Habit Stacking: A Simple Way to Build Better Habits

Have you ever decided to make a positive change, only to find that your good intentions disappear after a few days? We’ve all been there, wanting to make that big change, live a healthier life, keep on top of the ironing, drink more water, get more steps or walk the dogs further (think these might be mine actually ha ha)

Perhaps you planned to meditate every morning or create a calmer bedtime routine. You started feeling motivated, but then life became busy and the new behaviour was quickly forgotten. This does not mean you lack willpower. Often, the problem is simply that the new habit has no reliable place within your existing routine.

Habit stacking is a simple technique that can help you build better habits by connecting a new behaviour to something you already do.

What is habit stacking?

Habit stacking means attaching a new behaviour to an established part of your daily routine. Your existing habit becomes a prompt for the new one.

The basic formula is:

After I do [current habit], I will do [new habit].

For example:

• After I brush my teeth, I will take three slow breaths.

• After I make my morning drink, I will write down one positive intention.

• After I finish lunch, I will take a five-minute walk.

• After I get into bed, I will think of three things that went well today.
  

The idea was popularised by James Clear in his bestselling book Atomic Habits. Its practical approach to making small, manageable changes inspired me to use habit stacking with my own clients.

Rather than relying on motivation alone, we look for simple ways to connect a helpful new behaviour to something that is already part of everyday life.

Why does habit stacking work?

Our brains are constantly looking for ways to conserve effort. When we repeat a behaviour in a familiar situation, it can gradually require less conscious thought.

Research describes habits as behaviours that become connected to recurring cues in our environment. These cues might include a particular time, place, object or preceding action. With repetition, encountering the cue can make the behaviour easier to remember and perform.

Research

A major review by psychologists Wendy Wood and Dennis Rünger found that habits develop when we repeatedly perform the same response in a consistent context. Once established, these behaviours can become our more automatic or default response. This helps to explain why linking a new action to a reliable routine may be so useful. The first habit provides a clear and consistent cue for the second. (Wood and Rünger, 2016)

Habit stacking also resembles a psychological strategy known as an “implementation intention”. This involves deciding in advance when and where you will take a particular action—often by using an “if this happens, then I will do that” plan.

A review of 94 studies found that implementation intentions had a meaningful positive effect on people’s ability to achieve their goals. Creating a specific plan can help bridge the gap between wanting to change and actually taking action. (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006)

Start with one small habit

When people want to make a change, it is tempting to attempt too much at once. Some of my clients will say they want to go to the gym 3 days in the coming week or they are going to completely stop eating foods that are not healthy.

However, an ambitious new routine can quickly feel overwhelming, particularly during periods of anxiety, low mood or stress. A helpful starting point is to make the new behaviour so small that it feels achievable, even on a difficult day. So, I might say to my clients what would be your first small step in achieving the goal of going to the gym next week? In the past one client responded with putting his gym bag in the car so that he could go straight to the gym when he finished work.

Some other ideas might be: Instead of deciding to meditate for 30 minutes, begin with three slow breaths.

Rather than planning a long daily workout, put on your trainers and walk for five minutes.

Instead of writing several pages in a journal, record one helpful thought.

These small actions may appear insignificant, but their purpose is to create consistency. You can build on them later.

Research led by Phillippa Lally followed people as they repeated a daily health-related behaviour in a consistent context. The time taken for behaviours to approach automaticity varied considerably, from 18 to 254 days.

This means the frequently repeated claim that every habit takes just 21 days is misleading. Different habits take different amounts of time for different people. (Lally et al., 2010)

I had a client who would be dieting and then would eat a full packet of Jaffa cakes so would then give up the diet completely believing she had failed. Missing an occasional opportunity did not necessarily prevent a habit from developing. The important thing is to return to the behaviour rather than interpreting one missed day as failure.

Habit stacking and solution-focused hypnotherapy

Solution-focused hypnotherapy encourages us to notice what is already working, identify our preferred future and take small, achievable steps towards it.

Habit stacking fits naturally with this approach. Instead of concentrating only on an unwanted behaviour, we might ask:

• What would I like to do instead?

• When am I already doing something similar?

• What is the smallest, helpful action I could add?

• What one small step could I add to work towards my goal?

• How will I notice that things are beginning to improve?

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During solution-focused work, we are not searching for perfection. We are helping the brain recognise progress and repeat helpful patterns.

Hypnotherapy may support this process by encouraging relaxation, focused attention and positive mental rehearsal. However, it does not remove the need for action. The new behaviour still needs to be realistic and practised regularly in everyday life.

How to create your own habit stack

Choose one behaviour you already do reliably. It might be switching on the kettle, brushing your teeth, eating lunch, closing your laptop or getting into bed.

Next, choose one small action that supports how you would like to feel or behave.

Complete this sentence:

After I ____________________, I will ____________________.

Keep the action specific, simple and easy to repeat. Practise it for a while before adding anything else.

Lasting change does not always begin with a dramatic breakthrough. Sometimes, it begins with one small action connected to another and repeated gently until it becomes a natural part of your life.

If you would like support with anxiety, confidence or changing unhelpful patterns, solution-focused hypnotherapy can help you identify small, achievable steps towards the future you want.

As a solution-focused hypnotherapist in Bolton, I support clients in developing positive changes at a manageable and individual pace. Please contact me to arrange an initial consultation: https://www.havishamhypnotherapy.co.uk