A four-step planning move: name the wish, picture the outcome, identify the obstacle, write an if-then plan.
Example
Wish: practise piano four times a week. Outcome: feel ready for the recital. Obstacle: I usually scroll my phone after dinner. Plan: if I finish dinner, then I sit at the piano for fifteen minutes before picking up the phone.
How it fits in
Visualising success on its own can actually reduce follow-through, because feeling like you already succeeded takes the edge off doing the work. WOOP adds the obstacle and the specific if-then plan, which is what closes the gap between intention and action. The obstacle step is the part most people skip and the part that makes the rest work.
Practise it on the platform
Related terms
A small specific rule of the shape 'if X happens, then I will do Y'. Specific beats vague almost every time.
Work in focused 25-minute blocks with a five-minute break in between.
If a task takes less than two minutes, do it now. The hassle of putting it off costs more than the task itself.