I’ve recently been reading Atomic Habits by James Clear and have started implementing some of his suggestions straight away. Two concepts that resonate particularly well with me are habit stacking and implementation intentions.
I’ve always leaned towards being a morning person, and I’ve come to realise how crucial those early hours are to my productivity and mental wellbeing. Having a couple of hours to ease into the day at a leisurely pace, squeeze in some additional work during the week, or carve out time for myself on the weekends has become a vital part of my routine.
That said, while my morning routine has been structured, it’s also been a bit inconsistent. Good intentions often get lost in the shuffle, and building lasting habits is challenging without deliberate repetition. This is where implementation intentions come into play. It’s the process of clearly defining the habit you want to build and writing it down in a specific format:
- When I…
Define the specific situation or trigger that will prompt the habit.
- I will…
Specify the exact action or habit you will perform in response to the trigger.
- Location…
Identify where this habit will take place to provide additional context and consistency.
One of the habits I’m trying to form is cold showers in the morning. These help me reset the central nervous system and get my day started on a good footing. Nothing major, just turning down the heat on the shower as low as I can stand, in increments for a short period of time, a minute or two. But I kept forgetting. I also brush my teeth in the shower so my implementation intention has been written down as:
| AFTER I BRUSH MY TEETH IN THE SHOWER | I WILL FINISH WITH A COLD SHOWER | IN THE BATHROOM |
Writing down the intention and keeping it visible is the first step. The next step is stacking the new habit on top of an existing one, a technique known as habit stacking. Now, whenever I brush my teeth, it serves as a reminder to finish with a cold shower. The existing habit naturally reinforces the new one. Using this approach, I’ve built an entire morning routine that follows the same principle:
| WHEN I WAKE UP I WILL | CHECK MY HABIT LOG & IMPLEMENTATION INTENTIONS | IN BED |
| AFTER I CHECK MY HABIT LOG | I WILL DRINK WATER AND SHOWER | IN THE BATHROOM |
| AFTER I BRUSH MY TEETH IN THE SHOWER | I WILL FINISH WITH A COLD SHOWER | IN THE BATHROOM |
| AFTER I SHOWER | I WILL READ MY DAILY STOIC READING | ON THE BEDROOM FLOOR |
| AFTER MY DAILY READING | I WILL MEDITATE FOR 5 MINUTES | ON THE BEDROOM FLOOR |
| AFTER MY MORNING MEDITATION | I WILL EAT BREAKFAST | IN THE DINING ROOM |
| AFTER BREAKFAST | I WILL SPEND TIME | OUTSIDE |
By anchoring new habits to existing ones and being intentional about how I structure my mornings, I’ve started to see real progress. It’s not about perfection but about building consistency, one small step at a time. My mornings now feel more purposeful, setting the tone for a productive and balanced day. It’s a work in progress, but with each small habit I establish, I’m reminded that the effort is worth it.