20 Habit Stacks To Maximize Your Day
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It’s not an exaggeration to say that our lives are dictated by our habits. Our habits either work us or we work our habits.
I’ve learned this over time as I’ve implemented habits into my life that have greatly impacted my growth and leadership. My habits have led me to journal for 1600 consecutive days. I’ve also capitalized on the habit of writing down one thing I’ve learned every day for the past 1,700 days or since I got married in 2015. In 2020, I’m doing a daily pushup habit in an effort to do 10,000 pushups this year, or 28 every day.
I’ve learned to make habits work for me.
Most of the activities we do on a normal basis are rooted in the habits we have unintentionally created. We are creatures of repetition and our brains tend to move towards autopilot any chance they get. Once you do something enough times, your brain adapts and learns to execute that pattern with less mental effort.
This is why if you drive the same route to the office every morning, you’ll eventually get to a point where your brain effectively “shuts off” during your drive and you can arrive at the office not remembering most of the details of your morning commute.
The most productive people have learned to leverage this opportunity and have fought to forge great habits that help them accomplish more in a shorter span of time.
Habits not only change the way your brain engages with an activity. They also change the way your activities link together.
One of the most powerful realities about habits is that they can act like a diving-board, springing you into your next activity with purpose and potential.
Admiral William H. McRaven, (U.S. Navy Retired), highlighted this simple power when he said,
“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”
Habit stacking
When it comes to linking habits, New York Times Bestselling Author and leadership coach James Clear penned a term called habit stacking.
He goes on to explain that:
“one of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top.”
In order to create these new habits and maximize your productivity, Clear put forth a short and simple formula. To create a habit stack, simply fill in the brackets below:
Before/After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
If you want to be more productive, but are having trouble coming up with ways to actively link your habits together, I took this formula and created 20 habit stacks that can each change the direction of your day.
Some of these habit stacks deal with your physical health. Some are focused on your emotional well-being, your work habits, or your relationships. No matter the topic, each will help you maximize your day and achieve peak productivity.
20 habit stacks for each hour of the day (5a-12a)
5am— Before I get out of bed, I will say three things I am grateful for.
6am — Before I take a shower or get ready, I will do 25 pushups.
7am — Before I pour my morning coffee (or prepare my breakfast), I will make my bed.
8am — Before I get to my office or desk, I will get 16 oz of water to drink.
9am — After an hour of work, I will close my email until the afternoon.
10am — After two hours of work, I will stand up stretch, and walk for 10 minutes.
11am — Before taking a call with a client, I will smile and take three deep breaths.
12pm — Before I eat my lunch, I will write or text one short note of kindness.
1pm — Before stepping back into work mode for the afternoon, I will clear my desk.
2pm — After one hour of work in the afternoon, I will get 32 oz of water to drink.
3pm — After two hours of work in the afternoon, I will pause and read one extracurricular article on a fun topic.
4pm — Before my work-day concludes, I will clear my inbox of emails.
5pm — Before I leave the office or desk, I will make sure I have completed my shut down ritual for the day (closed my computer, checked my bag, brain dumped for the next day).
6pm — Before I sit down to relax, I will get the mail, put my keys and work items away, and say hello to each member of my family (who are in my house).
7pm — Before I put my dinner on my plate, I will set aside the amounts I’d like to have for leftovers.
8pm — Before I watch TV, I will at least rinse the dishes.
9pm — Before I watch more than one episode of TV I will ask myself if this is the best use of my time.
10pm — Before 10p, I will brush my teeth as a sign that I will not eat any other food that night.
11pm — Before I get ready for bed, I will read one chapter of the book I am reading.
12pm — Before lights out, I will plug my phone into its charger in another room.
Habit tracking
Habit stacking is difficult to implement and maintain without a good version of habit tracking.
If you are going to create a system that helps you track your habits, you’ll want to make sure you cover a few key principles that will help you be successful in your tracking.
To start, you’re tracking system must be visible. If it’s hidden or out of sight, you won’t be triggered to remember your habit. The trigger is the most important step in starting a new habit or habit stack.
Once it’s visible, you can increase your odds of being successful in tracking your habits by making your system easy to use, collaborative, or even incentivized. As you progress in your habit, you can edit or simplify your tracking system as you see fit.
Make time work for you
You are productive when you can get more done in less time. Most people approach this challenge by trying to cram more activity into smaller time windows.
However, the most productive people know that the secret to maximizing your day is to make time work for you. By stacking habits, you can start to divert some core tasks throughout your day to the back of your mind, creating precious space for you to take on new projects and new adventures.