Habit stacking is a unique form of implementation intention. Instead of associating your new habit with a specific time and location, you link it with an existing habit.
This technique, developed by BJ Fogg in his Tiny Habits program, can be utilized to create an obvious cue for virtually any habit.
This pattern is everywhere.
- You purchase a dress and suddenly need matching shoes and earrings.
- You acquire a couch and suddenly start questioning your entire living room layout.
- You get a toy for your child and soon find yourself buying all the accompanying accessories.
It’s a chain reaction.
Many human behaviors form a cycle, with the decision for the next action based on the recently completed one. For instance, going to the bathroom leads to washing and drying your hands. This act reminds you to put the dirty towels in the laundry. Consequently, you add laundry detergent to the shopping list, and the cycle continues.
No behavior happens in isolation. Each action becomes a cue that triggers the next behavior.
WHY IT MATTERS: When it comes to building new habits, you can use the connectedness of behavior to your advantage.
HABIT STACKING: One of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top.
INSERTING NEW BEHAVIORS INTO CURRENT ROUTINES
FORMULA: “After I [current habit], I will [new habit].”
- "After I brush my teeth in the morning, I will practice 5 minutes of mindfulness."
- "After I finish my breakfast, I will write one page in my journal."
- "After I start my computer for work, I will spend 10 minutes organizing my tasks for the day."
- "After I finish lunch, I will take a 15-minute walk."
- "After I turn off my computer at the end of the workday, I will do 30 minutes of exercise."
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Habit stacking increases the likelihood that you’ll stick with a habit by stacking your new behavior on top of an old one.
HABIT STACKING PRO TIPS
- the secret to creating a successful habit stack is selecting the right cue to kick things off.
- When and where you choose to insert a habit into your daily routine can make a big difference. If you’re trying to add meditation into your morning routine but mornings are chaotic and your kids keep running into the room, then that may be the wrong place and time.
- Consider when you are most likely to be successful.
- Your cue should also have the same frequency as your desired habit.
- If you want to do a habit every day, but you stack it on top of a habit that only happens on Mondays, that’s not a good choice.
- Write down a list of things that happen everyday as a starting point for initiating cues.
- Use your Habit Scorecard as a list of your habits that you do
- Add to this list a list of daily cues that happen to you:
- The sun rises.
- You get a text message.
- The song you are listening to ends.
- The sun sets...
- Armed with these two lists, you can begin searching for the best place to layer your new habit into your lifestyle.
The 1st Law of Behavior Change is to make it obvious. Strategies like implementation intentions and habit stacking are among the most practical ways to create obvious cues for your habits and design a clear plan for when and where to take action
more tomorrow,
Hunter