How to Use Habit Stacking to Transform Your Daily Routine

It could be said that our habits are what make our daily routine and often times tells a lot about the person we are, our interests and what we find important enough to dedicate time to. It is completely normal for some of those things to change as we learn, grow, and create new goals for ourselves, but putting in the work to incorporate these new things isn't always easy, especially when it comes to health and wellness. My best advice in this case is don't try too much at once, identify your goals and plan the smaller steps you can take to reach them, which leads me to habit stacking. What is habit stacking you ask, much like its name infers, you stack a new habit onto an existing one; for example, if you're trying to drink more water, while you're setting the table for dinner or before any meal you eat throughout the day, drink 6 ounces of water first, this can be a simple, but effective change to improve hydration. Another example would be if you are trying to incorporate more movement into your day or increase your flexibility, set aside 5-10 minutes during your lunch break or before getting in your car on your commute home from work and stretch it out, often times the habit you are stacking becomes an enjoyable part of the day and you'll start looking for ways to make more time in your schedule.

I'm sure at this point you might be thinking this sounds too easy or even silly, but really that can be the beauty of it. Very often people tend to set the bar high when wanting to improve their health and wellness with goals such as working out for long periods of time, every day of the week or cutting carbs out of your diet, but the truth is, those goals are not sustainable. No matter how small the habit you put in place is, you'll be amazed at the ripple effect it can have, it can help increase your motivation to stick with the changes you are making and set the foundation to build on; so maybe instead of every day start with a walk after dinner, no excuses, just walk, and instead of completely cutting out carbs, use a smaller portion and put more veggies on your plate instead. These setting these small habits into play with habits we are already doing is what adds up to larger progress, allowing us to feel accomplished in what we're doing and therefore wanting to engage further in the habit.

So now you know a little more about habit stacking, now it's time to think about how you can incorporate it into your life, let me share a few tips:

• Make a list of your current habits and new ones you want to add.

• Think about how these two lists can align and make a plan, get creative, think outside of the box, your goals are worth it.

• Set reminders for yourself, lets face it, life is going to get in the way and on those bad days it's hard to stick with your new habits, but don't let yourself down, stay true to you.

• Track your progress so that you can reflect and make adjustments when necessary. It is not realistic to think you're going to nail this your first try, be gentle with yourself, pivot when you need to, just keep trying and you'll continue to make progress one little step at a time.

What do you think about habit stacking? Have some ideas for yourself to start planning?

If you're still not sure, or you're looking for someone to help you with the process, comment below or send a message, I'm here for you!

Resources about habit stacking:

• https://transitionscounselinginc.com/the-power-of-habit-stacking-using-small-changes-to-improve-your-mental-health/#:~:text=Habit%20stacking%20can%20be%20an,to%20reduce%20stress%20and%20anxiety.

• https://jamesclear.com/three-steps-habit-change#:~:text=All%20habits%20proceed%20through%20four,the%20same%20order%20each%20time.

• https://www.shortform.com/blog/atomic-habits-4-laws/#:~:text=The%204%20laws%20of%20atomic%20habits%20are%20a%20simple%20set,stage%20for%20optimal%20habit%20formation.

• https://jamesclear.com/procrastination#:~:text=One%20of%20my%20favorite%20ways,the%20task%20after%20you%20begin.