For as far back as I can remember, I’ve always made new year resolutions. At the beginning of every year, I would dust off an old diary, one of those corporate gift items given to my parents, and diligently write down all the things I wanted to do better for the year.
For the first few weeks in January, filled with new year vim, I would do most of the things on my list, and then after a few weeks, when the vim has fizzled, I’d lapse back into my old routines then rinse and repeat the process the following year.
Many years of doing this has taught me that I am able to achieve greater success when I:
don’t try to introduce too many new things at once
tie my desired new habit to another habit that is already part of my routine
I was quite pleased with myself when I read Atomic Habits and saw this method described. James Clear refers to this as Habit stacking.
Somewhat like implementation intention which uses time and location as a cue, Habit stacking uses an already established habit/routine as a base on which to build a new desired habit on.
One thing that has been on my list of resolutions for years was brushing twice a day. Despite my best intentions, I somehow couldn’t get myself to brush twice a day religiously. Until I started dating someone who brushed twice a day and I didn’t want to be the one with worse morning breath (the things that motivate me are truly interesting sometimes). Anyway, I now had to figure out how to brush twice a day, without fail.
It was easy enough when he was around me because seeing him brushing at night would be my cue to brush as well, but seeing as we didn’t live together, this was not a sustainable cue.
Now that I had an example to show me it was indeed possible to brush twice a day, I decided to figure out how to cultivate this habit for myself. I had to look at night time routines and find a way to insert “brush before bed” into the list of things I already did before bed.
One of these things was pee. I like to go to bed with an empty bladder in a bid to minimise the chances of having to get out of bed at any point during the night. My solution then was to brush while I pee.
I know, lazy, but it worked. The minimal effort required (hello, sitting on the toilet) plus the time efficiency made it easier for this new step to be added into my routine.
Where implementation intention uses time and location as cues to trigger a habit, habit stacking makes use of an already established habit as a cue. This way when one action is performed, it serves as reminder to perform the next action. Adding one extra step to an already established routine is easier than creating a whole new routine and this is why habit stacking is useful.
When looking to add in a new extra step/habit it is important to consider other factors that may affect your chances of success. For example, if you have to be out of the house by 4.30am in order to beat Lagos traffic, chances are there is no room in your morning routine for a new habit that requires extra time to take root. In that case you could consider one that doesn’t require extra time, like listening to a language podcast on your way to work because “learn a new language” has been on your list for years.
This way, without adding any extra time to your morning routine, you’re able to beat traffic and get to work in time, while improving your new language skills. If you do this long enough, your brain will associate these two events and just like that, the habit is gradually ingrained.
Another factor that can affect the success of your stack is, matching the frequency of the cue to the habit. If you’re looking to start a daily habit, then you don’t want to pair it with a cue that occurs less frequently and vice versa.
With time and practice, you can create a chain of habits that cue into each other to the point that when one step is missed, your brain sends you a reminder, like the one you get when you’re about to walk out of the door without your keys. You literally feel like something is missing.
Habit stacking can be used to create an obvious cue for almost any habit.
If you’re trying to eat healthy, chances are you already eat food, so maybe you decide that every time you’re fixing yourself a plate (cue), you include some vegetables. (As someone who was made to eat eggs with kale in them because my sister practices this one, I can attest that this is indeed very practical and helpful. I will still complain every single time I am served “egg salad”)
If you’re like me and you hate to lose things, then every time you get out of a car (cue) you look around inside the car to make sure you haven’t left anything behind.
If you want to journal daily, then maybe you decide to do your journaling last thing before bed, that way getting into bed can be a cue to open your journal and scribble a few lines before turning your lights off. Do this long enough and whenever you reach out to turn off the lights, your brain will remind you that there’s one last little step before you can truly call it a day.
I’ve been having trouble getting used to my Apple watch after many years of using a Fitbit. Yesterday while I was doing my yoga and composing this letter in my head, it occurred to me that since I usually take a picture at the end of my workout, I can use that as my cue to remember to push “end” on my Apple watch. Now I just need a more specific cue to remind me to push “start” before I begin my workout. So far, having the icon on my clock face hasn’t helped enough. I just need Apple to figure out auto tracking.
The key is to choose an obvious cue and be highly specific with your response.
The wheel of your life most likely doesn’t need reinventing. A proper look at your already established routines might provide insight as to how you can gradually insert new habits and routines without upsetting the necessary balance of your life.
Remember, you can do all things, just not all at once.
This week I am reading
The Mother of Black Hollywood: A memoir by Jenifer Lewis and it is a hoot. She manages highlight her mental health problems while sharing the most titillating stories and it is hilariously entertaining.
Speaking of journals
My friend Taynement put me on to this 5 yr journal a few years ago and it is THE BEST thing. I write a few lines everyday and it is always interesting to see my entry from the same day a year before. Fascinating how we forget things that we once thought insurmountable.
It’s my last day at my current job, after almost three years in this role and I couldn’t be happier. I could not have planned the way things have worked out for me even if I tried and for this I am thankful to God.
Here’s wishing you a week that surpasses all your expectations.
Chioma.