Never mind New Year’s resolutions, I’ve been attempting to add one small resolution to my schedule for months (probably since last January). I’ve asked advice, tried various strategies and nothing worked! All I wanted to do was find a way to start practicing my two favorite instruments, upright bass and saxophone on a regular basis.
Then, in James Clear’s book Atomic Habits, I learned about something that seemed deceptively easy. He calls it stacking habits and it goes like this. Seems when we stack a new behavior that we want to do onto an already established habit, it’s much easier to actually accomplish it.
Example, I want to practice music but can’t seem to fit it in my schedule in any way that really sticks. But what if I decide right after dinner (which I always have since I’m hungry by the end of the day), before I do anything else, I’ll walk straight to where my instruments stay—with easy access—and practice for 15 minutes. Nothing momentous but it adds up.
Think of something you really want to add to your routine, whether it’s an exercise workout, planning your day when you arrive at work, or anything that is important to you. Now pick something you already do, a locked-in habit so to speak. Want to exercise every morning? What if you put on your running shoes or pick up your resistance bands as soon as you put down your first cup of coffee. Decide to carve out 30 minutes a day to work on an important long-term project, tie it to something you always do.
Obviously this isn’t rocket science, and yet isn’t it often the small things, the most obvious things we overlook? Try stacking something you feel will enhance your life to an already-existing habit; I think you’ll be amazed.
As far as my music, it’s still tough to leave the table and pick up an instrument but it’s getting easier, and it’s actually starting to feel like fun again!
