Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less

by S.J. Scott

DISCOVER:: How to Add DOZENS of Positive Changes to Your Daily Routine
Want to improve your life, but don't have enough time? Right now you could easily think of a dozen ways to instantly improve your life. Odds are, these ideas will only take a few minutes apiece to complete. The problem? You might feel like there's not enough time to do all of them. One solution can be found using the power of "habit stacking."

One Routine + Multiple Habits = Habit Stacking
We all know it's not easy to add dozens of new habits to your day. But what you might not realize is it's fairly easy to build a single new routine. The essence of habit stacking is to take a series of small changes (like eating a piece of fruit or sending a loving text message to your significant other) and build a ritual that you follow on a daily basis.

Habit stacking works because you eliminate the stress of trying to change too many things at once. Your goal is to simply focus on a single routine that only takes about 15 to 30 minutes to complete. Within this routine is a series of actions (or small changes). All you have to do is to create a checklist and follow it every single day. That's the essence of habit stacking.

LEARN: 97 Small Habits that Can Change Your Life
In the book "Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes Or Less," you will discover 97 quick habits that can instantly improve your life. Plus you'll discover how to create a simple routine (managed by a checklist) that you repeat on a daily basis. Even better, you'll discover a few tools that will keep you motivated and consistent. So even if you're completely stressed out, you'll still find the time and energy to complete these actions on a consistent basis.

By completing dozens of small habits on a daily basis, you'll be able to make giant leaps forward in your business, strengthen your personal relationships, stay on top of your finances, get organized and improve your health.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Productivity, Personal Development, Business, Ebooks, Psychology

191 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2014

About the author

Wall Street Journal bestselling author SJ Scott wanted to be Luke Skywalker when he grew up.

Unfortunately his complete lack of physical grace and introverted mannerism's kept the earth from having their own Jedi Knight to battle the Sith menace.

Steve “SJ” Scott was born and raised in New Jersey. After finishing college with a degree in psychology he knew he needed to further his education or work on his latte making skills.

During a short stint in US Air Force, Scott was able to get his Master’s in business and then moved on to conquer the business world.

Scott then spent a couple of years working for a company not unlike the company depicted in Mike Judge’s film, “Office Space”. After doing his share of “TPS” reports, Scott swore he would never work for anyone but himself.

He spent the next few years making this happen. Making a decent living online and eventually pivoting to writing books, blogging and even podcasting.

Scott has written over 30 books, most of them in the "self-improvement" genre. An area that he is personally passionate about.

His books have been published in 12 different languages. So he is well on his way to world domination. However, in his heart of hearts he knows he will soon have to venture out into the universe and defeat the Sith menace.

Reviews

[Jaime · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars - Heaven help me. This book should have been titled "Life for Dummies." If I instituted even half of the habits they recommend into my daily routine, I would never leave the house. I'd be too busy flexing in the mirror and picking up three things and drinking a glass of water and complimenting myself. Nothing new here. Nothing novel or bright. Thank goodness I did not pay any money for this and only wasted an hour or so.

I am really on a bad reading roll.

[Maede · Rating 2 out of 5]

این کتاب روشی برای ایجاد عادت های خوب رو توضیح میده که بر مبنای انجام دادن کارهای کوچک ولی مفیدی در یک روتین پشت هم هستش. بیشتر اطلاعات کتاب رو از قبل می دونید ولی بیشتر سعی در جمع آوری و مرتب کردن داره و راه های مرحله به مرحله ای ارائه میده که به ساختن روتین های عادتی جدید نزدیک بشید

نود و هفت عادت خوب رو هم توصیه می کنه که بعضی واقعا خوب و بعضی به درد نخور شاید باشه
چیزی که در این کتاب دوست داشتم لینک دادن به سایت ها و مقالات و اپلیکیشن های کاربردی مرتبط با متن بود
در کل کتاب کوچک به درد بخوری می تونه باشه اگر توصیه هاش اجرا بشه
می تونست سه ستاره باشه، من سختگیر شدم، شاید اگر اجراش کنم نظرم تغییر کنه

۹۵.۷.۲۴

[Nikhil Kumra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this book if you just absolutely do not have a grasp on the basics of waking up in the morning and just being "alive"... The majority of tips are very, VERY basic things. Not valuable.

[Andrea James · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's very unusual for me to give a 4-star rating to a book that is so short and one that is made up of a compilation of blog posts even! Actually, I don't give 4 and 5 ratings often at all.

But in its simplicity and brevity, the book does distill quite a few habits that improve our lives. I'd come across most of the recommended habits from other sources and I have personally implemented a lot of them with positive results.

However, something that I thought was lacking in this book was adequate recognition that in aggregate all of these habits take up quite a lot of time and managing them consistently is a challenge. Again, I speak from personal experience. It seems obvious but at the same time just a gentle acknowledgement from the author would maybe help people who are attempting to integrate multiple habits to understand the importance of prioritising. This reduces the feeling of overwhelm and failure and means they are more likely to consistently do the ones that are most beneficial to them.

So overall I would recommend this book if you are not a regular book reader but would like some encouragement to get some good habits in place in your life.

[Daniel Threlfall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the concept, but the book was completely bereft of evidence — experiential or scientific — to support the injunctions.

As to the 97 habits, they were pretty arbitrary. Habits like "flex your muscles in the mirror" are right up there with "schedule your day."

[Sevil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little Hinges Swing Big Doors
W. Clement Stone: “Big doors swing on little hinges.”
Many big outcomes happen because of small events.
To create a checklist and follow it every single day. That’s the essence of habit stacking.

Habit Stacking:
Theory behind cognitive load is that since you can only retain a small amount of information, you have to rely on long-term memory, habits and established processes to do basically everything in life.

Small Changes vs. Mini-Habits

-The goal of a mini-habit is to be consistent. In fact, consistency is much more important than what you accomplish with this daily habit.
-The core idea behind the mini-habits concept is that you can build a major habit by thinking small enough to get started.
-If an action has the capacity to grow and turn into a major routine, then it could be labeled a mini-habit.

-Linking habits together is a way of getting more done in less time, resulting in a positive change in your life. As you perform the stacked actions every day, they become part of your daily routine.

-It should be a set of actions done the same way, in the same order, each day. The best way to make sure this happens is to have the habits written down in a checklist.
-Checklists do much more than keep people organized; they also increase productivity. The
-Energy is usually at its peak during the first part of your day, which means you should be completing habits that inspire or excite you about the day ahead.

Productivity (Small Changes #1 to #17)

-Productivity is simply a measure of your work efficiency during any given day.

#1. Drink a Large Glass of Water
mild dehydration can cause headaches and fatigue, affect your concentration, impair short-term memory and impede mental function.

#2. Schedule Your Day and Prioritize Your Tasks
you should make a list of the tasks you want to accomplish during the day and decide where your priorities lie.
Actions: Make a list of the tasks you want to complete by the end of the day.
Plan to do your most important tasks first.

#3. Focus on Your Three Most Important Tasks
Another way to plan out your day is to focus on your Most Important Tasks (MITs).

Picking your MITs each day gives you something to focus on so you don’t waste your day on tasks of low importance. If you manage to complete your MITs, you’ll feel productive— even if you do nothing else on your list.

#4. Turn Tasks into Manageable Steps

Taking an extra five minutes or so to write a list for each project or task can make your workload seem more manageable and help with your productivity. Action: For each task on your schedule, consider how it can be broken down into smaller steps.

#6. Reward Yourself for Task Completion
#7. Remove Distractions Before Working
#8. Clear Your Desktop
#9. Play Music or White Noise to Improve Focus
Calming music, ambient nature sounds like rain or ocean waves, and simple background noise like a fan or the babble of conversation in a coffee shop may help you to concentrate and stay focused on your tasks.

The best music for concentration is usually classical, ambient or instrumental, without lyrics.

#10. Do the Hardest (or Most Unappealing) Task First
If you look at the hardest task on your list, you’ll probably find that it is also the task that will give you the most benefit.
Don’t work on your other tasks until it’s finished.

#11. Commit to a Very Small Goal
likely that you’ll happily continue working well past the time limit you’ve set.

Action: Look at your hardest task and plan a small, easy first step to completing it that will take only a few minutes. Pick a simple metric that you know (without a doubt) you can complete.

#12. Work in Small Blocks of Time
Our brains generally do not react favorably to the idea of large, difficult tasks. However, we can trick ourselves into making these tasks more acceptable by breaking them into small chunks.

#13. Track Time for Different Activities

By tracking your time, you become more aware of how you’re spending it, and you can start to spot patterns in your schedule that are reducing your productivity.

#14. Use the Two-Minute Rule

If a task will take you two minutes or less to do, deal with it immediately and move on.


#15. Capture Every Idea

Keep a notepad on your desk so you’re always ready to jot down thoughts as they come to you while you’re working.

#16. Write a Done List
By writing down everything you achieve each day, you’ll feel motivated to continue. Action: Make a note of tasks as you complete them, or reflect at the end of the day and write down a list of everything you achieved.

#17. Review Your Goals

You need to review your goals so that you can create plans to reach those goals, put your day in perspective and know what’s important to accomplish.
Make sure you use every minute for what it’s worth and accomplish what you set out to do.

#35. Write Down Yesterday’s Expenses

Tracking your expenses is the smartest way to manage your personal finances. Writing down everything you buy as well as how much it costs will give you great insight into your spending habits. Over time, you will notice trends in your spending and be able to easily decide where cuts can be made to save money.

#41. Set a Daily Spending Limit It’s important to set a spending limit each day when you are trying to improve your financial situation. Spending limits allow you to save money and avoid overspending on impulse purchases.

#49. Find Something to Sell (or Give Away) This is a great way to save or even make money. Selling an item brings in more money for you to use to pay bills or buy groceries. Trading an item eliminates the need to pay for something, saving you money and helping you get rid of things you don’t need. Giving

#60. Practice a “Getting in the Door” Routine

A great way to keep a house free from clutter is to create a designated spot where

#61. Speak Words of Affirmation

Start the day by speaking words of affirmation in the mirror each morning to boost your confidence and leave you feeling empowered.

Make eye contact with the mirror as soon as you wake up in the morning. Repeat mantras or positive sentences out loud. For example: “I am in control of my life.” “People love and adore me.” “I can make a change in this world.”

#62. Compile a Gratitude List Our actions are derived from our thoughts, so it is only natural to act on the things you think. Writing down the things you are grateful for or what makes you happy is known to be highly beneficial. Your list will serve as a visual affirmation of the positive things in your life, leading to positive thoughts and actions.

#63. Listen to Your Favorite Song It’s amazing what listening to your favorite songs can do for your mind and body. Not only will the upbeat music stimulate the release of happy hormones, but the recollection of happy times will influence your mood.

#64. Get in Touch with Nature Nature as a whole has tremendous healing and calming effects on the body and mind.

Getting up a bit earlier each morning to get in touch with nature would be advised if you want to give a boost to your general well-being.

#65. Drink a Calming Beverage (Like Tea)

#67. Practice Mantra Chanting Even though this might seem a bit too controversial for some, mantra just refers to chanting or “voicing” your positive thoughts aloud. Repeating certain positive phrases and words of encouragement will lead to a feeling of empowerment.

All sounds have an effect on the human body and psyche, so if you condition your mind and body to become accustomed to positive sounds and noises, you will relate those words and sentences to a feeling of calm.

#72. Keep a Journal We should all take some time out to gather our thoughts and reflect on what is happening in our lives. Keeping a journal keeps us in touch with our thoughts and emotions, which can determine our actions.

This is another way of feeling in control of what is happening in your life. Making sense of your thoughts and struggles will help you analyze your situation and accept the things you cannot change. Action: Find a diary or journal with a place to enter the date. Start or end your day by writing about your thoughts, mood and whatever is happening in your life. You could even include a list of foods you ate to show you which emotions and events lead to emotional eating

#78. Jump Rope

benefits. It’s a full-body workout, it helps with blood circulation, it has less impact on your joints than jogging,

#84. Brush Your Tongue Yes, you read that right. In addition to practicing daily brushing and flossing, it’s equally important to occasionally brush your tongue.

#85. Microwave Your Sponge Technically, this habit could be part of an organizing routine, but it’s an activity that can have a direct impact on the health of you and your family. A number of studies have shown that a kitchen sponge is the most germ-laden item in your home. It’s what you use to clean counters that have come into contact with raw meat, old food and various spills.

#90. Learn a New Word Expanding your vocabulary, either in your first or a second language, comes with a wide range of benefits. You’ll improve your ability to communicate, give your brain a mini workout and improve your confidence in social situations. Learning a new language can seem like a huge task, but when you commit to learning just one new word a day, you’ll be surprised how quickly you start to pick it up.

8 Steps for Building a Habit Stacking Routine

Step 1: Pick a Time and Location All habit stacking routines revolve around a specific location, time of day or combination of both.

** In the morning at home At home in the morning is a great time and place to accomplish habit stacking and start off your day with an empowered and productive mindset. Think about what you would like to accomplish before you even leave the house, and how it can be added to your routine.

** The first part of the workday at the office You just got to the office— what could you get done right off the bat? If you are most motivated in the beginning of the workday, this is a great time and place for a habit stacking routine.

** In the evening at home Right in between getting home from work and settling down for the evening is also a good time for habit stacking.

Step 2: Build One Routine at a Time

It’s impossible to add multiple routines all at once. The process is too complicated and your willpower will revolt because you’re asking it to do too much. In other words, you won’t be able to succeed in the long term.

The reason you should focus on one routine at a time is because it reduces the amount of depletion on your willpower. My advice is to focus on a new routine for a month before making any changes or additions.

Step 3: Start with “Small Wins”
When it comes to your habits, start with the ones that are easiest to do. When you start with the easiest habit, like taking a vitamin, you will feel a sense of accomplishment that will make starting and completing the next habit easier.

Focus on these for the first few weeks until you’ve developed the habit of completing a habit stacking routine.

Step 4: Create a Logical Checklist

Step 5: Have a “Reason Why”
important to find a way to stick to this new routine if you want to see a long-term, positive life change.
This reason should be genuine and important to you.

Step 6: Be Accountable
Step 7: Create Small, Enjoyable Rewards
Step 8: Focus on Repetition
Repetition is key for the first 30 days of habit stacking. It’s imperative that you stick to your routine, even if for some reason you have to skip one or two individual habits. Repetition of the routine builds muscle memory to the point where you follow the routine, each day, without fail.

But you must never, ever miss two days in a row of completing your routine.
The better developed and more powerful your habit stacking routine, the more you stand to benefit from it.

After building a habit stacking routine, you should choose a trigger to help with its successful completion.

Set Yourself Up for Success With your habit stacking routine and trigger chosen, don’t let anything stand in your way.

Self-praise is a great reward for habit completion— especially for those of you that have fitness goals and can’t reward yourself with candy.


Example 2: Productivity Habit Stacking Routine Total Time: 10 to 15 minutes. *1. Review my quarterly goals. (Reason: Reviewing three-month goals on a daily basis helps me stay focused on my most important projects.) *2. Research the top 100 free and paid books in the Kindle market. (Reason: From a business perspective, it’s important to keep track of what’s currently selling in my market.) *3. Identify my three most important tasks. (Reason: While I have a lengthy project list of everything that needs to be done during the week, I like to focus on accomplishing a few major “wins” for each day.) *4. Map out the action steps and specific milestones for each project. (Reason: I need to be precise with the most important tasks. Instead of writing down a vague statement such as “work on next book,” I write down the specific results I’d like to achieve.)

*6. Start on the most unpleasant task. (Reason: As we’ve discussed, when you focus on the hardest task first, the rest of the day doesn’t seem that hard. For me, that initial task always involves some form of writing.)


Strategy 2: Know Your Triggers Of course, to create an if-then plan, you need to know your triggers. Understand your bad triggers, which are the distractions and bad habits that make you slip up and negatively impact your habit stacking routine. Keeping track of your negative habits will help you develop your routine. Perhaps you want to live a healthier lifestyle but you habitually eat fast food. Track when this happens and what is triggering it. For instance, do you skip meals during the day and then binge on fast food? Maybe you only eat fast food when you are in a bad mood. These are the triggers that are important to recognize so you can create an if-then plan to kick them to the curb and continue making positive changes.


Strategy 3: Reduce Overall Expectations There’s a fine line between the pressure you need to complete your routine and putting too much pressure on yourself. Too much pressure can actually cause a negative reaction, which is exactly what you don’t want. Instead of taking on too much and trying to complete more than is realistic, focus on the minimum, but make sure you focus on the habits that are most important.


Strategy 4: Start Small (Again) Starting over can be discouraging, but it is imperative when it comes to a habit stacking routine. If you need to start over, start small.
Look for small wins and concentrate on sticking to your routine instead of focusing on the length of the routine.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Big doors swing on little hinges."

I read Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less by S.J. Scott. Book #49 of 182, 107 pages, finished 4/9/2017.

Habit Stacking is two core elements:
- Why and how to habit stack - build a routine that greatly improves your life that only takes 15-30 minute a day, going through a set list of tasks, at the same time every day, in the same order.
- 97 of these habits that could part of your habits.

I bought this book for the 97 habits. I already know how to habit stack, but I'm always interested in new ideas. At $2, it was worth the time and money!

The biggest thing I gained here was the elements of a good workday habit stack - something I had done very little to improve directly.

My career has been interesting - I'm now in a position where I have very few urgent interruptions anymore. This is wonderful! But it has meant that my time is now approaching 50-80% self-directed - before, the interruptions would propel the day along.

Using the Productivity section from this book, I'll be building this routine to occur between 7:50 and 8:00am every weekday morning:

1. Drink a Large Glass of Water
2. Schedule Your Day and Select Three Most Important Tasks.
3. Turn Tasks Into Manageable Steps, written down.
4. Remove Distractions Before Working - RescueTime.com
Clear Your Desktop (both PC and physical!)
5. Setup Instrumental or Ambient Music
6. Do the Hardest Task First.

If I come anywhere close to adding this habit stack to my day, this book will pay for itself in the first hour of tomorrow :).

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice quick read with some good ideas for habit stacking. I really liked that he added in a lot of links to help support your new habits. I'm always wanting to create new habits and really love the idea of stacking them into a routine. A little bit different to other books I've read about this. Would recommend it if you want to create some new and helpful habits - a good book for coaches to recommend to clients that want to create new habits too

[Walt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed by this book. The 97 ideas seemed pretty random as though he just came up with them off the top of his head. There were a number of duplicates (e.g. the gratitude journal). Many of the suggestions while good in general would be next to impossible to implement in a daily routine in less than 5 minutes. Based on his time estimates and ease with which some of his habits can be implemented I'm also going to guess that hes not married and doesn't have kids.

The habit stacking idea in general seems half baked. As I said many of his suggestions and even examples are not ones that can easily be stacked back to back in less than 15 to 30 minutes. Others are suggestions which while good just don't need to be performed on a daily basis (e.g. check your fridge for expired food).

It just seems like there are a lot of inconsistencies in the book and the habit stacking idea. There might be some potential here but Scott really needs some better reviewers to go over his book and ideas to help him work these out.

[TienvoorNegen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start by telling you I usually detest self help and improvement books. I picked up this book because the title did sway me a bit. Life changes that take 5 minutes or less. Who doesn't want that!

Well. There are a some good tips in this book. (and always good to find out that a lot of them are already in my normal routine, so yay. More of the less minutes). Putting the emphasis on small steps is good, encouraging and rewarding. So if you live a cluttered and disorganised life, this book might be just what you need.
For me there's a bit too much fluffyness going on in it though.
How about number #25. Share Something Inspiring.
Wouldn't you just all love me to bits if I followed this tip and dedicated time everyday to search for an inspiring quote to send it to you?
Not? I thought so...

[Suman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a quick ebook that gives you quick and useful tips. This isn't some blog posts put together into a book. It makes a lot of sense. It tells you how habit stacking works and how you should go about creating your routine. It covers 97 habits spanning 7 areas of life - one can pick and choose which areas you want to work on. Productivity and leisure were most useful for me and finance and spirituality, the least. The examples of stacking in the end give a fair idea of how to put things into practice.

I work from home and don't have a set time of day for things I do. But I can try stacking habits against things I know will definitely happen - like meal times, wake up, before sleep etc.

[Alhanouf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief and to the point and very practical. I loved the idea of mini habits and the (capture every idea) idea!
We read a lot of these books that promote planning and initiating a healthy daily routine but often planning this routine takes ages and we end up not following it. This book is realistic and believes in small changes that do not require overthinking . I recommend this book to all my best friends . It's small ,less than 130 pages but full of tips and ideas. And actually fun to read!

[Rachel Burger · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is what it says it is

Lots of really obvious ideas; the book only provides 1-2 ideas per section that are creative. Great descriptions and how-tos. There isn't much wrong with the book, but it could be much improved upon in the quality of recommended life changes.

[Scott Rossell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit over-hyped for just a list of life hacks. Still, I was able to glean a few useful tips; about a dozen actually. Also, I read the latest version with 127 tips, so 12 of 127? Meh.

[Christi McKinney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for the quick readability and the helpful reminders of habits I want to start or get back into. But that said, there wasn’t much of anything new that I learned from this book. It also was very much written for a neurotypical brain, so I was taking the books advice with a grain of salt.

[Dan Richter · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Zu überspringende Vorrede] Wenn ich religiöse Menschen um irgendetwas beneide, dann nicht etwa darum, dass sie im Angesicht des Todes "Hoffnung" haben, sondern um ihre Rituale, ihre klare, aufgeräumte Welt. Wenn man als Kind und Jugendlicher aber andauernd sich von den durch nichts gerechtfertigten Normen und Ritualen absetzte, muss man sie leider später immer wieder neu lernen. Prokrastination, Unordentlichkeit, Zeit und Geld verplempern usw. Wahrscheinlich wäre die Self-Help-Book-Industrie nicht halb so erfolgreich, wenn wir einfach damals auf die Eltern gehört hätten, morgens unser Bett gemacht und unsere Bücher weggeräumt hätten.
Wenn Steven R. Covey den Unterbau für nachhaltiges, wirkungsvolles Leben beschreibt, so bietet S.J.Scott eine so simple, pragmatische Hilfe an, dass man ihm dafür einen Cappuccino spendieren möchte.
[Ende der zu überspringenden Vorrede]
Scotts Punkt ist, dass wir eigentlich wissen, was wir machen müssten: Den Schreibtisch freiräumen, Liegestütze machen, nett zu unseren Partnern sein, Obst essen. Das Problem ist, dass wir es trotz dieses Wissens nicht tun. Der Grund: Wir reden uns ein, wir hätten "keine Zeit". In Wirklichkeit benötigen die meisten Dinge, um die es geht, so wenig Zeit (1, 2 oder 5 Minuten) und verbessern unser Leben so wirksam, dass "keine Zeit" keine Ausrede ist.
Der entscheidende Trick besteht nun darin, eine kleine Gewohnheit zu nehmen, die wir ohnehin machen (wie Zähneputzen) oder die wirklich wenig psychischen Aufwand erfordert (wie innerhalb einer Minute das Bett zu machen) und darauf weitere Gewohnheiten zu "stapeln". Auf diese Weise entstehen Morgen-, Tages-, Abendroutinen, die nicht wie Monster-Aufgaben wirken, vor denen wir innerlich kapitulieren. Schon gar nicht müssen wir uns der Aufgabe stellen, andere Menschen zu werden. (Das werden wir wahrscheinlich trotzdem.) Die Aussicht, große Wirkungen mit kleinen Gewohnheiten zu erzielen, hält die Hürde klein.
Man sollte derartige Bücher eigentlich nicht vor Ablauf eines Bewährungs-Jahres loben. In froher Voraussicht tue ich es hiermit trotzdem.

[Meghan Davis strader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the concept, but will need to create my own habits. Scott's micromanaging of every second didn't seem so much "habit forming" as "soul & money sucking". Making a dinner or lunch date every day will break the bank! Sending an encouraging text to someone every day is really unnecessary (in my mind). It's good to be thinking of other people, but it seems so artificial to scour the internet for something "inspiring" to fulfill some kind of arbitrary habit goal.
So...I do think it is good to have maybe 30 things a day to do, morning, afternoon and evening. And by capitalizing on one thing that triggers the other 9 is what I'm going to try to implement.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick Read and Good Ideas

I read this book in a short amount of time - maybe an hour or less? It gave multiple examples, was well written, and drew from research findings and psychology to ensure it provided the best advice/assistance possible. I'm excited to start my new morning habits stacked neatly into one. I got this book for free through Prime Reading (sort of like checking out a library book), so I can't say if it's worth the price because I'm not sure how much it costs.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Takeaways:

Big doors often swing small hinges. In other words, large life change often depends on several small [but consistently applied] behaviors.

Lift is a simple, free smart phone app that allows one to track simple behaviors over time.

Habits stacking is the ability to snowball several small behavioral changes in order to fuel confidence and create momentum.

[DeWereldvanKaat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heel graag en vlotjes gelezen. Over hoe kleine gewoontes grote effecten kunnen hebben en ze na verloop van tijd ook totaal geen moeite meer kosten (iemand nog moeite met het poetsen van de tanden ?). 97 suggesties en ook een aantal strategieën om vol te houden en al te voorzien wat er gebeurt als je routine (want gewoontes hangen vast aan triggers) door elkaar geschud worden.
De moeite waard !

[Marylou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good ideas to develop better habits.

By starting with five minutes at a a time you can begin to build routines that help you develop better habits. I am deciding where to start! A very motivating book.

[Brenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Habit forming....

Pun intended. Not a bad idea for forming new habits. I reserve the right to give it a higher rating once I have attempted the plan....

[Nycteris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author himself tells you these are just a bunch of general ideas, and that you won't like them all, which is fair. No person will mesh with every habit, and you're not supposed to do all 97 every day. He also tells you that these are pretty basic ideas you've probably heard before or know to do, the innovative part is the idea of stitching several of them (not 97, just a few) into a brief routine or ritual you carry out at a specific time every day. Unfortunately, these are ideas I've seen expanded on in more detail in other places, though I guess this is an easier read. It's fairly short fluff.

What irritated me about the book was not so much the habits I didn't want to do for whatever reason, but the painfully small time estimates and a poor sense of consequences. Like journaling is "five minutes." I'm lucky if I finish this review in five minutes, dude. He admonishes in the beginning to be realistic about how long things take, but most of these take somewhere between twice and ten times as long as the estimates he gives--or commit future time, or aren't things you can always politely break off. For example, "play with your kids for five minutes." A child is a human being who might not be available the exact second you want to do your habit, but if they do play with you for five minutes, you know what they're going to want to do? Keep playing, because you got them worked up! If I text my girlfriend first thing in the morning, she's going to text me back, and wonder why I'm not replying to her when I'm the one who started the conversation, or else I'm going to spend the next five hours texting her and getting nothing else done. If I reconnect with someone I haven't talked to in a while, they're not going to have the highest opinion of me if I'm running off and happy to not think about them for another six months when we've barely traded hellos. (Nor is a daily breeze-in breeze-out going to endear me to them.) Committing to something like a night out with someone or a new class, in addition to the financial expense, is not "five minutes," it's however long the thing you just committed to takes! If you're already pressed for time, taking on new commitments isn't something you should do lightly. Rather than worrying if we're overloading our plates, what most people need to do is finish what's already on our plates before we add anything else.

There are other problems with the whole "five minute" idea, other than badly undersold time estimates. It takes both prep time and cognitive load to switch tasks. I'm more efficient at cleaning when I'm already cleaning and just don't stop. I'm warmed up and better at drawing when I'm already drawing and just don't stop. And rather than washing every dish as it piles up and having that suck the life out of my day, I can just dump it all in the dishwasher at once, easy-peasy. I'm more likely to actually learn a language if I take a good 20 minutes to an hour at a stretch to immerse myself. There are a few truly brief and self-limiting ones, like taking your vitamins, or putting your keys in a tray by the door when you come in. And there is value to starting with something small and approachable, rather than overwhelming yourself with a massive task, but the idea there isn't to really limit it to five minutes, it's just to set the bar low to overcome reluctance to begin.

As recycled as it all felt (and hey, as the author tells us, recycling is a good thing!) I questioned my cynicism and bumped it up from two stars to three, because actually, having a morning cup of tea outside sounds delightful. I'm not going to worry about if I stick to it in inclement weather or anything, and I know this habit wouldn't be a fit for everyone, but I guess that's sort of the idea of the book, if just one thing captures your imagination, that could be worth it. You make it work for you in whatever way makes sense to you.

[Susan Olesen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry. This was either intended for the mentally disabled, or written by someone who was. Maybe I'm living in another dimension. 90% of this is normally done by normal people on any given day. There is nothing here that is going to change your life, unless you are not functioning on more than one cylinder. Maybe you're trying to come back from severe depression. This might help you then.

Pick up all the clothing strewn around the house? Do you live alone? You have a spouse and kids and you throw your dirty clothes all over the house? Do you have a Hoarders camera filming you? Run your damned laundry at least once a week if you have kids, but pick up the clothes all over the house?

Make a cup of tea? Do you need a reminder to make a hot drink? "My dog died, my rent is 3 months behind, my mom is sick, and I just got laid off. Damn! I forgot to make a cup of tea!"

Maintain a food journal. Yep, there's a good use of my time that I don't have.

"Practice simple grooming" If you need a book to tell you to comb your damned hair, you have bigger problems.

"Jump rope." And all the big-bosomed women, those with back issues, and those with arthritis just flipped you a finger.

Seriously. I juggle 9 kids under my umbrella. Four are still at home. Three have special needs. I work part time and juggle my own business in between. If I did all this piddly crap, I would be worse off for having wasted time I don't have. Juggling time can be done - it takes less than 2 minutes to fold a load of wash or unload that dishwasher *while* your tea is nuking. Start the washer, start the pasta, let the dog out, and make your tea all in two minutes. Don't make special time to wipe off a surface; do it because it's dirty. Wash your table after every meal. Dust the top of your fridge the next time you're up there looking for the toy you took away from your kid.

No. Unless you are mentally struggling and need a checklist for daily life, don't bother.

[Annabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a lot of self help books. I'm interested in personal development, building a side hustle and generally getting more out of my time. My biggest complaint about self help books is that they are often written by people who say things like, 'Yes, when I lost my first million dollar business, I hit rock bottom, but I met with a friend who just happens to be director of a top company, and we hashed out a plan together and...'

Aaand, you've lost me, because that is not my life experience.

The great thing about S.J. Scott's books are that they are applicable to all levels of 'life'. They are about small, focused steps that anybody can take to improve their lives, their productivity, their relationships. While there's nothing massively groundbreaking here (which Scott freely admits), Scott provides a framework for actually achieving the things we know we ought to be doing, like having an exercise routine and eating well. The concept of making things a habit, then grouping habits together into a 'stack' so you just have to remember to do one group of actions, rather than a slew of individual ones, is outlined clearly, with examples of applications given. It's easy to follow, easy to implement, and has inspired me to have a review of my routines.

As with all self-help books, there are bits that will make you turn your nose up (I'm sorry, Marie Kondo, but I am never going to thank my old belongings for their service) but with seven different categories of habits, and 127 habits all together, there will be something everyone can take from this. So if you're looking to do or be a little more than you are right now, I'd recommend you pick up a copy of this.

(I received a free copy of this book for review)

[antony · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise of this book is very interesting. Improving your life is not all about the big things, actually it is all about the small thing.

When implement a number of small changes, big things have happened. What’s great about this idea is that it is much easier to do.

It is hard to radically change your life, it is wasn’t hard you won’t be reading a book like this trying to finds a way to do it. It is easy to make some small change, to start doing some easy thing that has a small impact, and then another and then another.

The habit stacking is how you link these small changes together to maximise your ability to stick to them.

Then there is a list of thinks you can do that in a short period of time will improve your sense of well being and change your perspective. Before you know it things will be different than they were before and opportunities will offer themselves that you had never considered or even dreamed of.

I love this idea that the impact of small changes is what big changes are made of.

[Karissa Talks Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I expected when I went into this book, but I don't think I got it. I planned on reading some revolutionary habits that would really spark some inspiration into my life and make me want to jump on the habit bandwagon.

What I got was a very simplistic list of things that I pretty much do already. I can understand what he's saying by breaking this down so basically, but if you've read any article about habits, habit ideas, etc. already, this is a bit redundant.

That's not to say that there wasn't some good information in here, because I did highlight a couple things. I just don't know if this was as "complicated" as I was hoping to get. This is a book that explains what any sort of ritual or routine is, and that's not what I needed.

I think it's an entirely average book, and it's not bad, but I just can't think of who would benefit from this; everyone should know most of this information already.

[Jean Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book I’m motivated! Today was my second day at Zumba I’m getting my fitness back after two years of the effects of “covid life” (not actually having covid but living through it) was sedentary for the last two years this book and his other book 10,000 steps has gotten me to my “why” with my fitness goals and goals with life. I’m really liking his books I’ll probably read a third one if not all his books! I recommend to anyone trying to get started with achieving life goals. I’ll definitely be implementing 3 small life changes to my daily routine. I will also be thanking the author for this book. P.s. it ties in with the books The Power of Habits, Tiny Habits and Atomic Habits.

[Mary Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because corporate America has ruined me and determined that I should seek out self-improvement books, I picked this one up for free on my Kindle. I'm glad it was free.
It's not that this book says anything bad, it just doesn't say anything new. And, honestly, I don't know what else you can say about building good habits: just do it, and then do it again, and then do it again. That's all there is to it.
So, I wouldn't recommend procrastinating on whatever you should be doing by reading this book. Just do it.

[Alicia Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're a feral human who was never told, "Drink at least eight glasses of water a day," etc., this book will change your life. However, if you manage to get out of bed daily between midnight and midnight and remember to breathe with some regularity, skip this one.

I really missed my calling with the DIY publishing market. If someone had told me back in high school that it was possible to earn a living typing out random crap and passing off stuff my grandmother told me as sage advice, oy vey, I'd have saved a lot of college tuition money.