Habit stacking
Do you have a morning routine? Do you like to have your coffee before you open the curtains, put your pants on before your socks, brush your teeth after breakfast or leave your shoes by the front door? You probably don’t have to give much thought to the things that you do regularly as your brain has built strong neural pathways or connections. Just like a road that you keep driving over, the more you do it the stronger it gets, think of the difference between a country road versus a motorway or freeway. Habits are the same.
Have you ever tried to start implement something new into your morning routine? Like getting up 15 minutes earlier to meditate or exercise? You might start a stronger, but after a few days you slip back into your old comfortable, familiar ways. Our brains love the familiar and will always revert to what is most familiar and easiest if possible. When it comes to building new habits, you can use the strong connections of your well established habits to your advantage.
One of the best ways to build a new habit it to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behaviour on to it. James Clear in “Atomic Habits” coined the term “habit stacking” to describe the phenomena. Rather than pairing your new habit eg. Meditating with a particular time and location, you pair it with a current habit.
For Example:
o Each time you wait for the kettle to boil you might do 10 squats
o When driving, if you stop at a red light, you take deep breaths.
o Before you start to eat your evening meal you list 3 good things about your day
o Each time you open a new browser you stand up for 20 seconds
o When you get into bed at night you kiss your partner
The reason habit stacking works so well is that your current habits are already well established in your brain, you don’t have to think about them. You have patterns of behaviour that have been established over years. By linking new behaviours to well established ones you are more likely to stick to them.
A good way to start the process is make a list of all the things you do each day – get out of bed, go to the loo, take a shower, get dressed, drink tea or coffee, shut the front door, drive the car, turn your computer on and off. Once you have created your list you can then figure out where the best place might be to add a new habit you want to introduce.
My cat likes to sit on my lap occasionally, when she does I try and be present and in the moment, not thinking about what I need to do next but just enjoying the moment for what it is. I have tried to stack the habit of being mindful onto the behaviour of the at sitting on my lap. It sounds inconsequential but it does make a difference.
Making small manageable changes to something you already do each day can make a significant move towards being healthier. Tweaks to your day could help you align your habits to suit your physical and emotional goals says Dr Sachin Panda. “By making changes to your routine you should notice improvements within a few weeks. You’ll have more energy, sleep better, think more clearly, work more effectively. Your digestion will improve and it will be easier to maintain your optimum weight.