3300: What is Habit Stacking and How to Create Habits That Stick by Shirley of Daring Living on Discipline

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Before we start, please check out our new podcast, Good Sleep.

[00:00:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep?

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_00]: That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep.

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily is here to help ease you into a peaceful

[00:00:15] [SPEAKER_00]: night's rest with some positive affirmations.

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_00]: positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: So, press play on Good Sleep tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep.

[00:00:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Living Daily.

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Living Daily.

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: What is Habit Stacking and How to Create Habits That Stick by Shirley of DaringLiving.com

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'm Justin Malik.

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_00]: This is where I read to you with permission from the authors to give us both a little

[00:00:52] [SPEAKER_00]: push in the right direction every day.

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_00]: And fairly quickly, maybe around 10 minutes a day.

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER_00]: So with that, let's get right to our next one as we optimize your life.

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_00]: What is Habit Stacking and How to Create Habits That Stick by Shirley of DaringLiving.com

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Alright, let's face it.

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_00]: By this point, we pretty much all know what are considered good habits and all the advantages

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_00]: that will benefit us if we develop them.

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Actions like exercise more, eat less junk food, read more books, wake up earlier, etc.

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_00]: So why aren't we doing them?

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Because the challenging part is not starting these actions, but is sticking to these routines long enough

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: for them to turn into habits.

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_00]: When you first start something, it can take up a lot of mental energy and requires lots

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_00]: of self-discipline.

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_00]: That's why it's so difficult.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: I feel ya.

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_00]: What if I tell you right now that there's a way to trick your brain into believing

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: you've been doing a routine long enough so it's more likely for you to stick with it long term?

[00:01:56] [SPEAKER_00]: This is called habit stacking, which is the method of stacking a new routine on top of

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_00]: an already established habit.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: The Habit Loop

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Before we dive deeper into how it works, however, it's important to first understand

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: how habits are formed.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Our brain is always looking for ways to save effort.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_00]: It has a tendency to chunk our actions into sets of automatic routines.

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Charles Duhigg in the Power of Habits described each set to consist of three steps.

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_00]: The Q, Routine, and Reward.

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Q, a sign that triggers the brain to go on autopilot mode.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Routine, physical or mental behavior that follows after the Q.

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00]: And Reward, a positive stimulus that reinforces the routine.

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: The next time the same Q is present, the brain would crave for the reward

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_00]: and he would perform the routine on autopilot.

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_00]: For example, I used to place my workout clothes on my bed before work.

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Every day after work I would come home and see the workout clothes, my Q.

[00:02:57] [SPEAKER_00]: I'd get changed and hit the gym, routine,

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00]: and afterward I would congratulate myself by making a delicious smoothie, Reward.

[00:03:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Over time when I see the workout clothes, I immediately think about the smoothie afterward

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll be able to perform the routine easily.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And there you go, the habit is formed.

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_00]: By understanding the habit loop and how habits are formed,

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_00]: you can already make conscious decisions to change an existing habit or create a new one.

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_00]: What is habit stacking?

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_00]: On a daily basis we perform many habits already.

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Actions like getting out of bed, turning on the coffee maker, taking a shower,

[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_00]: driving to work, eating lunch, heading home from work,

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_00]: eating dinner, turning off the lights, going to sleep, etc.

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever had a time or many times where you came out of the shower

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and immediately began brushing your teeth without realizing it?

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_00]: These habits are already rooted in our brain that they barely require any mental energy at all to

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: perform. The trick to developing new habits faster is to use these established habits as

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: the Q to trigger the new routine that you want to create.

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Some examples, after I take a shower I will stretch for 20 minutes.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_00]: After I come home from work, I will go out for a jog.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Right after I wake up, I'll say a prayer.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_00]: After I eat dinner, I'll read 10 pages of a book.

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Basically you are stacking your new habits on top of an existing one

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: and your brain will learn to chunk these two routines together.

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_00]: With this method it will be much more likely for you to actually form a habit

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00]: and stick with it. However make sure that these established habits

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_00]: are actions you already do regularly in order for it to work.

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_00]: I also use this habit stacking technique to create my morning rituals.

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_00]: So try thinking about which habits you want to create and see how you can schedule those

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_00]: routines so they can be immediately before or after an already established habit.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: More tips on creating habits.

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Try not to be too ambitious and create many new habits at once.

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Each new habit requires mental effort to form in the beginning

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00]: and you don't want to diversify that energy because that was me.

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Instead try focusing first on the keystone habits that will impact you the most.

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Last but not least, if you aren't able to build a habit that you want right away,

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_00]: it's okay. On average the length of time it takes to form a habit can range anywhere

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_00]: from 21 to 254 days. Remember slow progress is better than no progress so be patient with it.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_00]: As I love to say but very true, it really is a journey. So just keep trying and if things don't

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_00]: work out change things up and try again. For example you can try altering the queue.

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you cannot work out in the morning because you are a night person.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Anyways, hope this article gave you some tips on creating habits faster.

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I really hope that this has helped your growth journey in some way.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Wishing you best of luck and as always, you know I'm rooting for you.

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled,

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: What is Habit Stacking and How to Create Habits That Stick?

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER_00]: by Shirley of DaringLiving.com and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you to Shirley. Some good tips here.

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_00]: I personally do find that I'm much more likely to keep up certain habits and routines

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_00]: if they're stacked together. So for example, I like to get some sun in the morning

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: and then we'll follow that with meditation. Lately I've also gone straight from

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_00]: getting ready for bed to reading a bit instead of looking at my phone.

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And another which I think I brought up recently is that I'll do a very quick

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_00]: gratitude practice before going to bed. So basically between reading and falling asleep

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll just do it in my head thinking about three things I'm grateful for.

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: For me, it's much easier to remember and do when they're stacked together like that.

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_00]: One thing I will say is that feeling some kind of benefit from it and I guess that could be

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_00]: the reward that Shirley talked about but personally I like some deeper benefits not like a consumable

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_00]: more like a sense of why. I feel like that helps keep it up longer term like months and years

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_00]: instead of maybe days and weeks but in either case I think habit stacking is worth a try if

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_00]: you're not doing that already but with that have a great rest of your day,

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_00]: build those habits and routines and I'll catch you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.