leads to washing and drying your hands, which reminds you that you need
to put the dirty towels in the laundry, so you add laundry detergent to the
shopping list, and so on. No behavior happens in isolation. Each action
becomes a cue that triggers the next behavior.
Why is this important?
When it comes to building new habits, you can use the connectedness of
behavior to your advantage. 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.
Habit stacking is a special form of an implementation intention. Rather
than pairing your new habit with a particular time and location, you pair it
with a current habit. This method, which was created by BJ Fogg as part of
his Tiny Habits program, can be used to design an obvious cue for nearly
any habit.
*
The habit stacking formula is:
“After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”
For example:
Meditation. After I pour my cup of coffee each morning, I will
meditate for one minute.
Exercise.
After I take off my work shoes, I will immediately
change into my workout clothes.
Gratitude. After I sit down to dinner, I will say one thing I’m
grateful for that happened today.
Marriage. After I get into bed at night, I will give my partner a
kiss.
Safety. After
I put on my running shoes, I will text a friend or
family member where I am running and how long it will take.
The key is to tie your desired behavior into something you already do
each day. Once you have
mastered this basic structure, you can begin to
create larger stacks by chaining small habits together. This allows you to
take advantage of the natural momentum
that comes from one behavior
leading into the next—a positive version of the Diderot Effect.
