Habit Stacking: How To Start & Keep New Habits
If you’ve been in the personal development world for some time, you’ve likely heard of the term “habit stacking.” I came across this strategy when I read James Clear’s Atomic Habits and directly applied his advice to new habits I wanted to form around my writing routines. At the time, I was struggling to figure out the ideal time to write, the frequency, and was also experiencing some resistance around writing tasks.
At the time, I had also made massive gains in my health and wellness over the previous year, but there were still some things I struggled to incorporate into my daily life. Take for example my routine of my morning walk. Oftentimes, I let work, emails, or household tasks take priority over my walk, and before I knew it, I found myself hours into various work tasks and had completely skipped my morning movement.
So, I tried habit stacking. And one day at a time, I was able to create new behaviors that led me to accomplishing my writing goals and my morning walk.
No matter what types of changes you want to make in your life--whether they relate to your career, household and parental responsibilities, your personal wellness-- you can use habit stacking to begin to incorporate new habits into your daily routine.
What is habit stacking?
Habit stacking is the act of stacking behaviors so that one leads to the next one, which leads to the next one. You identify current habits (“anchors”) and match them with habits you want to start in your life. Once you complete the one habit, you then move on to the next one.
Take my example of my morning walk:
I knew from my previous experiences that if I got dressed in my walking clothes to begin my day, that I was more likely to go on a walk after I dropped my kids at school. So, I started to lay out my walking clothes the night before and placed them next to my sink. That way, after I brushed my teeth in the morning (a habit I do every day), I put on my walking clothes to signal to myself that I was ready for a walk. No more excuses of I just want to stay cozy in my pjs a little longer. Nope! Instead, I immediately head out on my walk when I get home from dropping off my kids at school.
I also identified a few barriers that often prevented me from going on my walk even if I already had my walking clothes on: if I sat down at my desk or opened my laptop to begin work or answering emails, I often let hours pass by. Therefore, I didn’t allow myself to do either of those tasks when I got home from school drop off. The result: my morning walks occurred every day and I felt great starting my days with movement, a clear mind, and fresh air.
Here’s another example related to forming new writing habits:
I set my journal where I drink my morning coffee. That way, while I am sitting and drinking my coffee before my children wake up, my journal is already prepared for me to use during those peaceful morning moments.
How You Can Use Habit Stacking
This article in Real Simple magazine explains habit stacking in more detail and the science behind linking new habits with an “anchor” habit you already have in place in your life (like brushing my teeth or drinking my coffee in my examples above). The article also provides the following tips for making new habits stick and I’ve used my habit of my morning walk as the example:
Identity potential goals and cues
I want to go on a morning walk as soon as I get home from dropping off the kids at school so that I can start my day getting about 2,500 steps. I already get dressed in the morning and brush my teeth so I just need to start the day wearing my walking clothes.
2. Be extremely specific and set a realistic cue
I will put on walking clothes after I brush my teeth. I will lay my walking clothes out the night before so that they are already there, giving me the cue to put them on after I brush my teeth. After I get home from school drop off, I will immediately get the dog and head outside. I will not sit down at my laptop to answer emails or begin work.
3. Start small-- the smaller the better
I no longer want to skip my morning walk so I just need to get myself out the door to do it. Putting on my walking clothes triggers to my brain that I am prepared to walk.
4. Give yourself a timeline
I will do this every day for one month.
5. Reward yourself after sticking to a new habit
Buy another pair of walking pants once I have completed the goal.
Additional Tips for Habit Stacking Success
Combine with Existing Habits: Look for habits you already do without thinking. For example, if you want to start flossing, do it right after brushing your teeth.
Use Visual Reminders: Place items related to your new habit in prominent places. If you want to drink more water, keep a water bottle on your desk. If you want to start reading before bed, place a book on your bed so it’s right there when you are ready to go to sleep.
Celebrate Small Wins: Recognize and celebrate small successes along the way. This positive reinforcement can keep you motivated.
Adjust as Needed: Be flexible. If something isn't working, tweak your approach. Maybe the time of day needs to change, or perhaps the order of tasks can be adjusted. For example, I tried a new habit of writing at 5am in the morning. However, I found it was not something I enjoyed. I adjusted the time of day to figure out when my ideal writing time worked best for me. Eventually, I found a time slot that worked, but I wouldn’t have found it if I had given up.
Pair your desired habit (that may not be enjoyable to you now) with something you already enjoy: Make 2 columns--one column that lists habits you want to start to include in your life and the other column being things you do that you really enjoy. Then pair them across the columns. For example, I don’t like folding laundry but it’s a habit I need to create to make sure that my family has clean clothes that are folded and ready for my kids to put in their bedrooms. (I admit, during really busy seasons of life, sometimes we just pull clothes from clean laundry bins because I don’t have a habit of folding.) I love watching a good Netflix series, so I pair watching Netflix with folding laundry. This has made me look forward to the task of folding laundry.
No matter if you have a wellness goal, a career goal, a relationship goal, start to break down habits that are part of that goal and begin to stack them with things you already do in your life. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how much easier they become when you “anchor” them to other habits you’ve already established.
The resources below can help you establish new habits:
James Clear’s book Atomic Habits: An easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
“Atoms,” the Atomic Habits app: https://atoms.jamesclear.com/
BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything
The Ed Mylett Show, podcast from May 16, 2023: “Habits of Highly Resilient People with Dr. Taryn Marie”
Photo credit Sarah Brown
