All too often, I find myself coming face to face with this issue over and over again: the feeling of wanting to do everything and then not doing anything.

Sound familiar? 

Do you read a lifestyle blog and suddenly get inspired to start your own blog?

Or read a book and have the urge to jump on your computer and start writing your own novel?

If the answer is yes, then thank god. You just validated my suspicion that I was not the only one who felt this way! 

But how do we combat that? 

How do we make sure that we’re not just dreaming about getting started on something, but we’re actually taking action to achieve that something?

Here’s one piece of advice that’s been said over and over again, but people still do not take it seriously.

And that’s what I’m here to talk about. 

In 2021, one of my goals is to get healthy. To do that, I’ve committed to myself that I was going to take actions that will bring me one step closer to achieving my goal—and that starts with building a habit. A routine. 

Atomic Habits

Too often, I fall into the trap of waiting for the perfect opportunity to drop before I take action, but this time, I thought, “Ah, whatever.”

So, I started looking at ways I could build habits and I landed on a gold mine.

This book is called Atomic Habits and it is by James Clear. As far as I could tell, James seems to have been writing about habits ever since he was in college. Everything that he could learn about building habits, he wrote it down in this book.

Upon reading the book, I was hooked. Not only was this a treasure trove of knowledge about how to build habits, but this was also practical knowledge.

If you don’t know me, I’m a big fan of practical advice—advice that I can act upon. Now, what makes this book great? This book is great because I love how:

1. James gives practice advice that anyone can implement 
2. Jame starts off each chapter with an engaging short story about real life people that have built habits and how these habits have transform their lives
3. At the end of each chapter, he summarizes what each chapter is about and the next steps people can take

How to Build a Habit Using Habit Stacking

The one takeaway I took from Jame’s Atomic Habit is how to build habits by building onto what I’m already doing. 

He calls this habit stacking. 

It’s the method I’ve tried and the method that has worked for me.

What does it mean to build habits by building it into what I’m already doing?

Take this for example. You wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is brush your teeth.

Now, you want to start building a habit of making your bed every morning. 

Instead of trying to make your bed first thing in the morning, you decide that during the process of rinsing your mouth, you will walk back into your room and make the bed.

Making a bed takes like what? 10-30 seconds?

Instead of changing your whole morning routine, you add this into your routine. That’s how habit stacking works.

With this process in mind, essentially what happens is:

1. You wake up in the morning
2. Walk into the bathroom to brush your hair and teeth
3. During the process of rinsing your mouth, you walk back into the bedroom and make your bed. 

Why does this work? 

It works because 1) you’re not changing your routine, you’re adding on to it and 2) the change is not anything drastic.

Here’s How Habit Stacking Has Helped

For the longest time, I struggle with dry skin. As soon as I shower, I dry myself, change into my clothes and off I go.

It’s no surprise that my legs are so ashy. 

Now, I know I need some lotion, but the thought of having to put lotion on my body and waiting for it to dry feels like forever. Plus, I was too lazy and it was too much work. 

Using this little nugget that I learn, it’s changed me for the better (and by me I mean my legs!)

First, I analyzed my shower routine. I realized that when I am done showering, I like to dry myself and wrap my towel around my body. Then, I brush my teeth, put on my clothes, and get out.

So I thought to myself, how can I add lotion into my routine and make it as effortless as possible?

Here’s where I landed.

I realized that when I brush my teeth, I usually just stand there for one to two minutes. I think that if I apply lotion after I dry myself, by the time I get done brushing my teeth, the lotion will have dried off.

So that’s what I did.

1. Step out of the shower and pat myself lightly with a towel so it leaves my skin damp
2. Apply lotion and head over to brush my teeth by the sink
3. By the time I was done, the lotion would have been dry and I wouldn’t feel sticky

It was the perfect routine and it worked. 

I’ll be honest, I still feel have the occasional hiccups where I skip the lotion, but I’m glad to announce that my skin has never felt better. Ashy legs, bye-bye!

So, what do you think? If there’s one thing to take away from this post, it is that ashy legs are a no no! 

Just kidding.

I hope you will consider trying out habit stacking. Comment below 1) what habit you want to build and 2) how you’re going to build that habit because I’d love to read more about it. If you want, share the results of your habit stacking too!