The Joyful Sort How To: Simplify Your Day With Habit Stacking
And just like that, fall is in full swing! A lot of us are adjusting to new school and sports schedules, counting down to the holidays, and trying to wrap our heads around the fact that another new year is just a few short months away. That January calendar turn is obviously well known as a time of reset and re-evaluation, but fall has also always felt to me like a great time for a fresh start and some habit shifts.
Right now for me that looks like making sure I’m staying hydrated and daily mindfulness/breath breaks, relatively simple self-care things that help keep me grounded during this busier season. In the past I’ve struggled with carving out time for mindfulness like I’m sure many people probably struggle with carving out time for decluttering or tidying, where even five minutes seems like way too much to ask. What’s made a big impact for me recently, though, is something called habit stacking and it turns out it may also be a great help for decluttering and organizing habits too.
What is habit stacking?
Habit stacking is taking advantage of a habit that you already have set into your day and linking (or “stacking”) a new one immediately before or after. By tying the new habit to one that’s already ingrained, you’re providing an obvious cue and re-training your brain. For example, my evening routine is pretty rote (10-minute kitchen tidy, pajamas on, brush/floss teeth, PM skincare, gratitude journal, read and bed) so I knew that would be a great time to incorporate the mindfulness/meditation that I was looking to make more habitual. Now my cue is that once I’ve written in my gratitude journal for the day, I select a quick meditation from my favorite mindfulness app and do a few minutes of breathing before settling in to read and sleep.
Habit stacking is essentially a method for organizing your day and your time…which is probably why it’s so appealing to this Type A organizer!
How can habit stacking help?
When it comes to decluttering and organizing, I often encourage people to start small with a single drawer or cabinet or shelf. Habit stacking is a lot like that, taking a larger change in behavior and breaking it into smaller, more manageable steps.
Habit stacking those “I’ll get to that later” tasks prevents them from piling up into an overwhelming “Why can’t I ever get to that?” list of Shoulds. When things like clearing countertops, packing lunch for the next day, and sorting mail become second nature, chances are you’ll feel a greater sense of ease and time for other things throughout the day.
How can you start working some habit stacking into your day?
Take a few minutes to think about the things that you do daily without much thought - brushing your teeth, making your coffee, walking your dog, whatever. What do you do right now that just works? Then, think about the habit that you want to incorporate and where you can potentially work it in. For example, after brushing your teeth, clear off the bathroom countertops or empty the trash. As your coffee is brewing, sort through mail/papers. When you’re putting away a load of laundry, take five minutes immediately after to do a quick editing sweep of a drawer or section of your closet.
As they say, “organizing is a practice, not a project”, and habit shift is a huge component in the after the After in what we do. I’d love to know, have you heard of or tried habit stacking before?