3 Habit-Building Strategies That Actually Work

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably read a dozen blogs and books on habits, including how to build, break, or make them stick. But if we’re being real… knowing isn’t the same as doing. Life gets busy, and even with the best intentions, we can fall into cycles of chaos that pull us away from who we’re becoming.

Here are 3 simple yet powerful strategies that help you build habits that support your growth, not just in theory, but in your real, multifaceted life.

1) Habit Stacking: Attach new habits to something you’re already doing.

Instead of starting from scratch, build from your current rhythm. If you’re already brushing your teeth in the morning, use that time to say affirmations. If you journal with your coffee, add a five-minute gratitude practice to the end. Stack the new on top of the familiar—it creates less resistance and makes it easier for the habit to become automatic.

Try this: “After I pour my morning coffee, I will write down 3 things I’m grateful for.”

2) Reduce or Add Friction: Make it easy to do the good habits, and harder to fall into the not-so-good ones.

Want to drink more water? Keep your water bottle in plain sight. Want to scroll less? Move your social apps off your home screen (or delete them during your focused hours). We tend to think we lack discipline—but really, we just need better systems.

Ask yourself: How can I make the habit I want easier to start? And how can I make the habits I want to break a little harder to access?

3) Create Specific Cues: Anchor your habit to a time, place, or event.

Vague goals like “I’ll start meditating” don’t work because your brain needs a trigger. Try “I’ll meditate for five minutes right after I drop the kids off” or “I’ll take a walk every day at 6 p.m.” Time, location, or a daily event can become the mental cue that prompts your new habit.

Choose a trigger: Is it after a meal? When you sit at your desk? Before you check emails?

The truth is: building habits isn’t about becoming someone else—it’s about aligning your routines with the version of you that already exists within. The woman you’re becoming already has the clarity, discipline, and power you need. You just need to create an environment that makes it easier for her to show up.

Ready to move from chaos to clarity in your daily life?

Join the next Clarity Challenge to uncover which habits will actually move the needle for you. Let’s build rhythms that honor your multifaceted life, not restrict it.

Sign up for the next Clarity Challenge!

You’ve got this. One habit at a time.