What You Will Learn

• Habit stacking involves linking a new habit to an existing one for easier adoption.
• Leveraging neural pathways makes it simpler to form new habits over time.
• The release of dopamine during habit completion reinforces positive behavior.
• Habit stacking can enhance productivity, improve mental health, and create lasting change.
• Regular reflection and journaling can help track progress and adjust habits effectively.

Pro Tip

Did you know? Visual reminders can significantly enhance your habit stacking success. Consider placing sticky notes in visible areas, setting alarms on your phone, or using apps that remind you of your new stacked habits. These cues serve as powerful nudges, helping to solidify your new behaviors and ensure consistency.

Recap of Key Points

• Definition of Habit Stacking: Linking new habits to existing ones to create seamless transitions.
• Process of Habit Stacking: Identify a current habit, add a new behavior, and link them together for effective habit formation.
• Scientific Basis: Leverages neural pathways and dopamine release to reinforce new behaviors.
• Benefits: Enhances routine formation, supports mental well-being, increases productivity, and utilizes positive reinforcement.
• Encouragement to Start: Begin small by stacking one or two new habits onto existing routines.
• Journaling: Reflect on progress, celebrate successes, and adjust strategies based on insights.

James Clear wanted to start flossing, but he never managed to follow through. Despite his best intentions, his dental floss sat unused in a bathroom drawer.

Fortunately, James had learned a thing or two about human behavior and habit formation. As a self-improvement writer, he’d spent hours pouring over scientific data about behavior changes. He decided to apply a few of these concepts to his own quest.

First, he placed the floss on the bathroom counter, rather than tucking it inside a drawer. He made the floss visible.

Second, he realized he didn’t enjoy the tactile sensation of wrapping floss around his fingers, so he replaced it with floss picks. He made the floss more enjoyable.

Finally, he decided to floss immediately after brushing his teeth. He used a technique called “habit stacking,” in which a new habit is more likely to stick if it’s tied, or triggered, by an existing habit like toothbrushing.

Thanks to these techniques, James built a flossing habit. He shares these tactics and more in today’s podcast episode.

James Clear is one of the most well-respected and widely-known thinkers and writers in the world of habit formation and behavior change.

His website, jamesclear.com, gets more than one million visitors every month.

In this week’s episode, we deep-dive into how to create impressive habits and how to break the terrible habits that hold you back

If you’d like to start new habits like exercising, saving more, investing, meditating, journaling, practicing yoga or flossing, but despite your best intentions you can’t seem to make the habit stick, then this week’s podcast episode is for you.

 

Resources Mentioned:

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You know that moment when you’re reaching for your phone at 2 AM, telling yourself it’s just to check the time, but suddenly you’re deep into social media scrolling? Or when you promise yourself this is the last time you’ll hit snooze, only to repeat the same dance tomorrow morning? We’ve all been there. These automatic behaviors feel like they’re running the show, and honestly, sometimes it feels like we’re just passengers in our own lives.

Here’s the thing about bad habits—they’re sneaky. What starts as an innocent stress-relief activity (hello, late-night snacking) or a quick dopamine hit (just one more TikTok video) gradually becomes a deeply ingrained pattern that seems impossible to shake. The frustrating part? You know exactly what you’re doing wrong. You’ve probably tried to quit multiple times. Yet somehow, despite your best intentions and New Year’s resolutions, you find yourself back in that familiar loop.

But what if I told you that breaking a bad habit isn’t actually about having superhuman willpower or downloading the perfect productivity app? Science has uncovered something fascinating about how our brains create and maintain these patterns—and more importantly, how we can hack the system. The approach I’m about to share isn’t another quick fix or a 21-day miracle cure (spoiler: that’s a myth). Instead, it’s a simple way to break a bad habit that’s practical, evidence-based, and works with your brain’s natural wiring, not against it.

Why Bad Habits Are So Hard to Break

Ever wondered why you can’t just decide to stop scrolling through social media at 2 AM? Or why that afternoon candy bar feels impossible to resist, even when you know you’re trying to eat healthier?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: your brain is working against you—and it’s not even trying to be mean.

Your Brain on Autopilot

Recent neuroscience research from Trinity College Dublin has mapped out exactly why bad habits feel like they have a death grip on our daily lives. At the core is something called the “habit loop”—a three-part cycle your brain absolutely loves:

1. Cue (that trigger moment—like seeing your phone) 2. Routine (the automatic behavior—grabbing and scrolling) 3. Reward (the tiny hit of satisfaction)

But here’s where it gets wild. Scientists at UCL just discovered that your brain has two separate dopamine systems reinforcing your habits. The second one? It doesn’t even care about rewards anymore. As the researchers put it: “This helps explain how habits form and why bad ones can be so difficult to break.” Your brain literally strengthens behaviors just because you keep doing them—pleasure not required.

Think about that for a second. You might not even enjoy doom-scrolling anymore, but your brain keeps the habit humming along anyway.

The Willpower Myth (Sort Of)

We’ve all been there—Monday morning, fresh determination, “This time I’m really going to stick with it!” By Wednesday? Back to the old routine.

The research is clear: willpower alone is like trying to hold back the ocean with a sandcastle. Roy Baumeister’s studies show that self-control works like a muscle—use it too much, and it gets exhausted. Once that willpower tank runs empty, guess what takes over? Your habits.

But here’s the plot twist: calling willpower a “myth” isn’t quite right either. University of Virginia researchers found that even those fancy habit-breaking strategies (like app blockers or hiding the cookies) still require willpower to implement. As one researcher noted, “If you’re someone who really likes Facebook, and you’re deleting it because you’re tempted by it, that’s hard, right?”

Breaking Free from the Loop

Professor Claire Gillan from Trinity College Dublin offers hope: “We are all different; depending on your neurobiology, it might make more sense to focus on avoiding cues than reducing stress.” Translation? There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but understanding how your specific brain works is half the battle.

The latest research points to a multi-pronged attack: weaken those automatic responses, dodge your triggers when possible, and create new competing habits. It’s not about having superhuman willpower—it’s about outsmarting your own wiring.

The Simple 5-Step Method to Break a Bad Habit

Breaking a bad habit isn’t about superhuman willpower—it’s about having a smart strategy. Research shows that habit change typically takes 59 to 66 days (not the mythical 21 days), but with the right approach, you can make the process smoother and more successful. Here’s a proven 5-step method that combines the latest behavioral science with practical action.

Step 1: Map Your Habit Loop

Every habit follows a predictable pattern: cue → routine → reward. Before you can break a habit, you need to understand its anatomy. Spend a week observing your bad habit like a scientist would.

Action steps: – Track when the habit occurs (time, location, emotional state) – Identify what triggers it (the cue) – Notice what you get from it (the reward)

For example, if you’re trying to quit afternoon vending machine runs, you might discover: Cue = 3 PM energy slump, Routine = buying chips, Reward = quick energy boost and a mental break from work.

Step 2: Choose a Replacement

Here’s where most people fail—they try to eliminate the bad habit without filling the void. Your brain craves that reward, so give it a healthier alternative that satisfies the same need.

Action steps: – List 3-5 alternative behaviors that could provide a similar reward – Test each one for a few days – Choose the most satisfying replacement

Using our vending machine example: Instead of chips for an energy boost, try a 5-minute walk outside, a protein bar from your desk drawer, or a quick chat with a colleague. The key is finding something that gives you both energy and a mental break.

Step 3: Create Implementation Intentions

This is your secret weapon. Implementation intentions are specific “if-then” plans that research shows can double your chances of success. They work by pre-deciding your response to triggers, removing the need for willpower in the moment.

Action steps: – Write 3-5 “if-then” statements for your habit – Be ultra-specific about the situation and response – Post them where you’ll see them daily

Examples: – “If it’s 3 PM and I feel tired, then I will walk to the water fountain and back three times” – “If I reach for my phone in bed, then I will place it on my dresser and pick up my book instead” – “If I feel stressed after a meeting, then I will do five deep breaths before leaving the conference room”

Step 4: Design Your Environment

Your surroundings can sabotage or support your efforts. Environmental design means making bad habits harder and good habits easier—working with human nature instead of against it.

Action steps: – Remove or hide triggers (delete apps, throw out junk food, move the TV remote) – Add friction to bad habits (put your phone in another room, freeze your credit card) – Reduce friction for good habits (lay out workout clothes, pre-chop vegetables, keep water bottles visible)

One study participant broke her online shopping habit by removing all saved credit card information and putting her cards in a box in the garage. That extra friction was enough to break the automatic behavior.

Step 5: Build Your Support System

Change doesn’t happen in isolation. Having accountability and encouragement multiplies your chances of success.

Action steps: – Tell someone specific about your goal and ask for their support – Find an accountability partner working on their own habit change – Join an online community or local group focused on your goal – Set up regular check-ins (weekly texts, monthly coffee dates)

Pro tip: Share your implementation intentions with your support person. When they know your specific plan, they can provide targeted encouragement: “Hey, it’s 3 PM—time for your energy walk!”

The Bottom Line

Breaking a bad habit isn’t about becoming a different person overnight. It’s about systematically rewiring one small behavior at a time. Start with mapping your habit loop today, and work through each step methodically. Remember, you’re not just breaking a bad habit—you’re building the skill of conscious behavior change that will serve you for life.

Applying the Method to Modern Bad Habits

Let’s face it – our modern world has created an entirely new set of habit challenges our grandparents never faced. With over 50% of Americans believing they’re addicted to their phones and the average person checking their device 300+ times daily, it’s clear we need practical strategies to break free. Here’s how the 5-step method applies to today’s most common struggles.

 

Digital Addiction and Phone Usage

Remember Sarah from earlier? She’s not alone in her 8-hour daily screen time. Here’s how to apply our method:

Step 1: Identify Your Triggers – Notice when you reach for your phone. Is it during work breaks? When you’re bored? Studies show 80% of Gen Z checks their phones within five minutes of a notification.

Step 2: Set Clear Goals – Be specific. Instead of “use phone less,” try “reduce screen time from 8 to 4 hours daily” or “no phones during meals.”

Step 3: Replace the Habit – When you feel the urge to scroll, do five push-ups, take a short walk, or practice deep breathing. Your brain needs that dopamine hit – give it a healthier source.

Step 4: Start Small – Use app timers to limit social media to 30 minutes daily, then gradually decrease. Place your phone in another room during work hours.

Step 5: Track and Persist – Use your phone’s built-in screen time tracker. Celebrate weekly wins – remember, it takes an average of 66 days to form new habits.

Emotional Eating

With 25-40% of adults struggling with emotional eating, this habit often masks deeper needs:

Steps 1-2: Track when you eat emotionally. Is it stress at 3 PM? Loneliness at night? Set a goal like “pause 5 minutes before snacking.”

Steps 3-4: Replace eating with calling a friend, journaling, or making tea. Start by replacing just one emotional eating episode per day.

Step 5: Keep a mood-food diary. Notice patterns and celebrate non-food coping victories.

Procrastination

For the 50-60% of students and 15-20% of adults who chronically procrastinate:

The Method: Identify your procrastination triggers (overwhelming tasks, fear of failure). Set micro-goals (“write one paragraph” not “finish essay”). Replace procrastination with the “2-minute rule” – if it takes less than 2 minutes, do it now. Track completed tasks, not just to-dos.

Negative Self-Talk

This silent habit affects nearly everyone:

Application: Notice trigger thoughts, set a goal to catch and reframe three negative thoughts daily, replace with neutral observations (“I made a mistake” vs. “I’m stupid”), start with morning affirmations, and track in a thought journal.

The key? These modern habits often interconnect – phone addiction fuels procrastination, which triggers negative self-talk, leading to emotional eating. By tackling one, you create positive ripple effects across all areas. Start with your biggest pain point and watch the dominoes fall in your favor.

The Science of Making It Stick

Let’s start with a truth bomb: the 21-day habit myth is complete nonsense. This popular claim has zero scientific backing, yet it’s been repeated so often that people believe it’s fact. Here’s what the research actually shows.

The Real Timeline for Lasting Change

Dr. Phillippa Lally’s groundbreaking 2009 study at University College London followed 96 people as they formed new habits. The results? It took an average of 66 days for behaviors to become automatic—not 21. Even more telling: the range was massive, from 18 days for simple habits like drinking water with lunch to 254 days for complex behaviors like daily exercise routines.

Recent research confirms this variability. A 2024 systematic review found that health-related habits take a median of 59-66 days to form, with some people needing up to 335 days. The complexity of your chosen behavior, your personal circumstances, and your environment all play crucial roles in determining your timeline.

Here’s where it gets fascinating: neuroplasticity research shows your brain is constantly rewiring itself based on what you repeatedly do. When you first start a new habit, your prefrontal cortex (the decision-making center) works overtime. But through repetition, this activity gradually shifts to the basal ganglia, where automatic behaviors live.

Think of it like creating a path through a forest. The first few times, you’re pushing through thick underbrush. But with each repetition, the path becomes clearer and easier to follow. Eventually, you can walk it without conscious thought. That’s your brain literally building new neural highways to support your desired behavior.

The Setback Reality Check

Here’s another myth to bust: setbacks don’t erase your progress. found that missing a day occasionally didn’t significantly impact habit formation. Your brain doesn’t reset to zero after a lapse—those neural pathways remain, just temporarily unused.

Research from the stages of change model shows that relapse is actually a normal part of the process, not a failure. The key is how you respond. People who practice self-compassion and reframe setbacks as learning opportunities show greater long-term success than those who engage in harsh self-criticism.

Practical Strategies for Lasting Change

Start ridiculously small.

Your brain adapts better to incremental changes than dramatic overhauls. Want to exercise daily? Start with putting on your workout clothes. The neural pathway for “exercise preparation” will strengthen before you even break a sweat.

Use environmental cues. Link your new habit to existing routines or specific locations. This creates what researchers call “context-dependent learning”—your brain associates the environment with the behavior, making it more automatic.

Celebrate micro-wins. Each time you perform your desired behavior, acknowledge it. This positive reinforcement strengthens the neural circuits and increases the likelihood of repetition.

Plan for setbacks. When (not if) you slip up, have a specific plan for getting back on track. Research shows that people who pre-plan their response to obstacles are more likely to persist through challenges.

Remember: lasting change isn’t about perfection—it’s about persistence. Your brain is designed to adapt, but it needs time and consistency to do so. Give yourself the gift of patience, and trust the process.

Your 30-Day Action Plan

Ready to transform your life? This isn’t just another goal-setting exercise—it’s your roadmap to lasting change. Whether you’re building new habits, breaking old ones, or pursuing a specific goal, this structured approach will guide you step-by-step through four crucial phases of transformation.

 

Week 1: Awareness and Planning

Focus: Foundation BuildingDays 1-3: Assessment and Goal Setting

– Day 1: Write down your current reality. What’s working? What isn’t? Be brutally honest. – Day 2: Define your ONE primary goal for the month. Make it specific and measurable. – Day 3: Break your goal into the smallest possible daily action (think 2-minute rule).

Days 4-7: System Creation – Day 4: Choose your tracking method—app, journal, or simple calendar checkmarks. – Day 5: Identify your trigger cue (link new habit to existing routine). – Day 6: Set up your environment for success (remove obstacles, add helpful reminders). – Day 7: Practice your new habit for the first time. Celebrate completing it!

Week 1 Milestone: Complete your habit 5 out of 7 days. If you miss more than two days, adjust your approach—make it easier, not harder.

Week 2: Implementation

Focus: Building MomentumDaily Tasks:

– Execute your habit immediately after your chosen trigger – Mark it off your tracker within 5 minutes of completion – Note any resistance or obstacles you encounter

Mid-week Check-in (Day 10): Review your tracker and ask: “What’s helping me succeed? What’s getting in my way?” Adjust your approach accordingly.

Days 11-14: Gradual Expansion If you’re hitting your basic habit consistently, gradually increase duration or complexity. Walking 5 minutes? Try 7. Meditating 2 minutes? Go for 3.

Week 2 Milestone: Achieve 6 out of 7 days. You should feel the habit becoming slightly more automatic.

Week 3: Refinement

Focus: Optimization and ConsistencyDaily Tasks:

– Continue your habit without negotiation – Add a “why” reminder: briefly note how the habit made you feel – Experiment with timing if current schedule isn’t working

Weekly Review (Day 21): Celebrate reaching the 3-week mark! Research shows this is when neural pathways start strengthening. Reflect on what’s changed in your life beyond just the habit itself.

Days 22-21: Habit Stacking Consider adding a micro-habit immediately after your main one. After your 10-minute walk, do 2 push-ups. After meditation, write one gratitude note.

Week 3 Milestone: Achieve a 7-day streak. If you miss a day, get back on track immediately—don’t let one slip become two.

Week 4: Expansion

Focus: Sustainability and GrowthDaily Tasks:

– Maintain your habit regardless of circumstances – Start planning how you’ll continue beyond 30 days – Share your progress with someone who matters to you

Days 25-28: Stress Testing Intentionally practice your habit during busy or stressful days. This builds resilience and proves the habit can survive real-world challenges.

Days 29-30: Future Planning – Day 29: Reflect on your journey. What surprised you? What would you do differently? – Day 30: Set your next 30-day goal, building on the momentum you’ve created.

Week 4 Milestone: Complete 28 out of 30 days total. You’ve now created a sustainable foundation for long-term change.

Your Success Toolkit

– Never miss twice: If you skip a day, make the next day non-negotiable – Start stupidly small: It’s better to do something tiny consistently than something big sporadically – Track immediately: Mark your habit complete within minutes of doing it – Prepare for obstacles: Plan what you’ll do when life gets chaotic – Celebrate progress: Acknowledge every small win along the way

Remember: You’re not just completing a 30-day challenge—you’re installing a new operating system for your life. Each day you show up, you’re casting a vote for the person you want to become. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s progress, one day at a time.

Breaking Free: Your Journey Starts Now

You’ve just discovered a simple yet powerful 5-step method to break any bad habit: identify your triggers, replace the routine, start small, track your progress, and celebrate your wins. The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity – no complex theories, no expensive programs, just practical steps you can start implementing today.

I know what you might be thinking: “But I’ve tried breaking this habit before and failed.” Here’s the truth – every attempt teaches you something valuable. The difference now is that you have a clear roadmap and the understanding that change happens gradually, not overnight.

Remember, you’re not aiming for perfection. You’re aiming for progress. Each small victory builds momentum, and before you know it, what once felt impossible becomes your new normal. The person who starts this journey today will thank themselves six months from now.

Your bad habit doesn’t define you – your decision to change it does. So here’s your call to action: Choose one habit you want to break. Write down your specific trigger right now. Then decide on one small replacement action you’ll take tomorrow when that trigger appears.

The path to lasting change starts with a single step. Take it today. Your future self is counting on you.

This article is an excerpt from Atomic Habits, my New York Times bestselling book.

While researching Atomic Habits, I came across a story that immediately struck me with its simplicity and power. It was the story of Oswald Nuckols, an IT developer from Natchez, Mississippi, and his simple strategy for making future habits easy.

Nuckols refers to the approach as “resetting the room.”1

For instance, when he finishes watching television, he places the remote back on the TV stand, arranges the pillows on the couch, and folds the blanket. When he leaves his car, he throws any trash away. Whenever he takes a shower, he wipes down the toilet while the shower is warming up. (As he notes, the “perfect time to clean the toilet is right before you wash yourself in the shower anyway.”2)

This might sound like he’s just “cleaning up” but there is a key insight that makes his approach different. The purpose of resetting each room is not simply to clean up after the last action, but to prepare for the next action.

“When I walk into a room everything is in its right place,” Nuckols wrote. “Because I do this every day in every room, stuff always stays in good shape . . . People think I work hard but I’m actually really lazy. I’m just proactively lazy. It gives you so much time back.”

I have written previously about the power of the environment to shape your behavior. Resetting the room is one way to put the power back in your own hands. Let’s talk about how you can use it.

The Power of Priming the Environment

Whenever you organize a space for its intended purpose, you are priming it to make the next action easy. This is one of the most practical and simple ways to improve your habits.

For instance, my wife keeps a box of greeting cards that are presorted by occasion—birthday, sympathy, wedding, graduation, and more. Whenever necessary, she grabs an appropriate card and sends it off. She is incredibly good at remembering to send cards because she has reduced the friction of doing so.

For years, I was the opposite. Someone would have a baby and I would think, “I should send a card.” But then weeks would pass and by the time I remembered to pick one up at the store, it was too late. The habit wasn’t easy.

There are many ways to prime your environment so it’s ready for immediate use. If you want to cook a healthy breakfast, place the skillet on the stove, set the cooking spray on the counter, and lay out any plates and utensils you’ll need the night before. When you wake up, making breakfast will be easy.

Here are some more:

• Want to draw more? Put your pencils, pens, notebooks, and drawing tools on top of your desk, within easy reach.
• Want to exercise? Set out your workout clothes, shoes, gym bag, and water bottle ahead of time.
• Want to improve your diet? Chop up a ton of fruits and vegetables on weekends and pack them in containers, so you have easy access to healthy, ready-to-eat options during the week.

These are simple ways to make the good habit the path of least resistance.

The Path of Most Resistance

You can also invert this principle and prime the environment to make bad behaviors difficult.

If you find yourself watching too much television, for example, then unplug it after each use. Only plug it back in if you can say out loud the name of the show you want to watch. (Which prevents you from turning on Netflix and “just finding something” to watch.) This setup creates just enough friction to prevent mindless viewing.

If that doesn’t do it, you can take it a step further. Unplug the television and take the batteries out of the remote after each use, so it takes an extra ten seconds to turn it back on. And if you’re really hard-core, move the television out of the living room and into a closet after each use. You can be sure you’ll only take it out when you really want to watch something. The greater the friction, the less likely the habit.

Whenever possible, I leave my phone in a different room until lunch. When it’s right next to me, I’ll check it all morning for no reason at all. But when it is in another room, I rarely think about it. And the friction is high enough that I won’t go get it without a reason. As a result, I get three to four hours each morning when I can work without interruption.

If sticking your phone in another room doesn’t seem like enough, tell a friend or family member to hide it from you for a few hours. Ask a coworker to keep it at their desk in the morning and give it back to you at lunch.

It is remarkable how little friction is required to prevent bad behavior. When I hide beer in the back of the fridge where I can’t see it, I drink less. When I delete social media apps from my phone, it can be weeks before I download them again and log in.

These tricks are unlikely to curb a true addiction, but for many of us, a little bit of friction can be the difference between sticking with a good habit or sliding into a bad one. Imagine the cumulative impact of making dozens of these changes and living in an environment designed to make the good behaviors easier and the bad behaviors harder.

Where to Go From Here

Whether we are approaching behavior change as an individual, a parent, a coach, or a leader, we should ask ourselves the same question: “How can we design a world where it’s easy to do what’s right?” Reset your rooms so that the actions that matter most are also the actions that are easiest to do.

When you master habits of preparation, habits of execution become easy.

This article is an excerpt from Chapter 12 of my New York Times bestselling book Atomic Habits. Read more here. 

In this article, I’d like to share 30 “one-sentence stories” about building better habits. (They are not all exactly one sentence, but they are very short.)

None of these stories are mine. They were sent to me by readers of Atomic Habits. My hope is that these examples will illustrate how real people are putting the book into practice. They will show you what people are actually doing to build good habits and break bad ones. And hopefully, they will spark some ideas for how you can do the same.

I have divided the stories into categories that roughly correspond to different sections or ideas in the book.

Identity-based habits

One of the central ideas in the book is the concept of building “identity-based habits”, which essentially recommends focusing on the type of person you wish to become rather than the outcome you wish to achieve.

One reader named Roland used the idea to improve his eating habits.

“I stopped eating unhealthy food via identity change,” he wrote. “I tried many times in the past, but it became easy — natural — only after I had made the conscious decision that I want to be someone who eats healthy. Instead of aiming for I want to stop eating bad food, I tried changing the mindset to I am someone that eats healthy and lives a healthy life. It changes how you approach things.”

Another reader named Robert employed this idea to help him quit smoking. He wrote, “I recently stopped smoking and the difference between I don’t smoke and I can’t smoke is a powerful trainer of my brain. The positive message of I don’t smoke is that I have not “given up” anything. I am not sacrificing a pleasure. I am investing in my future happiness and wellbeing.”

Like most strategies in the book, the concept of identity-based habits can be combined with other habit building tactics. For instance, one reader used an external reward of $10 to reinforce the desired identity. “I told myself, I am no longer a drinker. Then, after each day of non-drinking, I gave myself $10 to buy something nice rather than poison (like clothes and household items). Today, I no longer need the allowance and I’m six years sober.”

Chapter 2 of Atomic Habits covers these strategies in much greater detail.

Changing the Cues

Another way you can change a habit is by identifying and altering the cues that prompt your behavior. This is precisely what many readers have done.

One woman named Lisa cultivated a reading habit by increasing her exposure to books. “I’ve read more books by continually having 20-30 books on hold at the library,” she said. “It saves time on browsing for books. I always have new things to read with a three-week deadline.”

Heather used a similar strategy to reinforce the simple habit of drinking more water. “I use color and placement for visual reminding and motivation. I poured water in a bright aqua water bottle – my favorite color – and placed it on my nightstand so I couldn’t miss it when I woke up.”

Other readers have done the opposite. They reduced exposure to negative cues. One man named Max managed to eliminate his e-cigarette habit. “I quit e-cigarettes with a combination of determination and also quitting coffee at the same time, which was a trigger for me as I’d smoke and drink coffee together in the morning.”

Habit Stacking

Another popular tactic in the book is something I call “habit stacking.” It’s strategy I first learned from Stanford professor B.J. Fogg. He refers to it as “anchoring” because you anchor—or stack—your new habit onto a current habit.

One reader used habit stacking to create a simple rule for learning a new language.

“When I first moved to China and started to learn Mandarin, I committed to strike up a conversation with the taxi driver whenever I went into a cab (I took a lot of cab rides, 5+ daily). I did it for 2 years no matter the time of day or how tired I was. I now speak fluent Chinese.”

Similarly, a reader named David told me, “I meditate for 20 minutes after brushing my teeth in the morning. Linking new habits onto a keystone one seems to work.”

You’ll find all sorts of habit stacking examples in Chapter 5 of Atomic Habits.

Environment Design, Part I

I have written about the power of the environment and the importance of choice architecture in the past. The simple truth is our environment often shapes our behavior. Many readers are using this fact to their benefit by installing some of the environment design strategies I share in the book.

For starters, you can break a bad habit by increasing the friction in your environment.

One woman named Cyd curtailed her snacking habit with the following strategy. “My husband still loves his Pringles, as do I, but they’re now kept in a locked car that’s parked in the cold. It works!”

Multiple readers are learning to wake up earlier.

One reader named Daniel told me, “I jump out of bed every morning without any hesitation. The reason? The only way to turn off my alarm is to scan a QR Code I keep in the bathroom. This worked wonders for me.”

Chris utilized both environment design and habit stacking to stop sleeping in. He wrote, “I have a bad habit: Hitting snooze. To eliminate it, I “made it hard” and put phone in the bathroom. The phone then became a habit stack. The first thing I do when I wake up: turn off alarm, go to bathroom, brush teeth, etc.”

One of my favorite examples was sent to me by J. Money, the personal finance blogger. He wrote, “I brush my teeth right after putting my kids to bed every night (8pm), which has prevented me from eating or drinking (alcohol) at night for years… ‘Cuz who wants to re-brush them again!”

It’s a great example of creating just enough friction to keep your bad habits at bay.

Environment Design, Part II

Typically, we think of designing physical spaces, but you can use the same principles to shape your digital environment as well. For instance, a reader named Matthew wrote to me and said, “I significantly cut down on mindless Instagram time. Simply logging out of the app makes a big difference.”

Another reader named Viet went even further. “I used my own laziness to my own advantage with my bad habit of browsing Facebook. Deleting Facebook and having to go through the one extra step of going to website and logging in manually was enough barrier for me to not get back on.”

And Rahul did something similar to kill his video game habit. “For gaming addiction, I removed my graphic card,” he wrote. “For excessive net surfing on mobile, I uninstalled apps and removed the Chrome browser.”

Environment Design, Part III

On the flip side, you can foster good habits by reducing the friction in your environment.

Natalie started picking up her cluttered clothes and building better cleaning habits simply by reducing the number of steps between her and the laundry basket. “I quit leaving my socks all over the floor by putting a little basket beside the door to collect them in.”

Similar strategies can be particularly useful for building new exercise habits.

One reader named Justin sent me the following message: “I started going to a gym that was less than a mile from my house. This took away the time and inconvenience excuses. I was never consistent at exercise, but now I work out 8-10x a week. Crossfit, running, and cycling. I’ve been going strong for 2.5 years.”

Another reader wrote, “I’ve been running at 6 A.M. for the past two years. I always put my running gear (Garmin, compression sleeves, shoes, etc.) into a neat pile the night before. When I get up, I just get dressed and go out the door.”

I’ve even heard from readers who go to sleep wearing their running clothes. All they have to do is stumble out the door in the morning.

For more on environment design, see Chapters 6 and 12 of Atomic Habits.

Habit Substitution

In many cases, it can be more effective to replace your bad habit than to merely try to eliminate it.

The beautiful thing about habit substitution is that you can build a good habit and break a bad one at the same time. One reader told me, “At home I would go out to my backyard to smoke, so I put a weight bench out there and every time I wanted to smoke I’d go out and do some reps instead. After that, my craving was reduced.”

I thought the following idea was interesting. One reader replaced biting their nails with cutting their nails. “I stopped biting my fingernails mostly by making sure clippers were always close at hand – especially at work.”

Many readers have substituted a new habit in a “stair step” fashion. They gradually shift from the old habit to something healthier.

Mark, for example, shared the following strategy. “I significantly cut back on beer consumption. I used flavored sparkling water to replace the beer and I asked my wife to stop having beer in the fridge for a while. Once I replaced the habit (it was mostly stress drinking after work), I was able to add beer back into my life.”

And another reader, also named Marc, curtailed his drinking in a similar way. “I replaced drinking beer every day in a succession of replacements, going through fruit juice, then iced tea, then seltzer water. I did it over about nine months by having one less drink a week. Once I finally quit, I got past the cravings in only two weeks. I haven’t had a drink in over a year now.”

Shawn used this approach to stop smoking. “I decided to quit smoking and used a fun-sized Snickers candy bar as a substitute until the major cravings went away. I’m still smoke-free years later.”

Substitution can even be useful in a broader sense. Suraj wrote, “I was addicted to drugs and alcohol. To beat my addiction, I started working out. Now I am planning to compete in powerlifting meets.”

To a certain degree, habit substitution allows you to look for a healthier obsession. Some people are hooked on alcohol. Others are hooked on exercise. Either one can be unhealthy if taken too far, but generally speaking it’s a lot better to spend a few hours exercising each day than to spend a few hours drinking each day.

Mindset Tricks

Sometimes I like to employ clever little mental tricks to stick with a good habit.

One reader named Caelan wrote, “I quit smoking by assigning my cheat days progressively farther in the future. I never quit “for good,” I only quit until my next cheat day. This helped with cravings, because the choice wasn’t between “right now” or “never,” it was “right now” or “later.”

Ken applied a similar strategy to his habit of eating fast food. “I started small when I quit bad habits like eating McDonalds all the time and drinking soda. I told myself I’d take a week off, then said two weeks. That continued. This month, I made it four years without McDonalds and 15 months without soda.”

Another person used the Pointing-and-Calling strategy I discussed in Chapter 4. They wrote, “I quit smoking by saying a mantra out loud every time I wanted a cigarette (“your brain tricks you”) which I think changed my thinking from the subconscious part of my brain to the logical part.”

Qiana used a little math and a clever visual trick. “I stopped drinking soda,” she wrote. “I added up all the sodas I drank for the week and counted how many tablespoons of sugar were in those soda cans and bottles. I began to scoop the amount of sugar into an enormous bowl The visual did it for me. I had to break that habit.”

Habit Tracking

Finally, I’d like to close with one of my favorite strategies: habit tracking.

Here’s how a few readers are using it…

Cindy sent me an email saying, “I purchased a large wall calendar and started building the chains. This really works for me. I like to build that chain. There are 6 months of red X’s on my calendar. I am healthier, have lost 30 pounds, feel stronger, exercise more, garden, read more, work on my small business, and practice my French.”

The easiest way to start tracking your habits is to use the templates provided in the Habit Journal. It will make the whole process a breeze.

My favorite approach is to pick a very tiny version of your habit and track that. For example, I have been tracking the habit of “reading 1 page” for the last month. One reader named Günter did something similar. “I’ve done a simple workout every day for over half a year now. I managed to stick to it by changing the scope: when I don’t have time for a full set or don’t feel like it, instead of skipping altogether, I do an abbreviated session. I also mark it in my calendar.”

Hopefully, these short stories give you some ideas on how to build better habits in your own life. If you’d like to learn more about the strategies discussed above, check out Atomic Habits. And if you’re interested in a notebook that makes it easier to build better habits, try the Habit Journal.

But no matter what, keep taking action in small ways each day. It is so gratifying for me to see people making real changes in their life because of these ideas. As always, thanks for reading.

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Last Updated May 23, 2025 (originally published November 21, 2018)

Key Takeaways Helping clients develop nutritional habits may be the key to long-term behavior change success. You can empower your clients by teaching them how to develop new habits and helping them embrace the power of process goals as steppingstones to longer-term objectives. The 5 keystone habits covered are: Increase awareness of current habits. Plan dinners for the week. Sit down to eat, share and connect with others. Enjoy food. Begin with the end in mind.

 

When it comes to discussing behavior change and nutrition with your clients, it is outside of your scope of practice as a health and exercise professional to provide psychological counseling or detailed menu plans (unless you have additional credentials in those fields). However, if you aren’t talking to your clients about their health behaviors and nutrition, you could be missing important areas of potential improvement.

According to Charles Duhigg, author , nearly half of the decisions we make in a day are not actually decisions—they are habits. That is, we complete tasks without conscious thought (brushing your teeth and backing out of the driveway, for example, require almost no effort). 

If this same theory holds true for food decisions, many people probably put little to no thought into half of their intake. The decision to stop on the way to work for a coffee drink or eat candy in the afternoon may not be a conscious thought, but a habit driven by a cue. And, unfortunately, as Duhigg writes, some habits are “so strong, that they cause our brains to cling to them at the exclusion of all else… including common sense.”

Thus, if you want to encourage your clients to adopt a healthier lifestyle, focus on the process. Adaptation is a process, and being process-oriented rather than results-oriented may actually lead to better long-term results (and therefore, better client retention). Clients may be looking for immediate results, but they typically hire a health and exercise professional to help them learn, grow and progress in multiple areas of health and wellness.

What are the associative habits that lead to healthier behaviors? Your clients undoubtedly know they should eat a variety of whole, unprocessed foods, but how do you help them turn choosing whole foods into a daily behavior?

In other words, what are the keystone habits for improved nutrition? Exercise is certainly one. According to researcher James Prochaska, lead developer of the transtheoretical model of behavior change and author of Changing to Thrive, when people start exercising regularly they also start eating better, become more productive, smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and families.

Advising clients to adopt the following five habits may help improve their chances for success for healthy eating:

Advising clients to adopt the following five habits may help improve their chances for success for healthy eating:

• Increase awareness of current habits. The first step in changing a habit is recognizing the cues and rewards that accompany it. Because many people have a tendency to mindlessly consume food, awareness is the vital first step in developing healthier habits. Help your clients recognize and care about what and how much they are (and are not) eating. Calories count, but you do not always need to count them. Understanding patterns and triggers/cues is far more useful than calculating calories and macros. Keeping a detailed food record (either on paper or online) that allows for subjective comments for two to three days is a great starting point.
• Plan dinners for the week. Clients may notice that it’s easier to make healthy lifestyle decisions early in the day. Making smart choices is especially challenging when life becomes hectic. Consider a typical evening after a long day at work, picking up the kids, sitting in traffic and arriving home at 6:00 p.m. Feeling mentally and physically exhausted, many people are far more likely to heat up a frozen pizza or grab fast food rather than decide what healthy food to make and then actually cook it. Planning a dinner menu for the week removes the energy associated with making a decision when you are tired and hungry. In addition, it helps create a shopping list for the week. Urge your clients to plan to use fresh foods (e.g., salads and fish) early in the week and foods that last (e.g., frozen vegetables and meats) later in the week. 
• Sit down to eat, share and connect with others. According to the World Happiness Report, one in four Americans report eating all their meals alone the previous day, which is a 53% increase from 2003. Eating in solitude is associated with  cognitive decline and an increased risk of depression, as well as decreased food diversity, lower vegetable and fruit intake, reduced caloric intake, skipping meals, and over– and underweight. Approximately 50% of parents report having family meals seven or more times per week. Sitting down to eat with family or friends can coincide with a cascade of healthy behaviors. One study, for example, found that children who eat dinner with their families have higher dietary diversity, lower ultra-processed food consumption, and a healthy body mass index. In addition, frequent family meals may contribute to the emotional and social well–being of the parent.
• Enjoy food. Eating indulging foods should not produce guilt. When referring to foods and behaviors, throw out the words good and bad. Instead, consider what should be done more frequently and what should be done less frequently. Encourage clients to eat a variety of foods.
• Begin with the end in mind. As Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, urged, establishing a long-term goal and creating a series of small goals to progress toward that end goal develops consistent behaviors that develop into habits. One example is to sign up for a race or event (e.g., a half-marathon in six months with a 5K and 10K along the way). This “carrot” is what leads to those extra 20 minutes of exercise that might not otherwise have been done. And those 20 minutes, a few days a week, over the course of a year add up to a significant change and hopefully new habits. Additionally, encourage a growth mindset; that is, do not allow your clients to define themselves by their shortcomings or failures. After a hiccup, do not wait until Monday (or the 1st of the month) to reboot, but instead start back up on a healthy eating plan after those last few bites of dessert.

The simple truth is that no single secret or keystone habit exists. Hard work, consistency and patience—on both the health and exercise professional and client’s part—are vital to fostering lasting results. Above all, establish a consistently healthy culture that becomes contagious.

 

To learn more from Justin Robinson and other nutrition experts, register now for the ACE Health and Fitness Summit: Evidence-Based Nutrition for Coaches and Trainers. This event takes place on May 30, 2025, from 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PDT. In addition to Justin’s session on optimizing fitness and well-being through gut health science, the event will explore everything from plant-based nutrition to obesity medications. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to elevate your coaching game with science-backed nutrition insights from our panel of experts.