Habit Stacking Thread 📚

[Mellmars1185]

Hello BIC! Habit stacking is something I have been doing mindfully for the past few years now and thought it would be fun to discuss and share here. It has helped me save time, be more efficient and have more time for what is important to me (spend time with family/friends, scroll on BIC, read).

What is habit stacking?

Habit stacking is essentially exactly what it sounds like: taking a new habit and adding it to something you already do habitually. Habit stacking works by identifying a habit or a behavior you want to start doing and tacking it onto something you already do regularly.

Example (I do all of these at the same time):

First Habit - Prepping and making a meal in the Instant Pot

Second - Put a load of laundry on while the food is cooking

Third - Putting hair oil on my scalp or put a hair mask in

Forth - Work out (while I am working out, dinner is cooking, laundry is washing and my hair is getting a treatment)

I thought maybe this could be a space where we discuss our habit stacking, share ideas, support, learn and motivate eachother. 

What habit stacking did you do today? 

 

 

Spoiler

I am open for suggestions for this thread. Maybe we can do challenges weekly or monthly?

[danielledanielle]

🤣, definitely not that.  It's an abbreviation for Multivitamin

[itsfi]

I'm going to try to get in the habit of doing the following routine (meal prep + hair care + workout + body care +  skincare) once per week through the end of May:

• If needed, remove makeup and apply moisturizer (or face oil), and, if workout is outdoors, sunblock
• Hair Care - Fable & Mane HoliRoots™ Pre-Wash Treatment Oil for Thinning Hair once per week and hair mask once per week
• Work Out - Workout while the pre-wash oil is doing its thing or take a long walk
• Wash Up - Shower and rinse out hair care product - perform scalp massage with BREAD BEAUTY SUPPLY Scalp-Thingy: Scalp Massager 
• Splash Mask (in shower) - Blithe Patting Splash Mask 
• Exfoliating foot scrub - Soft Services Buffing Bar Exfoliating Body Bar for KP and Ingrown Hair (2 pack) 7.5 oz / 221 g - it's too much for all but the soles of my feet and my elbows
• Body care routine 
• Skin care up to mask (sheet or face mask), including lip scrub & lip mask
• Start on meal prep for the (rest of the) week while hair air dries & the goodness from the mask absorb into the skin
• If time, plan out work wear for the week
• Remove face/sheet mask & apply moisturizer, eye cream, neck cream & lip balm
• Finish meal prep while skincare soaks in
• Clean up kitchen

Will check back in periodically @Mellmars1185 about how the habit stacking routine is going (and/or to get some encouragement or tips & tricks). Wish me luck!🤞

[peculiarzmakeup]

I love how organized your habit stacking is and very well thought out for specific categories. This is giving me some great ideas. 💡 this is very inspiring! @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@peculiarzmakeup, the Fable & Mane pre-wash hair oil is one of the products I've included in this year's Pan It! - 2024 Challenge - I've only recently figured out the best way to use the hair oil, which is a plus. It's one of those products that I don't instinctively think to use, so combining it with my skincare routine, a workout, and meal prep will hopefully help make it easier to turn it into a habit. We shall see! I also wanted to find a way to put that Soft Services exfoliating scrub to regular use - it's good for making the soles of my feet soft and smooth so this'll give me opportunities to use it. 

[peculiarzmakeup]

I love that plan! And it’s great you have a goal set for once a week till May. That oil sounds incredible!! @itsfi 

[itsfi]

Thank you @peculiarzmakeup! I know me - if I don’t give myself some time to make it routine (and to fail a couple of times at getting to once per week consistently) then I might just forget about even trying to make it a habit. Oops. Until May gives me enough time to both work through the rough starts (and make adjustments to the routine) as well as to get the habit to stick. It also seems like a good time to give it a fair shake to decide if it’s right for me and what else I have going on. Here we go! 

[peculiarzmakeup]

That is very relatable. I think with any goal or addition to a routine it’s amazing to see through on a daily basis, I love this habit stacking thread. Each day is so different and finding these hacks to incorporate is so important. It’s a learning process to see how it fits in the day. I hope you enjoy the process. Look forward to seeing updates from everyone. 🫶💕 @itsfi 

Thanks for starting such an amazing thread @Mellmars1185  and sharing such an incredible topic to think about and utilize. 
😊✍️⏰💄

[Mellmars1185]

@peculiarzmakeup I am so glad you are enjoying it. I definitely would consider habit stacking a life hack. Time is something I think we could try to optimize. I like that we can learn from eachother. I am happy if one of my habit stacking posts impacts just one person in a positive way. I wasn't sure if it would be a topic people would be interested in.

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfiI like your habit stacking routine and how you started off with one day per week. It is definitely attainable. Your routine seems productive, yet relaxing at the same time. Is there  a specific day of the week you are planning on doing this routine? Do you prefer to take your time or efficiently cross items off of your list? I cannot wait to hear how it turns out for you ☺️!

*EDIT* My SO told me today that habit stacking is like tetras. I thought that was an interesting way of looking at it. I think I may be rubbing off on him!

[itsfi]

Thank you @Mellmars1185! Right now, the day I do this will depend on my work deadlines and schedule. I'm thinking Tuesday night or Saturday morning. I'm hoping that the routine will stick by the end of May and then during the summer months, I'll do the routine twice per week, except that the hair oil will be once per week and then a hair mask will be once per week - though in that case, I will probably do one workout at home and one long walk outside since the weather should be nice by that time. I could also walk to my gym and workout there. 

lol, tetris! That's awesome that you're rubbing off on him. Does he have any habit stacking routines he cares for you to share with the rest of the class? Or, any tetris strategies?

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi 😆 I will definitely ask him for his habit stacking input. He likes to point it out, so I wonder if he is mindful of it in his own routines. Today, I kept forgetting things in the basement and had to go back and get things, and he said, " See you are habit stacking because you are getting things and exercising." He was right about that, lol.

[itsfi]

Oh my goodness, he's so mindful of habit stacking @Mellmars1185! Your habit stacking, too! 🤣 Hmmm... maybe he's one of the ones who started the whole habit stacking kick and he's just keeping that to himself. 🤔 Hahaha! 

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi haha ohh mayyybe! He was very happy to hear this 😆. I am sure I will hear about more habit stacking now!

[peculiarzmakeup]

@Mellmars1185 

this is such an incredible thread idea! It’s amazing reading about how it’s worked for you! 

😊

One thing I do to Habit Stack is prepping

I usually try to do this the night before.

Since I work from home it can be easy to fall out of routine

• Schedule for next day written in notes Reminders, Alarms
• Having To Do List in every note, deleting what’s completed
• Laying out things in sequential order of how I will use them (ex. Makeup, clothing etc.)
• Put backs after using for them to be there for next time. (shoes, keys, wallet) 

These habits all tend to overlap through the day ☀️

[itsfi]

Ahhh, I love this @peculiarzmakeup! I love prepping and organizing. Definitely hear ya on putting things back after using them. 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Thank you so much! And yes it’s fun to have little set back stations keeps me organized! @itsfi ❤️

[Mellmars1185]

@peculiarzmakeup Thank you! You have created some great habits. I know how easy it is to lose something if you don't put it back. I also like making lists. I have a notebook where I only write down the main thing I want to get done in a day. I don't write too many so my goals for the day are achievable.

I understand it can be hard to stay in a routine when, WFH. With your saved time, is there anything you would like to do? 

[peculiarzmakeup]

I love what you said about attainable goals, thinking of goals that can be completed in the given time frame, that’s such a nice concept! @Mellmars1185 

I would like to clean, organize, go out in nature, make collages! I like the goal idea I’ve always made list but achievable goals sounds great thanks for the idea. I appreciate you creating this thread ❤️🥰

[Mellmars1185]

Today I did hair care habit stacking. Before I started my work out, I applied OUAI Hydrating Scalp Serum for Healthy, Fuller Looking Hair 2 oz / 60 mL so it had to soak in while I worked out. Then I showered and applied K18 Biomimetic Hairscience Leave-In Molecular Repair Mask 1.7 oz/ 50 mL . The instructions say to leave it in for at least 4 minutes before blow drying to activate. While I was letting it sit, I folded a load of laundry. While I was folding my laundry, my hair air dried a bit on it's own, which means less heat.

Spoiler

I found that brushing my hair before washing is really helpful when using the K18 Biomimetic Hairscience PEPTIDE PREP™ Clarifying Detox Shampoo 8.5 oz / 250 mL (or before washing in general for that matter). I find that when I rinse with conditioner that my hair is more manageable. However, when using the the K18, I don't use conditioner. So making sure the tangles are out before washing makes The process easier. I have also read somewhere that brushing while the hair is wet causes more damage than dry.

[itsfi]

That's fantastic how you have a hair care habit stacking routine @Mellmars1185! 😍

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Thank you! 🥰