We’ve all been there.
It’s January 1st, or maybe a random Tuesday when motivation strikes.
You decide you’re going to change your life.
You’re going to meditate for 30 minutes, run 5 miles, and drink a gallon of green juice.
You do it for three days. It feels amazing.
Then, life gets in the way.
You miss a day. Then two. Suddenly, that new routine is a distant memory.
Why does this happen?
It’s not because you lack willpower. It’s not because you are lazy.
It’s because you are relying on motivation rather than biology.
You are trying to carve a new path through a dense jungle without a map.
At My Core Pick, we are obsessed with systems that actually work.
Today, we are talking about Habit Stacking.
It is the single most effective way to program your brain for lasting change.
Here is how you can anchor new habits to your day and finally make them stick.
The Brain Science: Why Willpower Fails You
Let’s get a little technical for a second (but just for a second).
Your brain is incredibly lazy.
I say that with love. It is biologically designed to conserve energy.
Every time you have to make a decision or force yourself to do something new, you burn energy.
Your brain hates this.
It prefers "automaticity." It wants to run on autopilot.
Think about brushing your teeth.
You don’t have to "motivate" yourself to brush your teeth in the morning.
You walk into the bathroom, see the toothbrush, and your hand just moves.
That is a neural pathway that has been reinforced thousands of times. It is a superhighway in your brain.
When you try to start a new habit, like doing pushups, you are standing in a field of tall grass.
There is no path yet. Walking through it is hard work.
Habit stacking is the cheat code.
Instead of building a new highway from scratch, you build an on-ramp onto an existing one.
You take a habit that is already automatic (the Anchor) and you attach a new behavior to it (the Stack).
By doing this, you piggyback off the strong neural network you already have.
The Magic Formula
The concept of habit stacking was popularized by B.J. Fogg at Stanford University and later refined by James Clear.
It follows a very specific sentence structure.
If you take nothing else away from this post, take this formula.
"After I [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]."
That’s it.
It seems too simple to work, doesn’t it?
But the magic is in the specificity.
Most people say, "I’m going to meditate more."
That is a wish, not a plan.
When will you do it? Where? How will you remember?
A habit stacker says:
"After I pour my morning coffee, I will meditate for one minute."
Do you see the difference?
The act of pouring the coffee triggers the next action.
You don’t need to look at a to-do list.
You don’t need a notification on your phone.
The environment dictates the behavior.
Examples to Get You Thinking
We love practical examples here.
Here are a few stacks to get your gears turning:
- After I brush my teeth, I will floss one tooth.
- After I take off my work shoes, I will immediately put on my running shoes.
- After I sit down at my desk, I will fill up my water bottle.
- After I flush the toilet, I will do two squats.
- After I turn off the car, I will take one deep breath.
Notice how small these new habits are.
We will get to that later, but keeping them small is vital.
How to Find Your "Anchors"
The success of your stack depends entirely on the strength of your anchor.
If your anchor is shaky, your new habit will collapse.
An anchor must be something you do every single day, without fail.
If you try to stack a habit onto "eating lunch," but you skip lunch twice a week, the habit will fail.
We like to divide anchors into two categories: Biological and Routine.
Biological Anchors
These are things your body forces you to do. They are non-negotiable.
- Waking up.
- Using the bathroom.
- Feeling hungry (eating meals).
- Going to sleep.
These are excellent triggers because they happen regardless of how busy you are.
Routine Anchors
These are behaviors you have already automated.
- Checking your phone.
- Starting the coffee maker.
- Walking the dog.
- Turning on the shower.
- Locking the front door.
The "Frequency Mismatch" Trap
Be careful here.
You cannot stack a daily habit onto a weekly anchor.
"After I do my laundry, I will read a book" implies you only read once a week.
Make sure the frequency of the anchor matches the desired frequency of the new habit.
Step-by-Step: Building Your First Stack
Ready to give this a shot?
Let’s build your first stack together.
Follow these steps precisely.
Step 1: List Your Current Habits
Grab a piece of paper.
Write down everything you do in a typical day, from the moment you wake up to the moment you sleep.
Don’t judge yourself. Just list them.
- Wake up.
- Check phone.
- Shower.
- Brush teeth.
- Get dressed.
- Make coffee.
- Drive to work.
Do this for your whole day. You now have a list of potential anchors.
Step 2: Choose the New Habit
What is the one thing you’ve been trying to implement?
Maybe it’s gratitude. Maybe it’s stretching.
Now, make it incredibly small.
If you want to read more, cut it down to "read one page."
If you want to do yoga, cut it down to "roll out the mat."
Step 3: Find the Right Slot
Look at your list of anchors.
Where does this new habit logically fit?
You probably shouldn’t try to meditate while you are driving to work.
You probably shouldn’t try to do pushups right after you eat dinner.
Find a slot where you have the time and the right mindset.
Step 4: Write It Down
Fill in the formula:
After I [ANCHOR], I will [NEW HABIT].
Write this down and stick it somewhere visible for the first week.
Advanced Tactics: The Chain Reaction
Once you master the basic stack, you can level up.
This is where things get really exciting.
You can create a "Habit Chain."
This is when you stack multiple habits on top of one another.
It creates a cascade of positive behavior.
Here is what my morning stack looks like:
- After I wake up, I make my bed.
- After I make my bed, I drink a glass of water.
- After I drink the water, I put on my gym clothes.
- After I put on my gym clothes, I write down my top 3 goals for the day.
See what happened there?
Making the bed is the domino that knocks over everything else.
I don’t have to think about writing down my goals.
By the time I’m dressed, I’m already in the flow of the routine.
However, a word of warning.
Do not try to build a 10-step chain on day one.
Start with one stack. Once that is automatic (usually after 2-3 weeks), add the next link to the chain.
Troubleshooting: Why Your Stack Might Fail
Even with this system, things can go wrong.
At My Core Pick, we believe in troubleshooting before the problem happens.
If you are struggling to make a stack stick, it is usually due to one of three reasons.
1. The Cue Is Too Vague
"After I take a break" is a terrible anchor.
When is the break? How long is it?
"After I close my laptop for lunch" is specific.
If your trigger is fuzzy, your action will be fuzzy.
2. The Habit Is Too Hard
This is the most common mistake.
"After I pour my coffee, I will run 5 miles."
That requires a massive amount of willpower.
If you are tired, you won’t do it.
Change it to: "After I pour my coffee, I will put on my running shoes."
Make the habit so easy you can’t say no.
3. The Anchor Is Unreliable
I tried to stack a habit onto "When I get home from work."
The problem?
Sometimes I get home at 5 PM. Sometimes at 8 PM. Sometimes I stop for groceries.
My energy levels were totally different each time.
It was an unreliable anchor.
I moved the habit to the morning, anchored to brushing my teeth. It stuck immediately.
The Secret Ingredient: Celebration
There is one final piece of the puzzle.
B.J. Fogg calls it "Shine."
It is the feeling of success.
Your brain wires habits based on emotions.
If you do something and feel good, your brain releases dopamine.
Dopamine says, "Hey, that was nice. Let’s do it again."
Every time you complete your habit stack, you need to celebrate immediately.
I don’t mean throwing a party.
I mean a mental fist pump.
Say to yourself, "I did it." Smile. Feel good about yourself.
It sounds silly, but it works.
You are hacking your brain’s reward system.
You are teaching your brain that this new behavior leads to positive feelings.
Final Thoughts
We all want to improve.
We all want to be healthier, more productive, and more mindful.
But relying on inspiration is a losing strategy.
Inspiration is a fickle friend. It’s never there when you really need it.
Habit stacking is reliable. It is boring, structural, and mechanical.
And that is exactly why it works.
You don’t need to be a superhero to change your life.
You just need to tie your shoelaces to your coffee habit.
Pick one stack today. Just one.
Write it down. Do it tomorrow morning.
Then do it again.
That is how you build a core foundation for a better life.