Putting It Into Practice: Two Sample Routines
Theory is helpful, but seeing these principles in action makes them real. Here are two examples of how you might design a habit routine, starting small and building with intention.
Worked Example 1: An Evening Wind-Down Routine
Identity: I am the kind of person who rests well and prepares for a successful next day.
Goal: Stop mindlessly scrolling on my phone before bed and get better sleep.
Minimum Viable Action: For the first week, the only goal is to plug my phone in to charge across the room one hour before my intended bedtime. I don’t have to read, meditate, or do anything else. Just get the phone out of arm’s reach.
Habit Stacking: The cue is finishing the dinner dishes. The stack is: “After I put the last dish away, I will walk over and plug my phone in across the room.”
Friction Audit: To make the good habit easier, I’ll buy an extra-long charging cable and place a book I’m excited to read on my nightstand. The book is now easier to reach than the phone. To make the bad habit harder, the phone is now physically distant, requiring me to get out of bed to check it.
Progression: After a week of successfully plugging in the phone, I might add the next small step: “After I plug in my phone, I will open my book to the bookmarked page.” A week later, it might become: “After I open my book, I will read one page.” The routine builds organically, without force, because each step is small and linked to an established behavior. The reward is a feeling of calm and, eventually, better sleep, which reinforces the entire loop.
Worked Example 2: A Morning Focus Primer
Identity: I am the kind of person who starts the day with clarity and intention.
Goal: Stop reacting to emails and news first thing in the morning and instead focus on my most important task.
Minimum Viable Action: Before opening my laptop or checking my phone, I will drink a full glass of water and write down one—and only one—priority for the day on a sticky note.
Habit Stacking: The cue is turning off my morning alarm. The stack is: “After I turn off my alarm, I will walk to the kitchen and drink a glass of water.” Then, a second stack: “After I finish the glass of water, I will write down my one priority.”
Friction Audit: To decrease friction, I will fill a glass of water and leave it on the counter with a sticky note pad and a pen right next to it the night before. Everything is ready. To increase friction for the bad habit, I will continue the practice of leaving my phone charging across the room overnight.
Progression: Once writing the single priority feels automatic, I can expand the routine. The next step might be to open a document and write just one sentence related to that priority before checking any email. The reward is a powerful feeling of being proactive rather than reactive, which creates a positive psychological tone for the entire workday and reinforces the desire to repeat the routine.
