If you haven’t heard of habit-stacking, it’s a phrase coined by author James Clear in his book Atomic Habits. Habit-stacking is a method for building and maintaining habits and it involves pairing a new habit with an existing one to create a routine.
Developing and maintaining solid writing habits is an important first step for writers because these habits form the foundation of consistency. Without routines and consistent practice, it can be challenging to make meaningful progress with your writing. So today, we’ll explore how you can leverage habit-stacking to improve your writing productivity, consistency, and overall output.
8 Habit-Stacking Tips for Writers
Habit-stacking is one of the easiest ways to introduce new routines into your process. Let’s take a look at eight tips to start incorporating new habits into your everyday life.
1. Identify Your Existing Habits
The first step I want you to take is to think for a few minutes about all of your existing habits (good and bad). These are the daily routines and activities that you perform without much thought. They can range from brushing your teeth after you get out of bed to pouring a cup of coffee at the start of your morning. Write down all the habits you currently have that come to mind. In step three, we’re going to anchor new habits you want to start to the existing habits you already have.
2. Define Your Writing Habits
Next, I want you to write down the new writing habits you want to add to your routine. These could include brainstorming new ideas, journaling every day, or having time each day for writing.
Be specific and realistic about the habits you want to establish. For example, if you want to write every day, decide when and where you’ll do it and how many words you want to write. Setting clear parameters will make habit-stacking more effective.
3. Pair New Habits with Existing Ones
Now, for the fun part! I want you to look at your existing habits side-by-side with the writing habits you want to create. And I want you to start pairing existing habits with new habits.
For instance, if you have a habit of drinking coffee in the morning, you could stack your journaling habit immediately after you pour your coffee. By linking the new habit (journaling) to an existing one (pouring coffee), you’ll create a trigger that initiates the new behavior you want to introduce into your routine.
4. Create a Habit-Stacking Plan
Habit-stacking can be a longer chain of events if you want it to be, but you’ll need a clear plan. Write down the sequence of habits you want to stack and the specific times in your day when you’ll practice them. Your written plan can serve as a visual reminder and hold you accountable.
To track my habit stacks, I like to use an app called Routinery. I have my morning and evening routines set up in the app with the chain of habits I want to complete. As a writer, you could set up your own writing routine habit stack and keep track of the sequence of habits you want to complete within the Routinery app.
I will say, that before your habit-stacking sequence gets too lengthy, I recommend starting with just one or two stacked habits at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
5 Ideas for Habit-Stacking
Let’s look at a few examples of habit-stacking:
Morning Routine + Writing Time: If you have a morning routine that includes activities like meditation or walking, you can stack your writing time immediately afterward. This will keep your writing time consistent, and your brain will know it’s time to write when you sit down after your morning routine.
Afternoon Break + Research or Outline Review: Take advantage of your afternoon break to review your book outline or conduct research for your writing. Pairing this with a natural break in your day can help you stay engaged and productive.
Daily Walk + Plot Development: If you already take a walk each day, use that time to think about the plot of your book. Pairing physical activity with creative thinking can help you work through writer’s block.
Evening Relaxation + Editing Session: After winding down for the evening, use that relaxed state to edit a section of your manuscript. This habit stack takes advantage of your end-of-day mental fatigue to engage in critical analysis of your writing.
Before Bed + Creative Reflection: Before going to sleep, make it a habit to reflect on the progress you’ve made on your book or jot down any new ideas that come to mind. This habit stack can help you process your thoughts and set the stage for subconscious creativity while you sleep.
5. Stay Consistent
Remember that it takes time for a new behavior to become automatic to you, so aim to stick to your habit-stacking plan every day. If you miss a day, acknowledge it and recommit to your plan the next day. Over time, the stacked habits will become more ingrained, and you’ll perform them without much effort.
6. Adjust and Refine
Not all habits will work for everyone, and that’s okay. Pay attention to what works for you and what doesn’t. Then, be willing to modify your habit stacks as you need to. The goal is to create a customized routine that you can follow and that also supports your writing process and productivity.
7. Harness the Power of Your Environment
In addition to habit-stacking, use your environment to support your writing habits. Whether you set up a dedicated writing space, create a writing playlist, or surround yourself with quotes and imagery you find inspiring, your environment plays a big role in reinforcing your habits and consistency.
8. Celebrate Your Progress
Recognize your small victories and milestones along the way. Celebrating your progress can build momentum and motivation, which makes it easier to maintain your stacked habits over the long run.
Final Thoughts
Habit-stacking, coined by James Clear in his book Atomic Habits, is a powerful strategy for writers who want to establish and maintain productive habits. By identifying your existing habits, defining new writing habits, and pairing them together, you can create a plan to stay consistent with your writing and see major progress in your word count each week.
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