Habit Stacking

When I go for a walk with my dog, Beanie, I bring a little band with me. I do not stop for it. While we walk, I do my scapular banded routine: banded pull-aparts into an overhead banded chest opener, banded external rotations and a banded serratus upcut. I do it for my mid back and shoulders, because I sit hunched over a desk all day and I want to undo what that does to my posture. Two birds, one stone. I am stacking the habit of walking my dog with doing the band work for my posture. Find the thing that you can stack. Here is what habit stacking is, what two therapists told me about habits and behavioral change, what New Orleans’ Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services told me about sitting all day, and a stack for tomorrow morning, when you put your shoes on.

What Habit Stacking Is

Habit stacking is attaching something new to something you already do. You do not have to find new time. The old habit is the reminder. James Clear, who wrote Atomic Habits, says habit stacking works so well because “your current habits are already built into your brain.”

A review of 94 studies with more than 8,000 participants found that those who made an if-then plan, like "after I do X, I will do Y," were more likely to follow through than those who only meant to.

Stacks can be small:

• After I start the coffee, I hold a plank until it is done.
• After every phone call, I stand up and do 10 squats.
• After I park, I take the stairs.

Why the Old Habit Does the Work

I talked with David Bernard, a licensed clinical social worker in private practice in New Orleans, and asked him why changing our behavior is so hard. He started with what our brains like: “Our brains really like what is familiar.” Our brain, he said, “is designed to help us survive, not necessarily change. The brain is biologically wired for efficiency in what’s familiar.” Then he turned to habits:

"Habits become automatic regardless if they're good habits or bad habits."

David BernardLCSW

The problem, he said, is that the brain does not do a good job of telling what is familiar apart from what may be the healthier choice. It likes what is predictable, which is one reason bad habits are hard to break. Change also takes a lot of energy, and the brain will naturally resist an unfamiliar habit that requires more effort.

He told me that “successful change is not just about what we call willpower. It’s about creating the environment where the choices you make are healthy and become easy.” He suggested beginning with small objectives, and gave an example: put your walking shoes by the door. It acts as a gentle reminder of your exercise goal.

A Loose System Works Too

I also talked with Emily DeFelice, a mental health therapist at Ellie Mental Health in Lakeview who is experienced in ADHD therapy. We were discussing how to help people with ADHD. One of her own routines is a water bottle. At night she fills it and puts it in the fridge, so she knows to pull it out first thing in the morning, and it follows her everywhere she goes during the day. For me, it is my go bag. I keep it packed, so I am ready to go out in the morning.

When I asked her about rituals, like a morning or bedtime routine, she told me:

"And for me, I really like a ritual or a system, but I become really bored with it."

Emily DeFeliceMental Health Therapist, Ellie Mental Health Lakeview

For her, after two or three weeks of doing something the exact same way, it starts to feel too predictable, so she keeps a very loose system, with room for flexibility. Still, she thinks a system or ritual is good for anyone and everyone.

So a stack does not have to be a rigid ritual. It can be a system with room for flexibility. To me, hers is still a stack, just a looser one: more of an idea stacked onto an idea than a rigid this, then that. Use whichever way works for you.

I have ADHD, and as Emily explained, someone with ADHD is constantly seeking novelty in something new. So I use loose if-then stacks, while for others a rigid one works best. Mine is part loose, part rigid. The rigid part is the band and the bag. The loose part is what I do with the band, which changes with what I need, or the vibe that day.

Her warning: before you add anything, know what is working for you and what is not. Otherwise you overload yourself, and it ends up more overwhelming and frustrating than helpful.

David also stresses that change is a process. Forgive yourself, and do not feel shame if you do not succeed. As he put it: “You should always expect setbacks and above all, be kind to yourself when that happens.”

Exercise Snacks Count

Dr. Jennifer Avegno is Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services at the City of New Orleans, and an ER doctor by training. She told me her wake-up call came during COVID. As an ER doctor she was used to running around all the time, and at the city she was used to running around to meetings. Then all of a sudden she was sitting for eight hours a day. It took her a few months to realize she felt sluggish and cranky, and then her back started to hurt.

Her advice for anyone whose job keeps them sitting is little exercise snacks. After an hour of sitting, run up and down two flights of stairs, and come back. In her words:

"Doing that a couple of times during the day actually has significant benefits."

Jennifer Avegno, MDDeputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, City of New Orleans

At work, she really tries to take the stairs whenever she is going four floors or less. One of her challenges for everybody: on five days this week, at least twice during your workday, get out of your office and go walk around something. Then notice your mood when you go home that day.

The stairs stack counts more than people think. In a large study of middle-aged and older adults who did not exercise, a few one-to-two-minute bursts of hard effort a day, like climbing stairs or walking very fast, were linked to a lower risk of early death. Exercise bites add up.

Emily also passed along an idea for people in back-to-back meetings: rather than trying to add a 15-minute meditation to the middle of your day, use the natural transitions you already have. After a video call, take a moment to sit and think about what it feels like to have your feet touching the floor. That is a meditation break habit. I would add a physical option: get up and do 10 bodyweight squats before you move on to your next task.

The Old Man Challenge

Here is an exercise snack you can stack onto something you do every day. We all put our shoes on one foot at a time, right? Well, here is something called the Old Man Challenge: put your socks and shoes on while balancing on one foot.

Stand on one foot. Grab your sock and put it on. Still on that one foot, grab your shoe, put it on and tie the laces. Then put that foot down and do the same thing on the other foot.

• Start here. One piece at a time. Put your sock on, then put your foot back down. Put your shoe on, then put your foot back down. Tie the laces, and put the foot down if you need to. Stand right by a chair or something you can grab, just in case.
• Build up. Do the whole thing, sock, shoe and laces, on one foot. Give yourself a break, then go to the other side. Or do the sock on one side, put the foot down, then the sock on the other side, and put the foot down.
• The full challenge. Sock, shoe and laces on one foot, then straight to the other foot. It probably will not look pretty the first time you do it.

• Then control it. Can you do a proper single-leg RDL while you do it?
• Then eyes closed. Can you put on and tie your shoes with your eyes closed?
• Then opposite hands. Try doing it with your opposite hands.
• Why. Each level makes it a little harder. More balance work, better for your vestibular system, and really good for your foot and ankle. One little challenge every day, attached to something you always do: putting your shoes on.

Start Your Stack

This is also where the last few weeks come together. Your planks from last week? Stack one onto something you do every day. Your walk or run? Stack a few minutes of band work onto it.

My rule: one stack at a time. Make it so small you cannot say no, and keep it for two weeks before you add the next one. Small stacks compound.

This week's move:

1. Pick one thing you already do every day.
2. Write the sentence: "After I ___, I will ___."
3. Do it every day this week.

When you miss a day or a week, take David Bernard's advice: show compassion for yourself and say, "Life got busy. I'll start again tomorrow."

Fit Fête Weekend

If you are coming to Fit Fête Weekend, come see me Friday, November 13, at 12:30 PM on the Performance Stage at Tad Gormley Stadium. I am talking about exactly this.

The easiest new habit is the one you attach to an old one. You do not have to find new time. Pick one thing you already do every day, write the sentence, and do it every day this week. Small stacks compound.

Spencer Maxwell Shilstone

Performance Systems Builder · Founder, MaxWell Nutrition

Founder of MaxWell Nutrition and Shilstone Performance Systems. Spencer works with teams and individuals to help them reach their performance goals. He has the honor and privilege of working with and building integrative performance programs for members of U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Optimum Performance is his column at MaxWell Nutrition.