Your Questions About Frictionless Habit Building, Answered
As you begin to apply these ideas, questions will naturally arise. Here are answers to some of the most common queries we receive about implementing the frictionless method. These insights will help you troubleshoot and adapt the principles to your unique circumstances.
How long does it *really* take to build a habit?
You may have heard the popular myth that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. While a catchy idea, research suggests it’s a significant oversimplification. A landmark study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology found that, on average, it takes about 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. However, the range was enormous—from 18 days to 254 days. The takeaway is that there is no magic number. The time it takes depends on the complexity of the habit, the individual, and the environment. Instead of focusing on a deadline, focus on the process. Concentrate on your MVA, on reducing friction, and on the “never miss twice” rule. The habit will become automatic when it’s ready. Patience is part of the process of easy habits.
What do I do when I travel or my routine is disrupted?
Disruptions like travel, holidays, or illness are a primary reason why well-intentioned habits fall apart. This is where the power of the Minimum Viable Action truly shines. When your normal routine is impossible, don’t abandon the habit entirely. Instead, scale back to your absolute minimum. If your habit is a 30-minute workout, your travel MVA might be “do ten squats in my hotel room.” If your habit is writing 500 words, your MVA could be “write one sentence on my phone’s notepad.” The goal during a disruption is not to make progress, but to maintain momentum and reinforce your identity. You are reminding yourself, “Even on a chaotic day, I am still a person who moves my body,” or “I am still a writer.” This makes it infinitely easier to ramp back up to your normal routine when life settles down.
I’ve been consistent, but I’ve hit a plateau. How do I make progress again?
A plateau is often a sign of success! It means the initial MVA has become automatic and no longer requires conscious effort. Your brain has successfully wired the habit. Now is the time to introduce a small, incremental challenge. This is similar to the concept of progressive overload in fitness. Once the habit is established, you can begin to slowly increase the duration or difficulty. If your MVA was “read one page,” you might increase it to “read for five minutes.” If it was “do one push-up,” you could try for two, or try a more difficult variation. The key is to make the increase just as small and frictionless as your original MVA. Make the next step so easy that it feels like a natural evolution, not a daunting new challenge. This gradual scaling is central to sustainable habit building.
Can I build multiple frictionless habits at once?
While it’s tempting to overhaul your life all at once, it’s generally more effective to start with just one or two new habits. Your willpower and attention are finite resources, especially at the beginning of a behavior change journey. Trying to build several unrelated habits simultaneously—like meditating, exercising, and learning a language all at once—can spread you too thin and lead to none of them sticking. A better approach is to focus on one cornerstone habit that will create a positive ripple effect. Alternatively, you can use habit stacking to bundle two or three very small, related habits together into a single routine, like: “After my coffee (cue), I will drink a glass of water, take my vitamin, and write my one priority task for the day.” This creates a single, powerful “moment of intention” rather than three separate habits to remember.
