“I don’t have time” is rarely about time — it’s about priority and planning. But there is a catch in the word “priority”, and it is the most useful thing on the page: deciding something matters is a goal intention, and goal intentions account for only 20 to 30% of the variance in what people actually do, converting to action about half the time. So caring more is necessary and nowhere near sufficient. What moves the needle is an if-then plan naming when, where and how — a medium-to-large effect on goal attainment across 94 studies, strongest exactly where getting started is the hard part — and framed as a replacement rather than a negation, since “I will NOT order takeout” can backfire where “then I eat the prepped chicken” works.
This companion covers testing the excuse, what eating well requires, the hidden time costs of eating poorly, the priority question, and practical solutions. (7 min read)
Written by AI, directed and approved by me. How this is made →