“Habit stacking” is everywhere right now: in your social media feeds, productivity podcasts, and mentioned by every colleague who’s read James Clear’s Atomic Habits —which, let’s be honest, seems like everyone these days.

Clearly, this productivity hack is trending. But what is it exactly? And how can busy women in print use it without adding yet another task to juggle?

Habit stacking—outlined in Chapter 5 of Clear’s wildly popular how-to book—is a fairly simple concept: you attach the new habit you want to build to an existing habit you already do automatically every day.

The specific formula goes like this: “After I [CURRENT AUTOMATIC HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”

According to Clear, “the key is to tie your desired behavior into something you already do each day.” But you don’t stop there. After establishing your new habit, you continue the momentum and attach yet another new habit to what’s now an established routine. You chain the habits together. That becomes your “stack.”

You can build a morning stack using triggers like after getting out of bed, after brushing your teeth, after walking the dog, after taking your kids to school.

Or create an evening stack: after eating dinner, after putting kids to bed, after pulling on your pajamas.

Inserting a new habit in between existing ones is also a stacking formula, such as: after taking the kids to school but before logging into email.

Regardless of the formula you choose, the critical factor is choosing the right “cue”—the anchor habit that’s already rock-solid in your routine. Clear suggests brainstorming a list of things you do every single day without fail. Those become your foundation, your “cues.”

Let’s make this real.

I’m a coffee drinker. It’s automatic. Every morning, without fail, I pour myself a cup (and the Mr. Coffee/Keurig/Nespresso is the first amenity I search for when checking into a hotel room). If my habit stacking is starting anywhere, it’s with my cup of java.

I’m also a dog mom, so taking the pup out for a spin is non-negotiable every morning.

And I’m a spiritual person who wants to read my one-page daily devotional but rarely does—because after my coffee/dog walk combo, I come home and immediately dive into a flurry of emails, calendar reminders, and trying to remember to put on mascara.

So, here’s my habit stack:

  1. After I pour my coffee, I will read my daily devotional (2 minutes). I will then walk the dog.
  2. After I walk my dog, I will write down three priorities for the day (3 minutes).
  3. After I write my priorities, I will put on mascara (1 minute)—so I actually look put-together for video calls!

Two behaviors I actually care about improving, plus one vanity item (because showing up on Zoom without mascara is a choice I’m tired of making), are now anchored to habits that were happening anyway.

Your turn. Pick one habit you do every single day without thinking. Now choose one small behavior—something that takes two minutes or less—that you want to build.

Write your formula: “After I [existing habit], I will [new tiny habit].”

Try it for one week and see what sticks.

Share your habit stacks with us on LinkedIn – we’d love to hear what’s working for the women in print community!