Keystone habits1/7/2024 ![]() ![]() The guy has a billion Olympic gold medals. But once you start recognizing the value of your keystone habit-and repeat it, again and again-it’ll slowly become second nature. Here's the catch with all this: Even once we know an action will improve our day, it still can feel tough to motivate ourselves to, say, hit the yoga mat or resist the siren song of Twitter when we sit down to do work. How to Make Your Keystone Habit an Actual Habit They set up that all-important domino effect that triggers positive changes for the rest of the day. Keystone habits don’t just make you feel good in the moment. Pay attention to what gives you a feeling of accomplishment and drive that’s carried through the rest of your day. You can do this by keeping a list of “small wins” throughout your day and, at the end of the week, seeing which ones repeated the most-and made you feel good for the longest time afterwards. Or, maybe your keystone habit is not doing something-instead of checking your emails when you start work, perhaps it’s taking five minutes to plan out your day before diving in. Maybe it’s meditating for a few minutes before the craze of the day with your Shine app when you wake up in the morning. Maybe your keystone habit is as simple as laying out your clothes the night before so you don’t feel rushed in the morning, and this allows you to start your day feeling confident and capable (and not with a wrinkled shirt swiped from the bottom of your drawer). These small wins can help create a new structure to my day, and, as Duhigg writes, establish a culture where change becomes contagious. And having a moment of reflection reminds me that I live in a generous world full connections. Having a solid breakfast ensures I’m not hangry and scavenging for a snack. Taking time to read fiction or something positive (instead of scrolling Twitter) calms me down and encourages me to do my own writing. Now, none of these habits on their own are all that impressive (or difficult!), but they set up specific habit loops. What felt like a “small win”? Some of my small wins are having enough time to eat breakfast, reading a good book or play on the subway, having a positive interaction, or even having tasty food in my refrigerator. Here's how to find-and own-your keystone habit. You may think a crucial habit is, say, exercising every day or meditating for 20 minutes every morning. Keystone habits don’t have to be enormous and life-changing on their own. These days can be elusive, although they don’t have to be-not if you know where to look. “The habits that matter most are the ones that, when they start to shift, dislodge and remake other patterns,” he writes in the book that I’ve not only gifted to more people than any other, but that I’ve thought about at least once a week for the past six years.Ī keystone habit creates what I like to call a habit domino effect: It's something you do that sets you up for other goodness throughout the dayĪ keystone habit creates what I like to call a habit domino effect: It's something you do that sets you up for other goodness throughout the day. Or, maybe it’s taking five minutes to reflect, which makes you feel more compassionate when you have a tough talk with a partner, and more hopeful when you sign up for that digital networking event that'll be full of strangers.Īs Charles Duhigg writes in The Power of Habit, finding the trigger for your feel-good pattern-this is known as a “keystone habit”-can reprogram the other routines in your life. It’s a small action that sets you up for a chain of other actions that make you feel good.įor example: Maybe it’s a morning yoga session, which inspires you take deep breaths when a things get stressful, and ease into sleep with a meditation. Keystone habits are small wins that make the rest of your day-and life-a little easier. It’s probably because your keystone habit came out to play. You know when you have a really good day-when you’re killing it at work or school, and you feel like your most grounded and authentic self? When you feel strong and in control?
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