Habit stacking is perhaps the best way to develop a new habit, and here’s the crazy part — you already do it every day. Habit stacking comes naturally to us, and if you can learn to be intentional with it, you’ll build and stay consistent with your habits. In this guide, you’ll learn what habit stacking is and how to use it to cultivate as many good habits as you’d like.
Habit Stacking Meaning
Habit stacking is simply performing two habits back to back. You can stack two habits, three habits, as many as you’d like. The beauty of this is that the end of a habit becomes the cue for the next habit, so good habits can happen in a chain. This eliminates the need to think about what to do next because your routine flows naturally from one action to another. This is a powerful way to perform good, important actions everyday. Here’s how this can play out.
Examples of Habit Stacking
Remember, you already habit stack every day. If you brush your teeth after breakfast, or shower after working out, you’re using habit stacking! Let’s say you want to develop the habit of stretching. If you already have the habit of working out, the best way to incorporate this new stretching habit is to stack it on your existing one. Immediately after your workout, take 5 minutes to stretch. Want to eat healthier? Make it a habit to prepare a healthy meal after you stretch. Your chances of success are much higher when these habits happen in succession. Each action reinforces the next, creating a chain that’s hard to break.
How to Use Habit Stacking
It’s worth mentioning that the habits you stack don’t need to be related. You might want to read immediately after work, or clean your house right after grocery shopping. Stack habits in whatever way works for you. Maybe you try a combination that doesn’t work. That’s ok! Find something that works better. Experimentation is how you’ll find the right combination of habits.
An easy place to start is the thing you do right after you wake up. This first decision often sets the tone for your day, so it’s important to get it right. If you can win your morning, the rest of your day becomes much easier to control. Here’s our guide on How to Use Habits to Build a Morning Routine for Success.
Habit stacking is your secret weapon when it comes to developing habits. It’s a tactic that should be practiced. You may not get it right the first time, but once you find the chain of habits that work for you, it will become easy to perform them.