

One you can: "I check my phone in bed and it’s twenty past seven before I’m up."

The second one has a trigger in it, and the plan hooks onto the trigger.

Why the plan starts with "if"

"I will exercise more" has nothing to hook onto. An if-then rule starts with something that happens around you, so you don’t have to remember to check.

The psychologist Peter Gollwitzer named these rules implementation intentions.

Learn the plan by heart

The plan is the only part to memorise. Say it to yourself twice after you write it.

Use it on the goal that’s wobbling

WOOP works best on something specific. Take the twelve week goal you’re least sure of and run the four steps on it.

Questions people ask

What does WOOP stand for?

Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan. The Astera workspace takes you through all four, and your answers save in your browser.

Is WOOP the same as mental contrasting?

Mental contrasting is the first three steps: the wish, the outcome and the obstacle. WOOP adds the plan, which is an if-then rule for the obstacle.

What if I have more than one obstacle?

Pick the one that stops you most often and write a plan for that. You can run WOOP again for the next one.

How long does WOOP take?

The workspace sets it out as eight minutes. Give most of that time to the obstacle.

Where to go next

On paper