One of the cornerstones of successful people is actually twofold. One it is a desire to get out of their comfort zone. Two is a healthy dose of unstoppable discipline. There is a point where these two can meet to produce extraordinary results. This principle is known as “habit stacking” and can effectively improve your life. What exactly is habit stacking? Here is some advice on how to develop habit stacking behaviors with real-world situations where it can be most helpful.
Habit Stacking 101
We all know how hard it can be to start a new habit. Indeed, the average estimate is around 21 days. However, this is only for a simple habit like flossing or getting more outdoors time. When it comes to drastic, life-changing habits, that can take up to 66 days. This is where the behavior of “habit stacking” comes into play. It is essentially the practice of adding a habit into an activity that you already practice diligently. Thus, the new behavior can piggyback off the habit that is already an automatic part of your existing routine.
For instance, take trying to learn a new language, a particularly difficult undertaking. If you already have the habit of going outside to exercise, use that time to exercise your mind as well. You could take vocabulary lessons while lifting weights and practice grammar while running. The increased blood flow to your brain will surely help as well. Summarizing, habit stacking is all about utilizing the momentum you already have for a given discipline. Then, adding a more challenging new habit to fall in step with the established ones.
Setting Up Goals
Everyone knows that no goal is accomplished from a lack of focus. Habit stacking is no exception. For the best results, identify the desired end goal. Then, do not add stress to yourself by focusing on solutions at first.
Try to envision how your life would be with your new habit. Would you be surrounded by loved ones more frequently? Would you be in better shape? Are you generating more leads for your business? Once you have this ideal goal fully in place, it is time to brainstorm how to include the necessary habits as a supplement to your already established activities. In the case of improving your relationships with friends, why not attempt a group call at least once a week. This is especially good practice in the current times with social distancing.
In the context of getting in better shape, you can watch or listen to a show or podcast you are enjoying at the gym or while doing sit ups in your living room. Finally, when it comes to generating more leads for your sales pipeline, think about how you can leverage your social network outside of business so you can enjoy your time with people while letting them know what you do.
Start Stacking
At CardTapp, we find that our most successful members frequently check in on their app activity. You may follow the traditional wisdom of doing 60 cold calls each Monday to generate new leads. Reviewing your app can help save you time by identifying which realtors might have a client who is ready to buy. This is an example of how reviewing app activity each day helps members anticipate Tappers’ needs and recognize buying signals more quickly.
To make reviewing your CardTapp activity each day easier to remember, stack in on one of your normal work activities. You likely already check your email and sales reports each morning. Maybe you review your to-do list each afternoon or at the end of each day. You may also have a special system in place on Mondays or Fridays to plan out the upcoming week. Those are ideal activities you can use as a foundation to “stack” a work-related habit like checking your app activity in TappTracker.
Get Another Building Block
Utilizing the concept of habit stacking can drastically improve your daily life and make you more efficient with your precious time. Have some existing habits you want to start stacking on to build more business? Request a demo to see if a CardTapp app would help your business grow!