Habit Stacking Companion Course

Here are the bonuses you'll get in this free companion course:

The Habit Stacking Quick Start Guide

Included in this guide are the following checklists that can help you get started with your first stack:

• 3 Types of Habits (and Why Each is Important)
• 9 Rules for Building a Habit Stacking Routine
• 13 Steps for Building a Habit Stacking Routine
• The List of 127 Small Changes

Habit Stacking Quick Start Guide

127 Small Changes to Improve Your Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Not sure what small changes you can introduce into your life? Well, here is a list of the 127 actions mentioned in Habit Stacking. If you stuck wondering what to do daily, then I recommend picking a few of these habits:

1. Schedule Your Day
2. Identify Your Three Most Important Tasks (MITs)
3. Review Your Goals
4. Do the Hardest Task First
5. Chunk Down a Project (or Task) into Manageable Steps
6. Remove Distractions Before Working
7. Create a Distraction-Free Environment
8. Declutter Your Desktop
9. Improve Focus by Playing Music
10. Update Your Accountability Partner
11. Reward Yourself for Completing a Task
12. Track Time for Your Activities
13. Work in Pomodoro Blocks
14. Write a “Done List”
15. Identify One Task to Delegate or Outsource
16. Automate Your Work
17. Unsubscribe from an Email List(s)
18. Research One “Side Hustle”
19. Make One Business Connection
20. Review HARO for Business Promotion Opportunities
21. Track Your Expenses
22. Review Your Financial Situation
23. Review Your Budget
24. Check Your Billing Statements
25. Negotiate a Lower Price
26. Find Coupons for Necessities
27. Conserve Your Utilities
28. Pack a Meal, Snack, and Coffee
29. Scan “Garage Sale” Facebook Groups
30. Buy for Value
31. Comparison Shop for a Major Purchase
32. Plan Your Meals
33. Prepare a Food Shopping List (and Stick to It!)
34. Plan Your Daily Errands
35. Unsubscribe from Catalogs and Junk Mail
36. Find Something Free to Do
37. Skip the Commercials
38. Set Up Automatic Withdrawals
39. Read a Personal Finance Article
40. Weigh Yourself
41. Maintain a Food Journal
42. Replace One Food Item
43. Take Daily Vitamins
44. Prepare a Smoothie Drink
45. Fill a 32-Ounce Water Bottle
46. Wear a Step-Tracking Device
47. Walk Between Blocks of Focused Effort
48. Complete a 7-Minute Workout
49. Jump Rope
50. Complete “Deskercise” Routine
51. Increase Your Flexibility
52. Practice Good Posture
53. Meditate
54. Follow a “Shut Down” Routine
55. Use the Sleep Cycle App
56. Connect Your Location to Beeminder
57. Apply Sunscreen Year Round
58. Eliminate Bacteria in Your Kitchen
59. Sneeze into Your Arm, Not Your Hands
60. Perform a Safety Check
61. Practice Self-Education
62. Connect with “Celebrities” in Your Industry
63. Read a Book Chapter
64. Read a Summary of the World News
65. Learn a New Word
66. Draw in a Coloring Book
67. Do a Quick Doodle or Sketch
68. Work on a Puzzle (or Crossword Puzzle)
69. Get Outside
70. Watch an Inspiring Video
71. Add to Your “Bucket List”
72. Add to Your “Soon List”
73. Try Something New
74. Enjoy a Distraction
75. Fix Your Broken Windows
76. Make Your Bed
77. Clean One Refrigerator Shelf
78. Leave Shoes at the Door
79. Identify a “Home Base” for Every Possession
80. Put Away Three Items
81. Eliminate One Item
82. Clean Your Office Desk
83. File Away Loose Paperwork
84. Scan your Paperwork
85. Use a Standard File Naming Convention
86. Declutter your Smart Phone
87. Maintain a Cloud-Based To-Do List
88. Store Your Great Ideas
89. Follow a “Getting Out the Door” Routine
90. Say “No”
91. Do an Activity That Makes You Happy
92. Introduce Yourself to Someone New
93. Contact One Person on a Dating Site
94. Give a Compliment
95. Hug One Person
96. Text an Encouraging Message
97. Leave a Caring Note
98. Return Calls and Text Messages Within 24 Hours
99. Check Your Social Schedule
100. Share Something Inspiring
101. Learn a New Joke
102. Research a Fun Activity
103. Know What Your Significant Other Likes
104. Pause Before Discussing Sensitive Topics
105. Outline Your Thoughts Before a Difficult Conversation
106. Pause to Control Your Anger
107. Practice Active Listening
108. Photograph Important People (and Events)
109. Speak Words of Affirmation
110. Speak Words of Prayer
111. Practice Gratitude
112. Practice Deep Breathing
113. Practice Progressive Relaxation
114. Squeeze a Stress Ball
115. Practice Creative Visualization
116. Let Go of Regret
117. Shower Meditation
118. Practice Mindful Walking
119. Practice Aromatherapy
120. Drink a Calming Beverage (Like Tea)
121. Dress for Success
122. Practice Random Acts of Kindness
123. Serve Others
124. Schedule a Volunteering Activity
125. Donate to a Charitable Organization
126. Practice Recycling
127. Commit to Conservation-Friendly Activities

Keystone Habits

As discussed in the book, certain “Keystone Habits” can produce a positive change in many areas of your life. Here are a few that I suggest you build (and I've also included the “marker” of where you can find this small change in the Habit Stacking book.)

Habit Stacking Links & Resources

aTimeLogger Walkthrough (a Five-Step Process)

“What gets measured gets managed.” — Peter Drucker.

One of the best ways to use the habit stacking concept is to build small habits that encourage positive time management skills.

If you ruthlessly track your productivity, then you'll figure out where you're spending the majority of your time. This is important if you're someone who needs to work on a few key activities related to your job. And the simplest way to do this is to use an app like aTimeLogger.

The idea here is simple: You created different “buckets” or categories for your work. Then before beginning one of these tasks, you start the aTimeLogger timer to track that activity. If you commit to this habit for all your tasks, then you'll know (with 100% certainty) where you're spending the most time.

Finally, once you have this data, you can tweak your schedule to make sure you're spending as much time as possible on your most important tasks.

Here's a five-step process to make this happen:

Step #1: Download the aTimeLogger App

Go to the TimeLogger website and download the app to your IOS or Android phone. It costs a few dollars, but it's a one-time investment that can help you master your time management efforts. (I have no relationship with the people at aTimeLogger…I just like their app.)

Step #2: Create “Buckets” for Your Job

We all wear different hats for our jobs. So you should take a few minutes to think about the various tasks you complete daily and then create a category for each one. Also, think carefully about the tasks that are the most important to your success. Your goal is to spend as much time as possible doing these activities.

For instance, I have 15 categories of tasks, but the top two are the activities that will make or break my success:

1. Writing: Working on my books, writing marketing emails and creating blog content.
2. Book marketing: Creating bonus content (like this companion site), running book ads, and setting up automated email sequences.
3. Email/Slack: Responding to messages in Gmail and talking to team members in the Slack application.
4. Convos: Mastermind meetings, accountability sessions, podcast interviews, and networking. Basically, any “talking time” is included here.
5. DGH Marketing: Organizing blog content and scheduling articles for Develop Good Habits.
6. Admin: Filling out paperwork, tracking numbers, and basically any administrative activity.
7. Education: Taking an online course on a specific strategy or reading a book related to a concept I'm trying to learn.
8. APA Marketing: Completing tasks to promote our Authority Self Publishing brand.
9. Management: Mapping out processes for my virtual assistant or working with freelancers on a specific aspect of my business.
10. Social Media: Interacting on Facebook, Pinterest and occasionally Google Plus.
11. Podcast: Recording episodes for our Authority Self Publishing show.
12. Real Estate: Browsing for future property investments and setting up my budding real estate business.
13. Strategy: Identifying long-term plans and spending a few minutes each morning to determine my most important tasks.
14. APA Content: Creating videos, PDFs, and downloadables for the Authority Self-Publishing brand.
15. Physical Product Business: This is an idea that I started (and then abandoned). Frankly, I'd rather spend my free time on the real estate business.

Now, I'll admit 15 different categories is pretty extreme. You don't need to come up with this many buckets for your job, but I do recommend creating at least five or six for your job.

Here's how you'd add these categories in aTimeLogger:

Step #3: Remove Untracked Time

aTimeLogger has an option where you can track all of your time, not just the hours that you work. I don't think this helps from a time management perspective, so I suggest toggling this option to the “off” position:

Step #4: Start the Timer for ALL Activities

Whenever you begin a new task, press the timer button, and then select the activity you'd like to begin. Avoid the temptation to succumb to distractions and disruptions while you're focusing on this task. This is similar to the Pomodoro Technique mentioned in the book. You can get a surprising amount of things accomplished when you're in a “head-down work mode.”

Here's how to begin a task:

And here's how to select an activity type:

Step #5: Evaluate Your Tasks Every Week (or Month)

The most important step of this process is the evaluation period. I recommend reviewing the time that you track on a weekly and monthly basis. This is important because you want to see where your time is being spent and if you need to adjust your schedule.

As an example, my goal is to spend at least 30% of my time writing and 20% on book marketing. If I don't hit these metrics, then I look for ways to minimize my efforts in the other categories.

So in February 2017, I was able to hit these numbers:

But in March, I fell short in both categories. So, currently I'm looking for ways to reduce the amount of time spent on email and admin activities.

Todoist Walkthrough

The Todoist app is a program that I use to run my entire life. It's great for getting those tasks out of your head and into a central location that you can refer to daily.

In this walkthrough, I briefly highlight the best features of Todoist and how you can use it to remember both your tasks and habits.

155 Ways to Reward Yourself for Completing a Goal or Task

Positive Affirmations: 101 Life-Changing Thoughts To Practice Daily

Facebook Garage Sale Walkthrough

One of the financial habits that I mentioned in Habit Stacking is to check out Facebook groups in your area to find deeply discounted items (habit #29). Here's the simple process that you can use these groups.

Finally, if you need help with building habits, then check out this nine-step blueprint that walks you through the entire process of creating lifelong habits.)