#51. Atharv’s Chronicle : 15-06-2026 The Power of Habit Stacking!

Welcome back to another edition of Atharv’s Chronicle!

Almost two years back, When I wanted to add two things to my routine. Read 10 to 15 pages every day. And cover 7,500 steps every day.

Neither of these tasks needed any special skill. Neither needed a lot of time either, if I am being honest. I had enough hours in the day for both.

But somehow, I was unable to get them done. Not because I didn’t have time. I just couldn’t get either of them started. I would plan to read at night, get tired, and easily skip it. I would plan to walk separately, find some excuse, and skip that too.

The problem was never time. It was activation – because I know about myself, If i get started, I get going for sure!

So I Stacked One On Top Of The Other

That’s when I got the idea. I wanted to build an active lifestyle and I had an existing habit of stepping out for a short walk to aid digestion after my dinner and eventually I extended this habit after every meal – breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I repeated this daily and made sure this part runs on autopilot without much effort.

So I just started adding the second habit on top of it. I picked up whatever book I was reading at the time and carried it with me on that walk, reading while I walked.

One single stack. Two hobbies, solved together, right from day one. My step count quietly crossed 7,500 most days, and my reading quietly crossed those 10 to 15 pages, both within the time I was already spending on the walk anyway.

That was almost two years ago. since then I never need to “find time” for any of these activities again. it just runs on its own and it has become part of me!

Why This Works Better Than Willpower

Our brain doesn’t run on intentions. It runs on cues.

We don’t forget to brush our teeth because that habit is already wired to a cue and it has been repeated so many times, every morning we go to the washroom and we’re standing in front of the mirror, the toothbrush is right there.

We struggle with reading or walking alone because there’s no existing cue pulling us into it.

Habit stacking solves this by borrowing a cue we already trust. The old habit, something we do without fail, becomes the trigger. The new habit just rides along, no extra willpower required.

Another One From My Own Life

I used to miss my protein shake after the gym. I stay on the second floor of my house, my parents stay on the first floor, and the kitchen is on the first floor too. I would come back from the gym, park my vehicle, keep the helmet and keys away, wash my hands, and rush straight up to the second floor to take a bath or get started with work. The protein shake would just never happen in between all that.

So I added a cue. I started keeping the protein shake bottle right where I wash my hands, somewhere easily visible, impossible to miss on the way up.

I didn’t have to remember anything anymore. I would wash my hands, see the bottle sitting right there, and the shake would happen, easy – peasy and it has worked every single time!

One More, Around Eating Clean

I also wanted to eat clean and avoid junk food. But wanting it wasn’t enough. If there are no fruits or vegetables at home, I simply can’t eat them. Availability matters more than willpower here.

So I looked at what I already do every morning. I go to the gym. That’s a fixed habit, rain or shine. I just added one small step to it. On my way back from the gym, I mandatorily stop and pick up fruits and veggies and Eggs.

Now my dining table always has fresh fruits sitting there, Veggies and Eggs are my default option at home, simply because they’re always available. I’m not relying on motivation to eat healthy. I’m relying on the fact that the healthy option is right there, and the junk isn’t.

I’m building on this right now too. I already keep dry fruits in my kitchen cupboard, but I rarely touch them. So I’m starting a new habit. Every evening, I go up to the terrace to watch the sunset, a fixed habit already. From now on, I’ll carry a small bowl of dry fruits up with me each time, and it should stick the same way everything else did.

The Philosophy Behind All Of This

It’s a principle James Clear talks about in Atomic Habits, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

His formula is almost embarrassingly simple: “After [current habit], I will [new habit].” After my food, I will walk and read a page. After I wash my hands, I will drink my shake. After I watch the sunset, I will eat my dry fruits.

We don’t need more motivation, we need better architecture. Our day is already full of habits running on autopilot. Each one is a free anchor point. Attach something new to it, and the old habit does the remembering, the new one just has to show up.

Don’t fight for a new slot in your day. Find a slot that already exists, and stack on top of it.

Pick one habit you want to build, but keep failing to start. Now find an existing habit in your day that you already do without fail, and add the new habit right next to it. That new habit won’t need willpower anymore.

See you in the next one!

Atharv Prasanna