Self‐regulation of time management: Mental contrasting with implementation intentions

TLDR

Mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) has been shown to enhance self‑regulation across diverse life domains. The study aimed to determine whether MCII can improve time‑management skills. The authors conducted three studies: in Study 1 students applied MCII to an academic problem and scheduled their week; in Study 2 they were taught MCII as a metacognitive strategy for weekly concerns; and in Study 3 MCII was used by working mothers in a vocational program to manage their time. Across all studies, MCII participants scheduled more time, reported better time‑management, and, for working mothers, increased class attendance, demonstrating that MCII improves time‑management. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Abstract Mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) has been found to improve self‐regulation across many life domains. The present research investigates whether MCII can benefit time management. In Study 1, we asked students to apply MCII to a pressing academic problem and assessed how they scheduled their time for the upcoming week. MCII participants scheduled more time than control participants who in their thoughts either reflected on similar contents using different cognitive procedures (content‐control group) or applied the same cognitive procedures on different contents (format‐control group). In Study 2, students were taught MCII as a metacognitive strategy to be used on any upcoming concerns of the subsequent week. As compared with the week prior to the training, students in the MCII (vs. format control) condition improved in self‐reported time management. In Study 3, MCII (vs. format control) helped working mothers who enrolled in a vocational business program to attend classes more regularly. The findings suggest that performing MCII on one's everyday concerns improves time management. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.