Habit Stacking: The Simple Strategy for Building New Habits and Achieving Success in 2025
With the new year right around the corner and plans for resolutions and new goals probably in development, this is the perfect time to introduce (or remind you about) habit stacking. It is your key to success!
What is habit stacking?
“One of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top. This is called habit stacking.” James Clear
From the Godfather of habits himself, James Clear clearly defines what it is. (And if you haven’t read his book Atomic Habits – linked here – I highly recommend it!). Basically, habit stacking is taking something you already do without thinking about it, and adding a new behavior that you want to do to that habit. So for example, let’s say you want to start meditating every morning. You know you need to be out of bed and awake to do so, so you decide that after you brush your teeth every morning you will meditate for 5 minutes. Congratulations, you have just stacked a habit!
Why is habit stacking effective?
Because we are creatures of habit (for better or for worse), habit stacking is an effective shortcut to build new (hopefully healthy) habits because it leverages existing neural pathways in the brain. Instead of trying to build a new habit out of thin air, using an existing habit acts as an organic reminder to perform the new behavior, which reduces the conscious effort to remember to do it. And when you successfully perform the new behavior on top of your existing habit, it triggers positive emotions (pride, happy, fulfillment, to name a few) which will further reinforce the association between the two behaviors which increase your likelihood of continuing the new behavior and eventually making it a habit too!
How does coaching help with habit stacking?
Sometimes we are too close to our schedules, (unhealthy) habits and behaviors to effectively target new ways to create better opportunities for ourselves. By working with a coach, you will get the benefit of outside perspective, increased accountability and strategic insights into how to best establish the new behaviors you seek. This reduces the amount of time it will take you to reach your goals and creates a more effective plan to integrate these new behaviors into your existing routine.
Once you get started with your new habit stacked behavior, remember that consistency is key! It takes an average of 66 days to establish a new habit so be patient with yourself. Aim for progress not perfection, and if you notice you are not doing the new behavior more days than you are doing it, be flexible and consider adjusting your habit stack to a different habit.
Start today!
Right now, pick a new behavior you want to establish that supports your goals going into 2025. Then, pick a logical time to implement that new behavior based on a habit you already have established. Here are some examples:
- Behavior: Drink water first thing in the morning. Habit to stack: Right after brushing your teeth, drink 12-16 ounces of water.
- Behavior: Stop texting and driving. Habit to stack: Right before you start your car, put your phone away where you can’t reach it.
- Behavior: Add more stretching to your workout regimen. Habit to stack: As soon as your strength or cardio workout is done, set a timer on your phone for 5-10 minutes and use that time to stretch.
- Behavior: Create more savings in your business account. Habit to stack: Every time you log a deposit, immediately transfer 10-25% of that deposit to a separate savings account.
What behavior did you pick to focus on? Email me at hi@hellocoaching.info to share! And if you want more guidance or coaching on creating new behaviors, check out my Goals Coaching Capsule and Coaching Services on my website: hellocoaching.info
