Habit Stacking Builds Long-Term Habits—Here’s How to Master It

By nature, humans are creatures of habit. We repeat the same behaviors on the reg until they become automatic—think brushing your teeth, brewing your morning coffee and driving home from work. But some habits require more mental energy and toughness than others, like trying to eat healthier and hitting 10k steps daily. Similarly, bad habits (doom-scrolling until 2 a.m., anyone?), can be extremely tasking to break.

What’s a work-in-progress to do? Enter: habit stacking. This popular productivity strategy involves pairing a new habit with an existing behavior. This way, you capitalize on neural pathways (roads that connect neurons and allow them to communicate) already wired in the brain. Talk about a win-win. Keep reading to learn how habit stacking is a total game-changer for building sustainable habits and achieving your goals.

What is Habit Stacking?

Habit stacking is a helpful shortcut for building new habits. You “stack” your new desired habit to existing habits, such as getting out of bed and showering. This productivity shortcut was coined by S.J. Scott in his 2014 book Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less.

It has since been adopted and studied by other productivity gurus, such as James Clear, author of Automatic Habits, and B.J. Fogg, author of Tiny Habits.

Most follow the same basic formula:

How Does Habit Stacking Work?

Habit stacking builds on the success of existing habits that were formed by the habit loop. Created by Charles Duhigg in his book, The Power of Habit, the habit loop is a framework for building habits that consists of the cue, routine and reward:

• Cue: Also called a habit reminder, the cue triggers you to take action. Example: You see your running shoes at the door.
• Routine: This is the action you take. Example: You put the running shoes on and go outside for a run.
• Reward: This is the reward that’s generated. Example: You feel better after your run.

Once a habit is formed, the brain goes on autopilot to perform certain tasks. Habit stacking takes advantage of this by utilizing the strong neuronal connections in your brain.

This way, existing habits become the cue that reminds you to perform the new desired behavior. For instance, if you stack meditating for five minutes onto brushing your teeth, you may start to associate your toothbrush with practicing mindfulness.

How to Do Habit Stacking

While habit stacking is easier than adopting habits from scratch, it still requires some work. Follow these tips to start building your dream routine.

1. Observe your daily routine

Before you can build other habits, you must determine the habits you already do daily. Some productivity teachers refer to these existing habits as “anchors.”

Take a page from mindfulness and start by observing your thoughts and behaviors. Then, create a list of these anchors.

Examples include:

• Getting out of bed
• Brushing your teeth
• Washing face
• Getting dressed
• Brewing a cup of coffee
• Eating breakfast
• Starting work
• Eating lunch
• Getting home from work
• Eating dinner
• Getting into bed

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2. Determine small, specific goals

These are the habits that move the needle closer to your goals. If you want to lose weight, an action plan may be to exercise three times per week, eat a salad at lunch and get your greens.

If you have trouble deciding on these big-ticket goals, sort them by category, such as wellness goals, physical health goals, professional goals, relationship goals and so on.

Then, quit the all-or-nothing, white-knuckled approach and keep habits small and attainable. Saying you will meditate for three minutes every morning is much more sustainable than committing to 30 minutes. Once the habit is engrained, you can raise the habit benchmark.

3. Use the habit stacking formula

Now comes the fun part of putting everything together. To do this, use the habit stacking formula from above: “Before [Current Habit], I will [New Habit].”

Examples of habit stacking:

• After I get out of bed, I will make my bed
• After I brew my coffee, I will unload the dishwasher
• After I eat breakfast, I will take my morning supplements
• Before I open my laptop, I will drink a glass of water
• After I finish my workout, I will do five minutes of stretching
• Before I get into bed, I will brush my teeth
• After I get into bed, I will turn on a sleep meditation

4. Build habit stacks

After mastering the basic structure of habit stacking, up the ante–and the results–with larger stacks. These form a long chain of habits to reach your goals faster. Examples of habit stacks include a supplement stack, a workout stack and a morning routine stack.

Bulletproof products are designed to support various health needs synergistically. Here are some habit stack ideas to create long-lasting healthy habits.

• After I brew The High Achiever™, I will write my to-do list for the day.
• After I take InnerFuel Prebiotic, I will take Express 3-in-1 Probiotic (these work synergistically together to boost digestive health).^[1]
• After I get into bed, I will pop a Sleep Gummy.

5. Reward yourself

Remember the habit loop? This is the last step that incentivizes you to repeat the new habit. It’s a lot like the satisfaction you get from crossing an item off your to-do list. The brain’s reward system pats you on the back with feel-good dopamine. This helps strengthen the neural pathways that are associated with this new habit.

While sweet treats are fine in moderation, try to choose rewards that reinforce your healthy habits, not hinder them. For instance, a new set of workout clothes is motivation to hit the gym and show off your new ‘fit.