James Clear answers “How many habits can you work on at once? ...”

Melanie asked this question about Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones:

How many habits can you work on at once? If I alter my habits sequentially a lot of habits will be put on the back burner. Thanks!

James Clear Good question. I know it requires patience, but I tend to recommend focusing on one at a time.

Some habit experts will say you can work on 2-3 habits …moreGood question. I know it requires patience, but I tend to recommend focusing on one at a time.

Some habit experts will say you can work on 2-3 habits at once, but that only works if they are *really* small. For example, meditating for 60 seconds and doing 10 pushups after you wake up. Those are simple enough that you might be able to handle both each day. But I still tend to recommend focusing on one for a few months, mastering it and making it the new normal, and then advancing.

Another note that is related to this: habits often come in bundles. That is, when you want to change one behavior you may be forced to change related behaviors. So you may have to change a few habits at the same time.

For example, say you want to start the "habit" of cooking more meals at home and eating out less. To do this, you may have to change your grocery shopping habits, meal planning habits, dish cleaning habits, and others. This is another reason I recommend focusing on one change at a time: often, a single change has a lot more built into it than it appears at first glance.(less)

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