How are your New Year Resolutions going?
Here are some tips to sustaining them through 2025..
The Secret to Upleveling Your New Year Resolutions in 2025
As the calendar has now flipped to the new year, many of us are filled with the resolve to embrace new habits and routines. Whether it’s reading more books, exercising regularly, or soaking up some sunshine each day, the enthusiasm is palpable. Yet, statistics show that most New Year’s resolutions falter within a few weeks.
Why? The answer often lies in the lack of a system to integrate these new habits into our already-packed lives. Enter the concept of habit piggybacking, a Smart Lever that can help you uplevel your resolutions and make them stick.
What Is Habit Piggybacking?
Habit piggybacking, also known as habit stacking, involves attaching a new habit to an existing one. Think of your daily habits as buses running on established routes. Habit piggybacking is about hopping onto one of those buses, instead of trying to carve out a new route entirely. By leveraging routines you already perform consistently, you’re creating a system where your new habit becomes a natural extension of your day.
For example, if you already have a habit of drinking coffee at 11 a.m., you can piggyback a habit of getting more sunlight by taking your coffee break outdoors. Similarly, if you’re on the treadmill, you could listen to a podcast to make the most of your time.
Why Do New Habits Fail?
Most new habits fail because they require additional resources: time, energy, and attention—all of which are in limited supply. Without a deliberate plan to incorporate these habits into your daily schedule, they often get crowded out by existing priorities. Habit piggybacking works because it minimizes the friction of starting something new. Instead of requiring significant changes to your daily routine, it asks you to tweak what you’re already doing.
The Science Behind Habit Piggybacking
Habit piggybacking is rooted in the concept of “cue-based” habit formation. According to behavioral psychology, habits are triggered by cues—events or actions that prompt a behavior. By attaching a desired habit to an established one, you’re leveraging a powerful cue that already exists in your life. Over time, this pairing becomes automatic, embedding the new habit into your routine with minimal effort.
Habit Piggybacking for New Year’s Resolutions
As you try and fulfill your 2025 resolutions, consider the following ways to incorporate habit piggybacking:
Resolution: “I want to read more.”
Piggyback: Read for 10 minutes while drinking your morning coffee or during your lunch break.Resolution: “I want to exercise more.”
Piggyback: Do bodyweight exercises like squats or push-ups while waiting for your morning coffee to brew.Resolution: “I want to be more mindful.”
Piggyback: Practice mindfulness for two minutes before starting your workday.
Designing Your Habit Piggybacking System
To effectively use habit piggybacking, follow these steps:
Identify Existing Habits: Make a list of habits you already perform consistently. These could range from personal tasks (like showering) to work-related routines (like checking emails).
Choose Compatible Habits: Pick a new habit that aligns naturally with an existing one. For example, if you want to drink more water, piggyback this habit onto mealtimes.
Start Small: Begin with tiny actions that feel manageable. If your goal is to meditate daily, start with one minute right after you make your bed.
Be Specific: Clearly define the pairing. Instead of saying, “I’ll meditate after breakfast,” say, “I’ll meditate for two minutes right after I put my breakfast plate in the dishwasher.”
Monitor and Adjust: Track your progress and tweak your system as needed. If one pairing doesn’t work, experiment with another.
Uplevelers and Habit Piggybacking
As an upleveler—a person committed to continuous growth—you can use habit piggybacking not only for personal development but also to influence and inspire your team. Here’s how:
For Personal Development:
Compound Your Efforts: Layer multiple beneficial habits into a single activity. For instance, use a standing desk to combine work, movement, and posture improvement.
Create Time Efficiency: Turn “dead time” into productive moments. Listen to educational content during your commute or while doing household chores.
Leverage Habit Loops: Build cascading habits. For example, after your morning workout, immediately prepare a healthy breakfast, and then review your goals for the day.
For Your Team:
Integrate Cultural Nudges: Piggyback team-building activities onto existing routines, such as adding a gratitude-sharing moment at the end of daily stand-up meetings.
Boost Engagement: Use regular team check-ins as opportunities to introduce new concepts, like a Pomodoro session for focused work.
Foster Collaboration: Encourage walking meetings to combine physical activity with brainstorming.
The Role of Design and Deliberation
The success of habit piggybacking lies in its deliberate design. It requires thoughtful planning to identify opportunities for integration and ensure compatibility between habits. For instance, pairing coffee with sunlight exposure works because both are enjoyable and complementary. However, pairing coffee with an intense workout may not. As you design your habit piggybacking strategy, remember to:
Prioritize Simplicity: Choose habits that require minimal effort to pair.
Celebrate Wins: Acknowledge small victories to reinforce motivation.
Be Patient: Allow time for the new habit to become ingrained.
Greediness vs. Overambition
Habit piggybacking encourages a form of “1% greediness”—making incremental improvements that compound over time. By stacking habits thoughtfully, you’re not being overambitious. Instead, you’re optimizing your time and energy to get the most out of your routines. Over months and years, these small gains can lead to transformative results.
The Long-Term Benefits
When applied consistently, habit piggybacking can:
Reduce Decision Fatigue: By embedding habits into routines, you remove the need for constant decision-making.
Build Momentum: Each successful pairing creates a sense of achievement, motivating you to add more.
Maximize Productivity: By stacking habits, you get more done in less time.
Final Thoughts
Habit piggybacking is a simple yet powerful strategy for integrating new habits into your life. By leveraging routines you already perform, you can reduce resistance, increase consistency, and set yourself up for long-term success. As you embark on your journey to uplevel in 2025, let habit piggybacking be the smart lever that propels you forward. Remember, the bus is already moving—just hop on!
If you wish to uplevel:
Yourself: Watch our YouTube Playlist & join CTQ Compounds.
Your Team: See our Case Studies & connect with us