What is something that you have found challenging to make a daily habit? 

For me, it was professional reading. Yes, you read that correctly. I had completed a PhD and a postdoctoral fellowship, yet struggled to get myself to read much more than required. When I switched to a related career field about 6 years ago, I needed to get smart on it fast in order to be successful. I had accumulated a list of “must reads” from a number of my colleagues and mentors. I also downloaded the Kindle app to make buying them easier (and to be more portable, since I traveled for work fairly often). But I still needed a plan to actually buckle down and read them. 

So I sat down and reflected on where to incorporate some reading time into my day. A number of obstacles immediately came to mind. My daily work schedule could be pretty unpredictable, I spent time with family after work, and I was too tired right before bed. So, it made the most sense for me to knock it out early in my day before work. However, I hated getting up any earlier than 6:00 AM, which is what would be required to fit this new habit in before work. So what would make this change more appealing? Then it occurred to me: What if I started reading for just 10-15 mins when drinking my morning cup of coffee? Although I did not realize it at the time, I was using a concept called “habit stacking” (see James Clear’s book called “Atomic Habits” – one of my favorite reads, by the way!). Habit stacking is where you take an existing daily habit (in this case, drinking coffee) and pair it with a new, desired behavior (reading) until this new behavior becomes a habit. The result: I went from reading only 1-2 books a year to reading 30-40 books a year. Over time, I even began looking forward to getting up early to read, and found myself reading longer (closer to 30-45 mins), which meant I woke up even a little earlier. 

How might you use habit stacking to jump start a new daily habit?