To achieve our goals, we need to create healthy habits. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done! It can be tough to stick to our new routines, especially when life gets in the way. That’s where habit stacking comes in. Habit stacking is a technique that helps us build new habits by linking them with existing ones. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the best habit stacking tricks and tips!
What is Habit Stacking?
S. J. Scott is the author of a number of self-help books, and his latest book is all about developing good habits. Scott’s habit stacking method is based on the idea that it is easier to develop a new habit if it is linked to an existing one. For example, if you already brush your teeth every morning, you can stack the habit of flossing onto that existing routine. Or, if you always put your keys in the same place when you come home, you can stack the habit of putting your wallet in that same spot. By linking new habits to existing ones, you can gradually build up a repertoire of healthy habits without feeling overwhelmed.
So the basic idea is to identify a cue or trigger that will remind you to do your desired behavior, and then to stack that behavior on top of another existing habit that you already have. If you want to start exercising every day, you might stack that habit on top of your morning coffee routine. If you want to drink more water each day, you might stack that with getting up to head to the restroom. Once you have your cue and your target behavior in place, all you need to do is to commit to doing it for 21 days in a row. After that, it should become a natural part of your daily routine. There are many different ways to use habit stacking, and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. If you’re struggling to stick to a new habit, give habit stacking a try – it just might be the key to success.
Why does Habit Stacking work?
One of the most difficult things about changing our habits is that we often try to take on too much at once. We tell ourselves that we’re going to start going to the gym every day, eating healthy meals, and getting eight hours of sleep every night – and then we wonder why we can’t stick to it. New research is finding that our brains have a natural tendency to adopt new habits. The more often you do something, the easier it will become and eventually your brain can rely on these routines without much conscious thought from us because they’ve been wired into how we operate already! That’s why implementation-intention tactics of this sort have been shown to be more effective than simply intending to achieve a goal. In the latter case, you’d rely on “willpower alone” which can also fail when faced with stress or fatigue – habits don’t work unless they’re automated!
The key to lasting change is to take things one step at a time. That’s where habit stacking comes in. By focusing on developing one new healthy habit at a time, we’re more likely to stick with it. And as we continue to stack new healthy habits on top of old ones, we create a solid foundation for long-term change. With enough time and effort, you might just find yourself transformed into the person you’ve always wanted to be.
So why does habit stacking work? Because it’s simple, sustainable, and effective. And that’s a recipe for success.
Tips to make Habit Stacking work for you!
Be Specific
Specific is always better for a habit stack so that your brain can both spot the old habit easily and know exactly how to act on the new one in response. For example, rather than just saying “I’ll meditate after my kids are asleep or gone,” you might try something like “When they’ve fallen Asleep/left without permission I’ll go into their room & practice 5 minutes of silence.” Or you can go with something everyone deals with at some point: “If I wake up to pee in the middle of the night, I will keep the lights off so I don’t throw off my sleep pattern as bad.”
Keep it Quick & Simple
Dr Foynes explains that you should start with behaviors which are very brief (no more than two or five minutes) in order better guarantee they’ll stick, and then build from there when appropriate.
The key idea behind habit stacking involves including actions at different levels of complexity before adding any new habits on top. This helps ensure stability because if our initial plan includes too many obligations right off the bat, such as exercising for 30 minutes each morning after breakfast, you may find more inertia when attempting to start. After all, saying “I will take a 5 minute walk after breakfast” is a lot easier to commit to than “I will lift heavy weights for 60 minutes after breakfast.”
Imagine what would happen if you tried to add another action onto the same habit. For instance, say there’s a morning routine of doing some online course studies before starting your workday. When that starts feeling too boring or difficult you can easily slip into just watching videos instead. But then you get excited about making changes and decide you’re going to stack meditation on top of the study time each morning. Now you’ve added even more friction to the process by stacking too much. Until you are able to stay committed to a new habit, keep things quick and simple.
Make sure you can do it!
Consider the general feasibility of your habit before you start stacking away. If “cooking healthy breakfast” plus “7am workout” isn’t something that can be done by someone whose mornings are already busy, then it may not work out as expected. The same goes for attaching an additional task to something volatile such as bedtime – especially if said kid struggles at falling asleep no matter how much Mommy tries reading books or singing songs. Instead look for more new habits that you know can be achieved.
SMART goal setting is a popular technique that is used by people all over the world to achieve their goals. The acronym SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. When setting a SMART goal, it is important to choose something that is achievable. This means picking a goal that is challenging but not impossible. It is also important to be realistic in your expectations. For instance, if you are starting a new fitness routine, you should not expect to lose 50 pounds in two weeks by walking 5 minutes a day.
Changes to your Eating Habits to get you started!
Eat More Greens
One healthy habit to build is to eat more green vegetables in your diet. For some people this can be easy, but for the rest of us this is where habit stacking can help. Instead of just saying you’ll eat more greens, try choosing specific greens and ways to prepare them for easy snacking. So if your current habit is to snack on a bag of chips when you sit down to watch your favorite show, swap to eating some green like dry roasted peas. As you build the habit of eating more green vegetables, you can then stack in habits like “carry a salad for lunch each day” by remembering to pack it together after you brush your teeth the night before.
Eat Healthier Snacks
I know I just mentioned swapping in something like roasted peas to replace chips, but swapping to healthier snacks overall is its own challenge. The good news is there is a wide range of options o there. Again this goes back to your triggers, such as lounging on the couch or grabbing a snack every time you go to get a drink in the break room. Find a new healthier snack option that can be easy to grab, such as keeping some protein bars in your desk and grabbing one of them instead of greasy chips when you go grab a drink. And don’t forget the drink itself! You could make it a habit to take a nice water bottle to work and switch to refilling it with water instead of grabbing a Coke in the break room.
Eat At Home More
It’s the end of a long day and on your way home, you pass by one fast food place after another. Maybe you don’t feel like cooking and picking up a pizza sounds like a good idea. The problem is that you’ve made your “tired at the end of a workday” feeling into a habit to think about quick and easy food that isn’t the healthiest option. Take this as a habit to replace by instead thinking about what food you have ready to eat at home with little to no prep work. This is a bit of a different habit stack, but you could make it a habit to start buying healthy easy-to-fix meals when you go grocery shopping instead of buying cheap snacks. Or if you are wanting to get better at cooking, stack the cooking habit with the habit of cooking healthy meals in advance so that they are ready to reheat later in the week.
Keep Track of Your Portion Sizes
One thing about healthy eating and just dieting in general is to keep track of your portions. This is for both limiting caloric intake as well as tracking nutrient intake. A simple way to stack this habit is to make sure when you are cooking your food, that you keep your kitchen scale right next to where you are working with your food. Cooking a big batch of chicken breasts? Keep the scale next to the plate where you put the cooked chicken. This way you also add in the visual cue of seeing the scale right there.
