Most of us start the day with good intentions. We make a plan, feel motivated, and imagine ourselves following through. And then… the day happens.
This project explores why sticking to a daily plan is harder than it seems, and what actually gets in the way when intentions meet reality. Rather than treating inconsistency as a personal failure, we designed a 5-day diary study to understand daily planning as it’s truly experienced, messy, flexible, and deeply human.
Who We’re Studying
Our target audience is college students, a group that plans frequently but operates in highly variable environments. Between classes, social commitments, fatigue, and unexpected interruptions, students are constantly re-negotiating their schedules.
Participants will:
- Be current college students.
- Have access to a smartphone or laptop.
- Use some method of daily planning (calendar, notes app, paper, etc.)
- Commit to brief daily check-ins for five days
Screener & Baseline
Before the study begins, participants will complete a screener and baseline survey to help us understand their existing planning habits. This includes how they typically manage their time, whether they’ve tried to improve consistency before, and whether they can commit to the study timeline.
This baseline gives us important context for interpreting diary entries later.
The Diary Study (5 Days)
Over five days, participants complete two short diary entries per day:
- Morning check-in: what they plan to do, how important each task feels, how confident they are, and what might throw them off.
- Evening reflection: what actually happened, where plans changed, what caused those changes, and how they responded
This structure lets us directly compare intentions vs. outcomes, while capturing emotions, interruptions, and recovery behaviors.
Data Collection Plan
We collect entries using Google Forms, sent via morning and evening reminders. Each entry takes just a few minutes, and missed days are allowed, because lapses are part of the behavior we’re studying.
We will collect both:
- Logistical data (task completion, timing, consistency ratings)
- Reflective data (thoughts, emotions, and reasons plans changed)
Together, these help us understand not just whether plans were followed, but why.
Why This Matters
By following participants through five ordinary days, we aim to surface the small moments where intentions quietly fall apart, or unexpectedly hold. The interruptions, the energy dips, the moments of hesitation, and the decisions to re-plan or give up entirely are not failures; they are the substance of daily life.
Understanding consistency as something people navigate, rather than succeed or fail at, opens the door to more humane ways of supporting planning, ones that make room for flexibility, recovery, and self-trust. Because sticking to a plan shouldn’t feel like a moral test, it should feel doable.
