Building Habits - Habit stacking

The phrase habit stacking was coined by Wall Street Journal bestselling author S.J Scott. His 2014 book Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less proposes you, "build routines around habits that don't require effort" because "small wins build momentum because they're easy to remember and complete."

Behavioural psychologist James Clear explains that, "Your brain prunes away connections between neurons that don't get used and builds up connections that get used more frequently." "Synaptic pruning occurs with every habit you build as your brain builds a strong network of neurons to support your current behaviours. The more you do something, the stronger and more efficient the connection becomes." Clear argues you can take advantage of the "very strong habits and connections that you take for granted each day" to build new habits.

We all have daily habits, try stacking your new intentions onto some existing habits:

• Boiling the kettle – take a multi vitamin or drink a glass of water.

• Driving or commuting - try our breathing practice (find out more in this blog post)

• Reaching for your phone during the ad break – pick one mobility and/ or core exercises instead.

• Cooking dinner – could you do 20 squats during this time?

Why not take 5 minutes to write down three to four small intentions for the coming week. 

Click here to find a plan to help you ConquerPerformance!