Start the Year right #3

Intentions for 2026 - #3
Stack those habits!

As you know, I currently live in a cowshed, which means a short walk through a (very pretty) field to get to the bathroom. The walk back can go one of two ways - the short way, or a little bit of a longer walk around a small pine forest. It’s only a couple of minutes longer, but it adds up.

WHEN I go to the bathroom, THEN I walk around the forest.

Let me explain. New Year’s resolutions have one thing in common - the tendency to try and go all in at the start, then fizzle out quickly.

We have already chosen the thing we want MORE OF, and a habit that will ‘accidentally’ get us the results. (Check previous posts).

Here’s a great way to make it easier to get that habit embedded into our everyday lives - the quicker it becomes automatic, the more likely we are to maintain it long term.

James Clear calls it habit stacking. I call it ‘WHEN I, THEN I’.

When I do THIS, I automatically do THAT.

What are you already doing automatically that you could attach your new habit to? By attaching the new habit to an existing neural pathway, we make it easier to form a new automation.

What could yours be?
WHEN I brush my teeth, THEN I do ten squats.
WHEN I wake up, THEN I do a gratitude practise.

What is your WHEN I…THEN I?

x Julia Grace
Be Kind to Your MInd.