Concrete Plans Curb Creativity

Do you have a plan to save money, exercise more or call your mother? Making those plans concrete might help you achieve those goals but at the cost of some flexibility, according to a study published in the journal Social Cognition.

E. J. Masicampo, a psychologist at Wake Forest University, studies implementation intentions. Masicampo thinks being blind to alternative solutions “frequently results in people expending more time, energy and resources on tasks than is necessary.” But that should not stop people from mak­ing plans, he says. That may be the only way to juggle multiple goals—as long as one remembers to keep an open mind.