The Magic of Habit Stacking: Small Tweaks, Big Wins
Dec 20, 2023Episode 9
Shauna Grey
I know the feeling, you have so many things you *want* to do, but making those new habits actually stick just never seems to happen in the long run.
Enter habit stacking!
This super simple but effective concept has changed the game for me and allowed me to leverage my existing behaviors to seamlessly integrate new ones, creating a domino effect of positive change.
This is a quick heart-to-heart from me to you about the small tweaks that lead to big wins. I'll be sharing the nitty-gritty of how I've anchored new habits onto old ones and by the end of this episode, you'll be equipped with the insights and inspiration to start building your own healthy habits and routines.
I know the feeling, you have so many things you *want* to do, but making those new habits actually stick just never seems to happen in the long run.
Enter habit stacking!
This super simple but effective concept has changed the game for me and allowed me to leverage my existing behaviors to seamlessly integrate new ones, creating a domino effect of positive change.
This is a quick heart-to-heart from me to you about the small tweaks that lead to big wins. I'll be sharing the nitty-gritty of how I've anchored new habits onto old ones and by the end of this episode, you'll be equipped with the insights and inspiration to start building your own healthy habits and routines.
Welcome back to the Savvy Scoop podcast, where we give you the full scoop on all things living your best life. So if that's your jam, you are in the right place. My friend, new episodes drop every Wednesday for you to enjoy, as always. I'm your host, shauna Gray. I'm a business and social media mentor for service-based small business owners. If you're a fan of the show, I would so appreciate rating and giving it a review wherever you listen, or you can also watch the show over on YouTube Maybe you are right now and you could subscribe there too, so you never miss an episode.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so another short but sweet one solo episode for me today, but one again that I get asked about and a topic that I am actually weirdly passionate about ever since I heard about it, which is, I mean, habits I'm very passionate about, but habits stacking is something, a concept, that I just love. I don't know if it was James Clear in Atomic Habits or BJ Fogg in Tiny Habits or both of them. Either way, both of those books are absolutely incredible. If you are like a habit nerd like me, I'm obsessed with both of those books and I heard about this concept, like I said, maybe from both of them, but it's so great, and I mean really it's exactly as it sounds. Stacking new habits on top of current habits to make them easier to remember Sounds simple, but I, just when I read about it, I was like, oh my gosh, hello, like light bulb moment. That again the simplest concepts that really are the most impactful right. So this is really key because until you can make whatever the new habit is that you have that you're wanting to implement part of your routine, your current habit acts as the prompt for the new habit, so that you don't forget it.
Speaker 1:
So I was asked to provide some examples for my everyday life about how I've actually used habit stacking. So I have a few for you. So, for instance, I wanted to remember and this is random, but it's true I wanted to take my blueberries out of the freezer in the morning for my breakfast, because, rather than microwaving them, I just wanted them to sit out and defrost on their own, and I kept forgetting to do it. So I made a prompt for myself. My prompt is when I get the ice out of the freezer for my salted lemon water, which I do every morning and is a habit that I have. I won't forget to do that that is what I do. I make my salted lemon water and I go and grab some ice for it because I like it cold. So now I'm going into the freezer anyways I'm like, oh yeah, the blueberries, grab the blueberries, and it just makes sense. And I do it now and now. I don't really forget, but because I have that prompt, I don't forget.
Speaker 1:
Another recent one is taking supplements. I just added creatine to my supplement regimen and I wanted to remember to take it in the morning before my workout. So I was like, okay, how am I gonna remember this? It was in a cupboard underneath so I mean, really, I could pull it out the night before. That would be something that would be an option of a habit. Stack is, when I'm tidying up the kitchen at night, grab out the creatine. But the one that I've used is that every morning, after I make my water, I go and grab my headphones out of my bag. That's on the counter and it's on the counter just above where I keep my supplements. So that is my new habit when I grab my headphones, I go and grab my creatine out from just underneath. So yeah, again, just like I know, it's very simple and it feels silly that I'm even telling you this, but it has helped me and I know it has helped a lot of people. So those are just a couple small examples.
Speaker 1:
A bigger one that I used before this was and I still use it now when my alarm goes off, to help me get in the habit of just going right down and doing my workout and not overthinking. My workout clothes are sitting out. They are sitting on my dresser, so I grab them and I walk downstairs and because I'm holding them again, I'm not going to. It's gonna help me to like well, I'm not gonna forget to workout. But you know what I mean? It's just like they're there. So I get up, grab my workout clothes. Get up, grab my workout clothes. And that's how I got into the habit of working out every morning, waking up, waking up, grabbing the workout clothes. That was the habit stack and how I started making working out a habit when you know, the motivation wasn't there.
Speaker 1:
So again, habit stacking. It's a very simple concept but very, very, very effective. So those are the examples that I have for my everyday life. I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that I could think of off the top of my head Again. As always, I love, love, love to talk about these concepts with you even more. So follow me on Instagram at simplifiedsavvy, send me a DM and let's chat about if you're having trouble trying to think of like a habit stack for something. I love to help with this stuff. Honestly, it's like habits are just really thrilling for me. So if I can help more people implement more healthy habits, then I just feel so good and I feel like I'm living my purpose. So, yeah, I hope this helps and I'll see you next time.