detailed behavioral plans which specify the when, where, and how of what one will do to reach a certain goal (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006); normal intentions only specify what one intends to do, for instance, a normal intentions might be “I intend to eat less chocolate”, whereas an implementation intention is much more specific and may look like “If I order a dessert in the restaurant, then I will order a fruit salad (to reach my goal of eating less chocolate)!”
defined by Guido M. van Koningsbruggen