Habit Stacking
So, what's new? Actually a few things, but the most exciting for me is that I wrote a book. It's called "A year of great habits" and it's all about how to build great habits to support your success.
Habits are so important and they are totally within your control. Changing them is fairly simple (but it's not always easy) and so I wrote a book to help make it a bit easier.
I LOVE great habits and I have spent a very long time choosing and embedding the ones that best serve me. I have a long way to go - and sometimes life happens and scuppers my carefully laid out plans - but the techniques I have researched, tested and shared in the book have helped me greatly.
I wanted to share one with you today if that's alright. It's called 'habit stacking', a term coined by S.J. Scott. James Clear also wrote about it in his book Atomic Habits.
Habit stacking is a habit-forming technique by which you take a positive existing habit and add a new habit to it, or rather, 'stack' a new habit on top of it.
The habit stacking formula is: After/ Before [EXISTING HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
An example of an existing habit might be brushing your teeth in the morning, showering or getting dressed.
It is something you tend to do at the same time each day and something you tend to do without much conscious thought or effort.
If you are trying to drink more water for example, habit stacking could look like leaving a bottle of water in the bathroom and drinking it after you brush your teeth in the morning and at then again at night.
Or, if you are looking to introduce more exercise into your life, it could look like doing 10 jumping jacks or 20 pushups before you shower each day.
An example of a habit I have 'stacked' in the morning is making my bed as soon as I get out of it. It literally takes 30 seconds and just that small action alone makes me - and the room - feel so much more organised.
The formula in this case is: 'after I get up, I will make my bed'.
Perhaps you are looking to feel calmer and less rushed in the morning. In that case you might decide to prepare your lunch (or your kids lunch) for the following day while your evening meal is cooking. I started doing this one a while ago and honestly, it makes such a difference - I feel so much calmer and less rushed in the mornings now.
Another suggestion would be to lay out your clothes for the next day before you change into your PJs at night. This is another one I adopted years ago and something I have trained my kids to do too, this way all of the 'muuuuum, where's my tie/ shirt/ skirt/ blazer etc etc' questions are out of the way the night before and in the morning everyone just gets up and gets on with it!
When they were younger, making sure they had everything ready the night before helped my kids be much more independent in the mornings. Now they're older, we've extended it to making sure they have their bags packed and ready the night before too with all the books and stationery they need. Basically, the more we all prep in advance, the easier, calmer, smoother and happier the next morning turns out to be for everyone.
These days I want to wake up, see the family out and then do a workout and some yoga before I start my own work day, so in my case I always make sure I have my workout gear laid out next to my bed before I change into my PJs the night before. It's one less decision to make in the morning when time is usually of the essence and, I don't know about you, but wearing workout clothes seems to make it harder for me to make excuses to get out of that workout!
A few other ideas I've seen for habit stacking in the evening either after dinner or before bed are: setting your coffee maker to have your coffee ready when you get up in the morning, loading the washing machine and setting the cycle to end as you get up so you can hang the washing out first thing, wiping down the kitchen, loading and turning on the dishwasher/ washing and drying the dishes, clearing your space, reading a chapter of a book or putting your clothes away.
Maybe you have your morning routine down but you find that you start to feel less disciplined after lunch. Maybe you feel a little snacky or sleepy (or both!). In this case you might think about something you do habitually around this time and stack a new habit onto that. It might be sending an email. After you send an email you could get up and walk to the kitchen for a glass of water to freshen up and stretch your legs a bit.
Maybe you drive to or from work, in that case you might decide that before you set off you will hit play on a podcast you enjoy or on your favourite playlist. You might decide that every time you stop at some lights you will repeat an affirmation or do your pelvic floor exercises.
Perhaps you get the train to and from work, in that case sitting down on the train might be your cue to deal with some home admin, spend 15 minutes on Duolingo learning a language or check in with a friend. When I used to get the train to work, I used the time to read my book or write in my gratitude journal.
Habit stacking is a proven technique, which has helped many people introduce new habits into their lives. Have a think about your existing daily habits - maybe write a list - and then note down a couple of new habits you would like to incorporate into your daily routine. Now consider which ones have the potential to be 'stacked' and remember the formula: After/ Before [EXISTING HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
Something else I would like to add here is that, contrary to popular belief, you don't need to wait for a New Year, a new month, a new week or even a new day to introduce a new habit. You can start right now, where you are with what you've got. Don't overthink it, just start!
If you need a little help, take a look at my book. It's part research and guidance and part tracker and it's full of beautiful quotes to inspire and encourage.
You can do it, I believe in you!
Have a wonderful day my friend,
Amy 💜🤟
P.S. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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