How to Develop New Habits

The key to developing new habits is by Habit Stacking. By now, you’ve heard me talk about the importance of keeping a regular schedule. Keeping a routine helps provide feelings of accomplishment and ward off the blues.  Getting up each day, getting your day started, getting dressed, doing your hair, and putting on a little make-up will help you feel great.  I even put on jewelry and lipstick!  When I look good, I feel good!

I don’t know where I’ve been the past several years, but recently I was introduced to the concept of habit stacking.  It’s an awesome way of building new habits and getting them to stick!  The key is to start with tiny modifications and tie them to your established routine.  There are several theories on the subject, some say to add the new habit before an existing, and some recommend adding it after.  But all seem to agree with the best part, add in a reward!

How does habit stacking work?

Habit Stacking provides a way to make small changes in your routine so easily, that you don’t have to rely on motivation. If motivation has been a problem for you, too, you might enjoy my article, What To Do When You Don’t Want To. Habit Stacking goes something like this:  I wanted to get in the habit of exercising in the morning.  My normal habit is to get up, make the bed, shower, brush teeth, get dressed, make tea and breakfast.

I slid my NEW habit into my established routine like this:  Make bed, wash face/brush teeth, put on work-out clothes, work out, REWARD of a cool down dip in the pool, shower, get dressed, make tea and breakfast.

With just a small adjustment to my well-established morning routine, I’ve been able to incorporate a workout.  I’m a creature of habit, and it would be so easy for me to forget that I wanted to work out.  I know, I know, but it’s true.  Part of my diet success is simply remembering that I’m not eating sweets anymore.  Seriously.  Anyway, if I lay out my workout clothes right before bed, then they are sitting there waiting for me in the morning and I don’t forget!  After that first week, I don’t forget to take my walk, or head to my daughter’s (my trainer) home gym.

The Power of Tiny Changes

One of the most powerful aspects of Habit Stacking is that it allows you to make tiny, manageable changes. Instead of overhauling your entire routine in one shot, which can be overwhelming, Habit Stacking suggests integrating small habits into what you’re already doing. Think of it like layering—each habit builds on top of the other, making it easier to create momentum and reinforce positive changes.

For example, if you already drink a cup of coffee every morning, why not stack a new habit of journaling for five minutes right after your coffee? Instead of trying to fit in a journaling habit at some other random time in your day, you’re connecting it to an activity you already do without thinking.

This approach eliminates the need to set aside extra time for your new habit, making it easier to get started and build consistency. This is the beauty of stacking—it’s designed to work with your existing schedule rather than disrupt it.

The Role of Emotions in Habit Formation

According to Behavioral Psychologist, BJ Fogg and his Tiny Habits method,  it is emotions, not motivation, that make habits stick. “Celebration is the best way to use emotions and create a positive feeling that wires in a new habit.”  Celebration can be something as simple as saying “Woohoo!” out loud, or a physical treat such as my cool-down swim after my workout. 

Eventually your new behavior will become habit and you’ll no longer think about the celebration.  It’s getting cooler at night, and our naturally warmed pool is slipping into the high 70’s.  Soon a post-workout swim won’t feel rewarding at all.  But you know what?  My habit is ingrained, and I have come to enjoy listening to podcasts, watching the wildlife, and the post-workout energy and calm that exercise provides. Exercise is now it’s own reward.

In his Tiny Habits Ted Talk, BJ Fogg takes very small steps to build a bigger benefit.  For instance, after every time he goes to the bathroom, he does 2 pushups, eventually he builds on this so that he’s doing 8 pushup each time he heads to the bathroom.  By the end of the day, he’s done 50 or 60, depending on how much water he’s had to drink that day.  He talks about how he started building the habit of flossing his teeth, by flossing one tooth after each time he brushed his teeth.  His idea is to add the new behavior after an established trigger.

Habit Stacking for Housework: Small Efforts for Big Rewards

You can build other habits too. For instance, we have four cats, a dog, and a parrot. Our light tile floors never look clean, and it drives me crazy. It takes about four hours to completely sweep/vacuum and then mop our large, mostly tiled home. And in the Arizona desert, dusting is a full-time job. I literally feel like I have to clean every day or live in a dirty home.

So, this morning, I started a new habit. After lighting the stove under the teapot but before breakfast, I ran a dust mop quickly over the main living space and kitchen area of the house. It took me five minutes. Then I enjoyed my feeling of accomplishment with my tea and breakfast. After breakfast, I quickly damp-mopped the kitchen and breakfast rooms. That took another five minutes. Then I went into the office to shop for a gift for a friend. I love to shop, and I love giving gifts, so this was a reward for me. I’m hoping this new habit will stick. Basically, spending 10 minutes to sweep and mop the high-traffic areas should keep the dirt down enough that I’ll be able to postpone the huge job to every other week. Win!

Someone I know tidies her house at the end of her workday for five minutes. She literally sets her timer for five minutes and runs around picking up all the little messes left around during the day. Then she gets to take her first sip of her nightly glass of wine. That’s her reward. She loves a glass of wine in the evening, and the one glass lasts her all night. But she doesn’t allow herself to take that first sip until after she’s spent five minutes tidying her house.

Habit Stacking by S.J. Scott

S.J. Scott wrote a book on the topic back in 2017.  He’s got a free Quick Start Guide as a companion to the book. He explains the 3 types of habits, Keystone Habits, Support Habits, and Elephant Habits.  Adding my morning exercise is a Keystone Habit.  Exercise has a positive impact on multiple areas of my life, even those I’m not intentionally trying to improve.  That makes them Keystone.

The key to S.J. Scott’s theory is in keeping the habits to 5-minute blocks and anchoring them to a trigger.  A trigger can be an alarm, or an emotion that you relate to the habit. (Like my first sip of tea after I’ve cleaned the floor.)  Don’t forget the reward!  It can be as simple as my giving my daughter a high-five at the end of my session, doing a little happy dance, enjoying a glass of wine at the end of the day, or maybe you want to watch a favorite TV show. 

Habit Stacking as a Long-Term Strategy

While habit stacking works wonderfully for small tasks, it’s also a great tool for achieving long-term goals. By stacking habits that contribute to your larger ambitions, you can break down a daunting goal into a series of manageable actions. Whether your goal is to write a book, improve your fitness, or organize your home, Habit Stacking allows you to focus on small, incremental steps that lead to big progress over time.

For example, if you want to improve your writing, you could stack a habit of writing for 10 minutes every morning after your morning coffee. It might not seem like much, but those 10 minutes add up over time, and before you know it, you’ve written thousands of words. You could use this same approach for any large task or goal in your life.

Final Thoughts: Celebrating Your Wins

Habit stacking teaches you how to develop new habits effectively. Remember to start small, build on your existing routines, and celebrate your progress along the way. Whether your goal is to work out more, keep your home tidy, or accomplish a bigger life goal, the principle remains the same: by stacking habits one tiny step at a time, you can achieve lasting change.

Schedule your stacks daily, weekly, and monthly. You don’t have to do everything daily, but you can still build a routine around a weekly or monthly set of activities. Make sure to only build one routine at a time. Once you have incorporated one new habit into your routine, you can add another, and another. By slowly adding tiny habits, they’ll become permanent behavior. You can transform your life one little habit—and celebration—at a time!