Habit Stacking

 I heard about this in a book 

Stop Procrastinating Link to the boom on Amazon

I loved the idea of Habit Stacking and had to try it out. Guess what! it works.

What is habit stacking? 

So what does that mean?

We all have habits that we do automatically for example, brushing teeth, making a cup of coffee, getting dressed, showering etc. These are habits that we do every day and we don't even think about them. Why not add a new habit on the back of an old one, it is easy to do and the new habit will soon become part of your automatic habits.

 Waiting for the kettle to boil - March on the spot or Counter Pushups

Cleaning teeth- side steps or squats - Floss

Showering - walk on the spot ( make sure it is safe to do so you don't want to slip)- Moisturize skin.

Wake up - Drink a glass of water

Preparing a meal - have a glass of water there and drink it.

These are just a few ideas to show how easy it sis to piggyback a new habit onto an old one.

Of course you can do this for any habit you want to make from cleaning to personal care or preparing for the next day. Adding small things onto something you already do makes it easier to remember to do it. The trigger is the old habit, as you get up to make a cup of tea you trigger the new habit. The new habits only take minutes to do but they add up.

I want to get more active but find it hard to do long sessions of exercise so i broke things down. I walk or do chair exercise for 30 minutes a day that is easy but I wanted to do more. The problem was making time to do more and still care for my husband, home and garden. I needed something that would fit into my life so i could be more active. Habit Stacking came to the rescue. Finding fun ways to add to already existing habits means i get in more exercise in bite size bits.

I have a lot of YouTube videos that are fun to do and make moving more easy to do.

Stiletto Quickie in the Bathroom

Stiletto Quickie Seated Crunchies

There are lots of these to chose from and all are easy to do. Piggyback these onto a habit you already do and hey presto you are exercising more without even trying, well not too hard anyway. I have added 30 minutes a day to my existing exercise and if I think about it I could add more.

Benefits of Habit Stacking?

You slowly build up habits that are beneficial to you and you see results and feel good about getting things done.

Here is a site that explains Habit Stacking. Why Habit Stacking Is The Best Stress-Free Way To Create Healthy Habits

Why not try it out! you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain plus it only takes moments at a time to add a new habit onto an old one.