Research9 studies · 1994–2016

It is not
discipline.

It is how a plan is built. Two decades of studies, one by one.

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The case files

What each study found, in plain words, and what Cutline does with it.
Case 01 · 2006Planning
d = 0.65

A meta-analysis of 94 independent tests: people who decided when, where and how they would act reached their goals far more often than people who only set the goal.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119.

Implementation intentions

“I want to get fit” rarely survives a busy week. “Gym, Monday, 06:00” does, because the decision is already made when the moment comes. An effect of d = 0.65 is considered medium to large in psychology.

In Cutline: every block has a day, a time and a length. That is an implementation intention, in the place you look every day.
Case 02 · 2011Planning
Done.

Unfinished goals caused intrusive thoughts and worse performance on unrelated tasks. Writing a specific plan made those effects go away.

Masicampo, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2011). Consider it done! Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(4), 667–683.

A plan quiets the noise

The open loops in your head are not a character flaw. They are your mind keeping an unfinished goal alive. Give it a slot in the week and it lets go, so you can focus on what is in front of you.

In Cutline: plan the week on Sunday in one go. The Grid holds it, so your head does not have to.
Case 03 · 1994Time
55.5 days

Students predicted their thesis would take 33.9 days. It took 55.5 on average, and about 30% finished by their own predicted date.

Buehler, R., Griffin, D., & Ross, M. (1994). Exploring the “planning fallacy”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(3), 366–381.

The planning fallacy

We are optimistic about our own time and realistic about other people's. The fix is not to plan harder; it is to plan less and look at what actually got done last week.

In Cutline: your week shows the hours you finished, not the hours you planned. Next week you plan from the real number.
Case 04 · 2009Focus
2 experiments

When people switched to a new task before finishing the last one, part of their attention stayed behind, and they did worse on the next task.

Leroy, S. (2009). Why is it so hard to do my work? Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 109(2), 168–181.

Attention residue

Every switch costs more than the seconds it takes. One block for one thing, finished before the next, is how you get your whole head back.

In Cutline: one title per block and a tick when it is done. Then the next one.
Case 05 · 2016Progress
d = 0.40

A meta-analysis of 138 experiments (19,951 people): monitoring progress helped people reach their goals, and more so when progress was physically recorded or reported publicly.

Harkin, B., Webb, T. L., Chang, B. P. I., et al. (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? Psychological Bulletin, 142(2), 198–229.

Watch the needle move

Seeing where you are is part of getting there. Writing it down helps; showing it helps more. This is why the Proof of work card and the post exist.

In Cutline: the week bar, the Pulse, the Proof of work card and your week on the Floor, if you choose to post it.
Case 06 · 2011Motivation
~12,000 diaries

Daily diaries from 238 professionals on 26 project teams: the days people felt they made progress on meaningful work were their best days, even when the progress was small.

Amabile, T. M., & Kramer, S. J. (2011). The Progress Principle. Harvard Business Review Press.

Small wins count

Motivation follows progress more than it causes it. A finished 45-minute block is a real win, and it makes the next one easier to start.

In Cutline: XP for every finished block, a cleared day when all are done, and a level that keeps going up.
Case 07 · 2006Rewards
12.7 vs 15.6 days

Café customers bought coffee more often as they got closer to a free one. A 12-stamp card with 2 stamps already on it was finished faster than a plain 10-stamp card.

Kivetz, R., Urminsky, O., & Zheng, Y. (2006). The goal-gradient hypothesis resurrected. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(1), 39–58.

The goal gradient

The closer the finish line looks, the faster we move. A bar that is already part full pulls harder than an empty one.

In Cutline: the XP bar to your next level, the week bar and the Arena board all show how close you are.
Case 08 · 2010Habits
66 days

For 96 volunteers building a daily habit, the median time to automatic was 66 days, from 18 to 254. Missing one opportunity did not materially affect the process.

Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009.

Habits take longer, and forgive more

Not 21 days: closer to two months, and longer for harder things. The good news is in the same study: one missed day does not reset you.

In Cutline: a streak counts only days with finished work, and one missed day does not wipe your record: your hours, blocks and CV stay. The streak just starts again.
Case 09 · 2014Timing
Monday

Gym visits, searches for “diet” and goal commitments all rose at fresh starts: a new week, a new month, a new year, a birthday.

Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Riis, J. (2014). The fresh start effect. Management Science, 60(10), 2563–2582.

The fresh start effect

A new week feels like a new chapter, and people use it. That is why the method is weekly, and why your next week is the best place to start.

In Cutline: the week is the unit. The Arena board resets every Monday at 00:00, and methods you run land in next week.

Where to read them

The full sources. We summarise; the papers say it better.
  1. Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119. doi:10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1
  2. Masicampo, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2011). Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(4), 667–683. doi:10.1037/a0024192
  3. Buehler, R., Griffin, D., & Ross, M. (1994). Exploring the “planning fallacy”: Why people underestimate their task completion times. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(3), 366–381. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.67.3.366
  4. Leroy, S. (2009). Why is it so hard to do my work? The challenge of attention residue when switching between work tasks. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 109(2), 168–181. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2009.04.002
  5. Harkin, B., Webb, T. L., Chang, B. P. I., Prestwich, A., Conner, M., Kellar, I., Benn, Y., & Sheeran, P. (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 142(2), 198–229. doi:10.1037/bul0000025
  6. Amabile, T. M., & Kramer, S. J. (2011). The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work. Harvard Business Review Press.
  7. Kivetz, R., Urminsky, O., & Zheng, Y. (2006). The goal-gradient hypothesis resurrected: Purchase acceleration, illusionary goal progress, and customer retention. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(1), 39–58. doi:10.1509/jmkr.43.1.39
  8. Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009. doi:10.1002/ejsp.674
  9. Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Riis, J. (2014). The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563–2582. doi:10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901

Cutline is a planner, not a medical or psychological service. The studies above describe groups of people on average; your week is yours to test.

Free forever

The research says when.
Cutline gives it a block.

Run the method, free. Blocks with a day and a time, ticks and XP, honest streaks, and a fresh board every Monday.

Start freeYour next 52 weeks
  1. 01Decide when

    Every goal gets a day and a time: the step the studies agree on.

  2. 02Protect the time

    The block is in the Grid before the week fills up.

  3. 03Watch the progress

    Ticks, XP and a fresh board every Monday.

More than a calendar.

What to do next, how to do it and where to plan it, in one place. Most of it free.

32proven weeksWeeks that already work

5 AM Founder, Monk Mode, Ship in 7 Days and more, each with the reasoning written out. One click and the week is yours.

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23methodsHow to do it

Steps, a checklist and a prompt for your AI, in the block when it starts.

  • The daily outreach block
  • Make an offer people say yes to
  • Run a sales call that closes
  • Build a one-page website in a day
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16recipesEat like you plan

With the macros. Chicken, rice and broccoli boxes: 475 kcal, 42 g protein.

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10workoutsTrain in blocks

Sets, reps and rest in the block. Full body A, for beginners: 45 minutes.

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