Recall the last time you intentionally started a habit.
If you're blanking, that's normal and expected; oftentimes, our habits formed out of natural routines we've found ourselves completing automatically. Maybe you start the day with making your bed, or you always stop for a snack break at 2:00PM -- the common denominator is that you do them because, well, you've always done them.
And that is the essence of habit.
However you slice it, habits are a really interesting topic to talk about today, namely because they speak to how complex and fascinating human behavior can be.
If you think about it, we perform hundreds if not thousands of behaviors throughout any given day -- some of them are "goal-directed" like going to the grocery store, while others feel automatic with no clear goal other than completing a routine such as always turning the light switch off when we leave the house, or always laying out clothes for tomorrow's outfit the night before. If you've ever tried breaking habits, you know that these behaviors are strong and resistant to change.
What if we could harness this power of habits into creating healthier, stronger routines that lead to growth in other areas of our lives?
In short, achieving personal and professional growth often hinges on consistent, intentional actions. One powerful strategy for fostering such growth by taking advantage of our natural tendencies to complete certain habits is habit stacking. By strategically building new habits onto the existing ones you already have, you can create routines that drive meaningful change.
In this blog post, let’s dive into the science and practical applications of habit stacking, how it works, the psychology is habit stacking, and practical examples that you can use to jumpstart your habit stacking practice.
What is Habit Stacking?
Habit stacking is a concept popularized by James Clear in his book Atomic Habits and functions as an effective strategy for building upon existing habits we already have.
The idea is simple: tie a new habit to an existing one, using the established habit as a trigger for the new behavior. It takes advantage of the existing thought process responsible for the base habit and, rather than building a new one from scratch, it simply tacks a new one on.
And rather than creating habits on the fly, the new habits formed are usually natural progressions or easy add-ons to existing routines.
How Habit Stacking Works:
- Identify a habit you already do regularly (e.g., brushing your teeth).
- Attach a new habit to it that is simple to do (e.g., practicing gratitude immediately after brushing your teeth).
- Repeat the sequence consistently until the new habit becomes automatic and an established part of your new routine.
This approach leverages the structure of your existing routines to make habit formation more manageable and easy to maintain in the long run. In a sense, the main habit serves as a useful tool that anchors new habits.
The Psychology of Habit Formation
Habit stacking takes advantage of our psychology, namely the fact that we're creatures of habit -- we fall into familiar routines and stick to them, and deviating is difficult. Rather than introducing a deviation in the form of a completely new habit that doesn't come naturally, new habits are best formed through a process called the habit loop, which consists of three components:
- Cue: A trigger that signals the start of a behavior.
- Routine: The behavior itself.
- Reward: The positive reinforcement that encourages repetition of the behavior.
By attaching new habits to established routines, habit stacking takes advantage of pre-existing cues.
This eliminates the need to rely solely on willpower or motivation, making the new behavior feel like a natural extension of your daily life.
Habit stacking works because it takes advantage of:
- Natural, built-in cues: Existing habits serve as reliable triggers for new behaviors, sort of like a chain. One habit leads to thinking about a new habit, and so on.
- Our neural efficiency: The brain builds new connections every day, and existing connections are strengthened through repetition over time. Linking behaviors takes advantage of these stronger neural pathways, making the sequence easier to recall and execute, rather than trying to form a new pathway from scratch.
- Reduced decision fatigue: By connecting actions, you eliminate the need to decide when to perform the new habit; you simply do it, and remove the ambiguity.
Hidden benefits of habit stacking
Habit stacking offers numerous advantages that allow us to form healthy habits for personal and professional growth.
1. Efficiency:
By combining habits, you optimize your time and streamline your routines. You don't need to overhaul your entire routine, but rather, simply build on what you are already doing. Combining habits into a sequence saves time and mental energy.
2. Consistency:
Habit stacking makes it easier to maintain regularity, as the trigger is already part of your daily life. Linking habits to established routines increases the likelihood of repetition.
3. Scalability:
Once you master small stacks, you can build more complex sequences to achieve larger goals; you can start small and gradually add more habits as you build momentum.
4. Improved Discipline:
Integrating habits helps you stay committed to self-improvement without feeling overwhelmed, increasing the likelihood that you will continue to build on other base habits while creating good habits.
A few habit stacking examples to get you started:
Morning Routine:
- After waking up, make your bed.
- After brushing your teeth, meditate for two minutes.
- After pouring your coffee, review your daily goals.
- While commuting to work, listen to an educational or inspiring podcast.
Work Productivity:
- After opening your laptop, clear your email inbox.
- After clearing your inbox, make or review your daily to-do list.
- After your lunch break, go over the small successes of the morning.
- While waiting for a meeting to start, set a new daily goal.
- After finishing a meeting, spend five minutes summarizing key takeaways.
Personal Growth:
- After sitting down for dinner, write down three things you’re grateful for.
- After finishing an old book, add a new one to your list.
- After putting your shoes by the door, set out your workout clothes for the next day.
Measuring Success with Habit Stacking
Like many things in life, tracking your habit formation progress is crucial for long-term success. Before you start habit stacking, it might be a good idea to decide how you plan to track -- it could be anything like a journal, app, or mental effort to reflect.
Tracking progress and celebrating milestones, such as completing a certain number of workouts or meditations is critical to staying motivated and identifying areas that need adjusting.
1. Journaling:
A journal can be more than a freeform review of your thoughts and feelings -- it can also be a great tool for tracking changes in your habits and documenting how these changes have impacted your mental well being.
Document your daily habit stacks and note how consistently you follow them, but also be free to add information on how you're feeling.
2. Habit Trackers:
Use apps or physical trackers to monitor streaks and identify patterns that you may have missed. For example, even something as simple as a calendar can be useful for showing the timescale of how quickly you've successfully incorporated a new routine built on habit stacking.
3. Reflection:
Regularly review your stacks to assess what’s working and where adjustments are needed. There is no consistent habit stacking formula that works for everyone; for example, maybe you're the type of person who needs to repeat a habit only a few times to have it stacked. Alternatively, maybe you find that certain tasks and their habit stacks take longer to master.
Conclusion
Habit stacking is a science-backed strategy for building lasting routines that promote personal and professional growth. Habit formation is still an exciting area of research, but that doesn't have to delay trying habit stacking for yourself.
By leveraging the power of existing habits, you can create meaningful changes with minimal effort. Remember, the key to successful habit stacking is starting small and being consistent. Over time, these small, incremental changes compound into significant growth, transforming your daily routines into a foundation for success.
What habits will you stack today to take your growth to the next level? The possibilities are endless—start building your stack and see what surprising new habits you discover.
