By MaryAnn Jones

Stack Your Habits To Get Yourself Moving!

As a health coach, I work with clients who know that movement is vital for their heart, weight management, and mental health. Yet, knowing is not doing. Let’s change that… A job of a health coach is to discover what is keeping their clients stuck and help them find their way to action and consistency. One technique is to bring awareness to current habits and link them to a new routine. Your habits are literally imprinted on your brain. The more you do something the stronger and more efficiently you build neurons. But wait! I don’t want to build neurons, I want to build muscle tone! Habit stacking holds the key to how they are interconnected.

"In a nutshell, your health, wealth, happiness, fitness, and success depend on your habits."

—Joanna Jast, Hack Your Habits

Let’s start by identifying some of your current habits. Just to name a few…

Waking up (thank goodness)
Getting dressed
Coffee
Brushing your teeth
Preparing, eating meals
Logging off your computer
Filling your water bottle
Using the bathroom, washing your hands

Once you have identified some habits that are literally on auto-pilot — actions you are not overthinking — you are ready to use it as the foundation to build a new one. Then, the next step is to identify a new fitness habit you have been considering. Whether it be a 10-minute walk between Zoom calls or a morning yoga class, get really clear about what feels possible and joyful. Whatever the action your brain is not yet on board, you have not built up those auto-pilot connections, so we are going to leverage your existing habits to easily inform your new one.

Try Out This Habit Stacking:

Before/after (current habit), I will (new habit)

Examples: » After I make my coffee, I will do 3 sun salutations. » Before I eat my first meal, I will open the 7-minute workout app and do a short HIIT workout. » After I drop off the kids at school, I will go to a fitness class. » After adding in my commitments to my calendar, I will block out time to work out. » Before I get into bed, I will put my workout clothes and sneakers in a spot that gets my attention in the morning.

Here are a few tips to help you create your own habit stack:

Be very specific, clear, and affirmative
Start with a new habit that will take 5-minutes or less
Acknowledge your effort, literally giving yourself a high-five
Check your environment for triggers and adjust them to promote your new fitness habit (ex. Remove all the laundry from the treadmill)

How can habit stacking improve your life?

So how can habit stacking fit in more fitness habits, provide moments of joy, and improve your health? If you don’t know where to start, I’m happy to help! Schedule a free, no-obligation 15-minute session with me to learn how to develop these essential healthy habits!

Please Share the Health if you liked what you read!!!

For more information about my wellness programs and my practice, check out my website drsadaty.com. Hey Look! You are already here… Ready for the legal disclaimer? Information offered here is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. As with any health recommendations, please contact your doctor to be sure any changes you wish to consider are safe for you!

Habit Stacking For Success