Mindsight Habit Stacking

How do you increase your chances of actually changing your behaviour rather than just wanting, wishing or intending to?

One practical strategy you can use is called habit stacking. Many of the things we struggle to do consistently are small, everyday tasks. Let’s say you forget to take your medication in the morning, go to bed too late at night, don’t drink enough water throughout the day, put off tidying up the kitchen or you often lose your keys.

To make sure you perform these little tasks more effectively you can connect them with an activity that you already do consistently and automatically. You simply follow the formula:

After I [current habit], I am going to [new habit].

So, in relation to our examples above, this could result in:

After I place my breakfast dish in the sink, I am going to take my medication.

After I read one chapter in my book at night, I am going to get ready for and move into bed.

After I finish my morning coffee, I am going to drink one glass of water.

After I finish my dinner, I am going to tidy up the kitchen.

After I unlock the front door and enter the house, I am going to place my keys in a dish near the entrance.

Through habit stacking, you give a new task a clear context. Connecting a new action with an existing one provides a cue and anchor point for your new habit. This not only helps remind you of your intended action but makes its timing and performance less negotiable, thereby reducing decision fatigue. Over time, these new actions turn into routines and habits and thus require less energy and effort.

A further step to making success even more likely is adding a small reward. Pairing an effortful or unwanted task with something pleasant can increase your motivation and reinforce the behaviour through dopamine – a neurotransmitter which influences drive, guides our behaviours and is involved in learning processes.

So, in the examples above, this could look like:

After I take my medication, I will eat a piece of chocolate.

After I move into bed, I will read another chapter in my book.

After I drink a glass of water, I will message a friend.

After I tidy up the kitchen, I will watch a show on TV.

After I place my keys in the dish, I will give my dog a cuddle.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by small tasks and procrastinate turning intention into action. Lasting change is rarely generated from a big overhaul. Instead, it comes from small adjustments that neatly attach themselves to existing habits and routines. Little steps can go a long way!

Further reading: James Clear, Atomic Habits (2018).