Blog - Habit Stacking

I’ve always recommended that an easy way to incorporate a bit of training in a busy day is to do a little while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil…

I tend to drink tea and coffee throughout the day, so what I did was I started training my dog when I was waiting for the kettle to boil. Because I was putting together 2 ‘events’ if you like, to form a new habit, it didn't feel as if I had to schedule a time to train my puppy.

I also used a bit of ‘habit stacking’ when I ruptured a tendon in my foot… I needed to do physio twice a day and, because I brush my teeth twice a day, I combined the activities to form one habit… it meant that at one point I was brushing my teeth while standing on one leg, which did feel kind of weird, but at least it meant I did my physio twice a day, every day.

If you want to read more about habit stacking, Jim Clear’s book called Atomic Habits is brilliant, and up until I read that book, I didn't realize habit stacking was ‘a thing’. I just thought, let's train an extended sit-stay while I'm doing the ironing or let's do a little bit of sit-stand-down training while I’m waiting for the kettle to boil.

So, to make keeping up with regular training easier for yourself, take 5 minutes with a cuppa to work out what daily habits you've got and how you can use them to incorporate a bit of training with your dog 🐾

first published 21 September 2024

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