Habit Stacking: 127 Small Actions That Take Five Minutes or Less

by S.J. Scott

“I’m a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more luck I have.”

The “I’ll Remember To Do It” Paradox

“Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE”

The point of this article is that the small cosmetic damages in a neighborhood can lead directly to large negative social issues. In other words, broken windows, trash on the street, and other cosmetic signs of urban blight lead to increased crime, antisocial behavior, and all sorts of other crimes.

There is one major exception to this rule. You could add the occasional “elephant habit” to your daily stack to make forward progress on an unpleasant task. By chipping away at this project in small five- to ten-minute increments, you won’t procrastinate on the tasks that you know need to get done but aren’t very fun.

Latte Factor, where a simple way to save money is to eliminate those small, recurring purchases that add up to a substantial amount of cash.

Buy for Value

Comparison Shop for a Major Purchase

Plan Your Meals

Find Something Free to Do

Here are a few personal finance websites that I’d recommend checking out: Get Rich Slowly Money Crashers Budgets Are Sexy I Will Teach You To Be Rich Wise Bread The Simple Dollar If you want a simple way to scan these websites, then you can sign up for a free Feedly account, add these sites to your feed, and look through it during a regular stack.

Fill a 32-Ounce Water Bottle

Enjoy a Distraction

Give a reason why. You are not making excuses here—you’re providing a value reason why you’re unable to respond to an offer. Usually a statement like this works well: “I am working on the __ project right now and simply don’t have time to work with you on ___.” Make your decision quickly. Don’t waste time analyzing each opportunity. Like the quote from before, if something isn’t an automatic “hell yeah,” then your default decision is to say no.

Practice Active Listening

Photograph Important People (and Events)