Putting It All Together: Worked Examples in Prose
Theory is useful, but seeing these principles in action makes them concrete. Here are two examples of how someone might design and implement a “habit-proof” routine using the concepts we’ve discussed.
Example 1: The Evening Wind-Down Routine
Identity: “I am someone who values rest and prepares for a peaceful night’s sleep.”
Sarah wants to stop scrolling on her phone for an hour in bed, a habit that leaves her feeling anxious and makes it hard to fall asleep. Her goal is to create a calming wind-down routine.
First, she defines her Minimum Viable Action (MVA): “Read one page of a physical book.” This feels completely achievable, even on a tired night.
Next, she does a friction audit and engineers her environment. To break the phone habit, she increases the friction by buying a cheap alarm clock for her bedroom and deciding to charge her phone on the kitchen counter overnight. To build the reading habit, she reduces friction by placing a book she’s excited to read and a soft reading light on her nightstand. The book itself becomes a powerful visual cue.
She sets up a habit stack. The cue for her new routine is finishing brushing her teeth. The sequence is: Brush teeth (existing habit) -> Walk phone to the kitchen charger -> Get into bed and read one page (new habit). The reward is twofold: the immediate pleasure of a good story and the long-term benefit of feeling calmer and sleeping better.
Finally, she creates a relapse plan. “If I am too exhausted to even think about reading, then I will just do 60 seconds of deep breathing in bed instead.” She also commits to the “never miss twice” rule. One night of scrolling might happen, but she will be extra diligent about leaving the phone in the kitchen the following night. This is a complete system designed for habit sticking.
Example 2: The Morning Focus Primer
Identity: “I am a focused, proactive person who starts the day with intention.”
Mark’s mornings feel reactive. He grabs his coffee, opens his email, and immediately gets pulled into other people’s priorities. He wants to start his day with a sense of control and clarity.
His MVA is: “Write down my single most important task for the day.” It’s a tiny action that can reorient his entire morning.
He performs his friction audit. The friction for the bad habit (checking email) is zero; it’s automatic. He increases the friction by closing his laptop the night before and placing a journal and pen where the laptop usually sits. The journal is now the most obvious object on his desk. This new environment cue prompts the desired behavior.
He uses habit stacking to anchor the new routine. His existing habit is making his morning coffee. The new sequence is: Make coffee (existing habit) -> Sit at his desk with the coffee -> Open the journal and write his one priority (new habit). Only after that is he allowed to open his laptop. The reward is the immediate feeling of clarity and control over his schedule, which is far more satisfying than the anxiety of an overflowing inbox.
His relapse plan: “If I wake up late and am in a huge rush, then I will just think of my one priority while the coffee brews and say it out loud.” This ensures he still sets an intention, even in a compressed timeframe. He has built a system that makes being proactive the easiest choice, effectively making his new focusing habit “habit-proof.”
