Building better habits

There are many ways to build a new habit, but one of the strategies I use and recommend the most is a technique called “habit stacking.” The key idea is to “stack” your new habit on top of a current habit. That is, your current behavior becomes the cue for your new behavior.

The habits stacking formula is: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”

For example:

1. “After I brush my teeth, I will state three things I am grateful for.”

2. “After I grab my books from my locker (and before I go to my first class), I will pause and say three positive affirmations or set three positive intentions for the day.”

3. “After I put on my pajamas, I will meditate (or journal) for 2-3 minutes.”

Creating simple sets of rules makes it easier to remember when to perform a new habit. Just incorporating these five alone will shift your day and ultimately change your life!

[This method was popularized by professor BJ Fogg, who calls it the “tiny habits recipe.” In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear renamed named it “Habit Stacking.”]