Habit Stacking: Your Ultimate Guide
The start of a new year has so many of us extra motivated to set fresh goals and establish some new habits! Coming out of December, we feel like it’s time to shake off the holiday glitter and tackle our New Year’s Resolutions.
Whether you have a goal to get more organized, squeeze in a little self-care, or just to help make your day-to-day feel less like a whirlwind, having a solid plan is a must if you want to see success.
But let’s be honest – establishing new habits can feel overwhelming.
That’s where habit stacking comes in!
What is habit stacking, you might ask? This little track can produce some seriously impactful results. By habit stacking, you can piggyback the new habits you want established onto habits and routines you already have in place, making things a lot easier and more attainable.
Think of it as giving your routines a mini-makeover, one simple stack at a time!
In this blog, we’ll talk all about habit stacking, what it is, give you some helpful habit stacking examples, and tell you how to set up your own habit stacks so you can crush your goals. Let’s get into it!
What is Habit Stacking?
So what is habit stacking? Habit stacking is the process of taking habits and routines that you already have established in your day-to-day and attaching new habits to them. This concept was coined by James Clear in his book titled Atomic Habits, and it allows your brain to respond to cues from existing habits to help establish the new ones.
A behavior scientist named BJ Fogg describes your current action as an anchor that can help trigger a reminder for the new habit. Instead of coming up with an entirely new routine and starting from scratch, we can take a look at our current habits and consider how to incorporate the new habits we want!
Habit Stacking Examples
Here are some good habit stacking examples to help you start brainstorming!
Habit to establish: making your bed
Existing habit: brushing your teeth
Habit stack idea: after you brush your teeth each morning, make your bed
Habit to establish: drinking more water
Existing habit: preparing to leave the house for week
Habit stack idea: as you gather your work bag, keys, phone, etc, fill up a water bottle and bring it with you for your commute
Habit to establish: doing the dishes
Existing habit: preparing your meal
Habit stack: while your food cooks, load up or empty the dishwasher
Habit to establish: daily journaling
Existing habit: eating breakfast
Habit stack: keep your journal in the kitchen and, as you sit down for breakfast, take a few minutes to write in your journal
Why Does Habit Stacking Work?
Now, we get it: while this all sounds good and fine, you may still feel skeptical. There are so many tactics out there that you can use to help establish good habits. What makes habit stacking any different?
Here are some things that set habit stacking apart:
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It builds on existing neural pathways. Your brain is hardwired to perform certain tasks, such as brushing your teeth and getting dressed in the morning. By building off of these existing habits, the new behavior will come quickly and become more natural over time.
- It uses trigger based cues. When you complete the task that you’ve stacked your new habit onto, you’re more likely to take that action.
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It helps to create consistency. When you stack a habit, you’re also carrying out that action in the same way and at approximately the same time every day. This will help you to get into the habit faster than if you were to use a different method.
- It’s personal and adaptable. You can pair virtually any new habit with an existing one, so long as they make sense together. It’s completely up to you how you’d like to stack your habits!
Step-by-Step Guide to Create Your Own Habit Stack
1. Identify Your Existing Routine
Write out what your current routine is, even if it’s a general outline. If you need to go back in later to pinpoint the specifics, do that!
2. Identify Your New Goals and Habits
What are your goals? What are you wanting to accomplish? How are you going to carry it out? How are you going to measure it? Write out the answers to all of these questions, separating it out by each individual new habit.
3. Anchor a New Habit to an Existing One
Assessing your old habits and new goals, consider which ones can naturally be paired together. For example, if you’re wanting to start exercising each morning, you can anchor that to your existing habit of making your bed after you wake up.
4. Use Clear Cues
This is where pinpointing the specifics of your current routine is going to make a big difference. You want to stack your new habits onto a very clear existing habit. Instead of saying “when I wake up I’ll exercise,” you could say “I’ll put my running shoes next to my bed so that once I’m done making it, I can immediately get ready to exercise.”
5. Review and Adjust
Keep track of your goals and the progress you’re making, and don’t be afraid to make adjustments if needed. On paper, a habit stack you put together can sound like a great idea. But it may be different in practice. Don’t be afraid to change things when necessary.
Benefits of Habit Stacking
The achievement of meeting a goal and getting in a good habit is undeniably satisfying, but you can get that feeling no matter what method you use. So what are the specific benefits of going with habit stacking?
Super Simple to Establish Habits
Because you’re building your new habits off of your existing routine, this is an extremely easy method to use.
Reduce Indecisiveness
We’ve all been there: the moment comes when we’ve said we’ll do “that thing.” Whether it’s getting out for that run, sitting down to write that book, or settling in and organizing that closet, it’s so easy to hesitate and then not do “that thing.”
Habit stacking can help with that.
Stack your new habit onto an existing one and it will be easier to carry that out.
Eases Stress
Change can be so intimidating, even when it's a good change and one that you are wanting to make.
Habit stacking can make the process of change much less overwhelming. By stacking the new habits onto existing ones, it can make everything feel much more manageable.
Supports Multiple Goals
It’s easy to list out all of your goals and the things you want to accomplish, but sometimes having it all laid out can feel so overwhelming. And in all reality, tackling too many goals can lead to frustration and very slow progress.
However, habit stacking makes it easy to take on multiple goals without sacrificing progress. When you intentionally pair what you’re wanting to accomplish with to-do’s in your existing routine, you’ll find that you can support a number of goals and see the success you’re looking for.
Common Habit Stacking Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
Whenever you’re trying to reach a goal or set a new habit in place, you want to set yourself up for success. We’ve addressed the question of what is habit stacking, we’ve given habit stacking examples, and we’ve provided a guide on how to create your own habit stacks!
But what about the things that you should avoid?
Let’s dive into what a few common habit stacking mistakes are, and the things that you can do to be proactive about avoiding those mistakes.
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Stacking Too Many Habits Onto One Existing Habit
It can be tempting to add a number of new habits onto one existing habit, but you’ll want to avoid this. You don’t want to get overwhelmed and burnt out!
Instead, add one new habit onto each existing habit. Start small and then expand from there! -
Skipping Days
Have you heard the stat that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit? Those three weeks of consecutive and consistent action really make a difference, and it’s no different with habit stacking.
Make it a point to carry out that new habit every day. Even when you’re feeling tired or unmotivated! We promise it will make a difference. -
Setting Unrealistic Expectations
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your new routines and habits aren’t going to solidify overnight. Change often happens slowly over time, so give yourself some grace!
Know that small changes add up over time. Make an effort to celebrate your small successes, because those are going to add up to make a big difference! -
Not Tracking Your Progress
With change taking place in small increments over time, it can be challenging to really see your progress. And when we can’t see our progress, it’s easy to get discouraged.
Consider keeping a journal or a note on your phone to keep a log of what you’re trying to accomplish. Make a note each day of how you’re doing so that you can look back and see the progress you’re making.
Depending on what you’re working on, you can keep a more precise measurement. For example, if your goal is to drink 8 cups of water each day, you can keep a tally. If your goal is to make your bed each day, put checkboxes that you can mark if you completed the task. -
Failing to Adjust When Needed
Of course things take time, we’ve established that. New habits can be a struggle! But how can you tell the difference between the challenge to get into that new habit and a habit stack that just isn’t working?
Don’t be afraid to mix things up and adjust your habit stacking approach if it’s not working for you!
Consider setting a certain period of time for yourself to test out your habit stack, and if that time has passed and it’s still not working out, try stacking your new habit onto another existing one!
You get to decide what your habit stacks look like. So feel free to personalize your approach and adjust as needed.
Beddy's: Your Shortcut to Establishing a Good Habit
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If making the bed is on your list of new years resolutions that you’re wanting to make habit stacks for, you are in luck! Beddy’s zipper bedding is like a shortcut to establishing this habit. This bedding gives you your fitted sheet, top sheet, and comforter all in one piece, connected by two zippers that run up each side.
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