Five proactivity exercises and practical if-then plans

Practise proactivity through one recurring situation: notice it in advance, choose a manageable action and check what changes. The five exercises below concern work and study tasks. They are editorial examples to adapt, not a personality test or a promise to transform your life within a fixed period.

Describe the situation without judging yourself

Instead of “I have no initiative”, record an observation: “Before submitting the assignment, I spent a long time looking for the assessment criteria again.” Note what happened, the result you wanted and what you could prepare next time. If the term is unfamiliar, start with our explanation of proactive behaviour.

Choose a case where you have room to act. Your first attempt does not have to change an entire process or involve many people. You might gather questions beforehand, find a permitted example or clarify a missing deadline.

Write one if-then plan

Connect a recognisable situation with a specific action: “If I receive a new assignment, then before starting I will note which outcome and deadline I need to clarify.” The event should be noticeable and the action feasible in the setting where you will need it.

Gollwitzer and Sheeran's Psychology of Planning, 2025 reviews if-then plans as a way to support goal pursuit. The authors identify conditions affecting results, including features of the goal and the plan itself. This supports trying a specific plan, rather than assuming any sentence in that format will work.

Prepare what the action needs

Remove one practical obstacle. A meeting question needs an accessible place for notes; a work review needs clear criteria; a new skill needs suitable practice material. Avoid turning preparation into a large project of its own.

First distinguish the goal, project and next task. “Improve communication” is difficult to complete in one sitting. “Email to clarify the expected result” is an action you can schedule.

Suggest a small agreed trial

Consider a fictional team member who notices that meetings lack a clear decision question. They propose adding one line to the next invitation and discussing afterwards whether it helped people prepare. The trial has a limited scope and can be adjusted or stopped.

State the purpose, participants, effort involved and review point. If the change affects another person's work, agree on it first. Without the authority to implement it, your action may be to explain a proposal rather than introduce it yourself.

If the trial involves handing part of the work to a colleague, separately agree on their outcome and authority. Use our sample delegation brief to turn a shared idea into a clear working agreement.

If the chosen action needs to continue after the first trial, check how it fits your workload and how to prepare the next session. Our guide to self-discipline and workable conditions includes questions for that review.

Record the result and revise the plan

• Did the chosen situation occur?
• Did you notice it in time?
• Did you carry out the planned action?
• What became clearer or changed afterwards?
• What needs adjusting for another attempt?

If the situation did not occur, you cannot assess the result yet. If the action was too large, reduce its scope. If it depends on an unavailable resource, address that dependency. A simple system for tasks and materials can hold your notes. When new requests repeatedly interrupt your attempts, begin by reviewing those recurring urgent requests.