Anchor it to something you already do

Today's action · 5 min

Pick one thing you do every single day without fail, like brushing your teeth or boiling the kettle. Do your tiny habit straight after it today.

Why it works

In a small study by Judah, Gardner and Aunger, people asked to floss after brushing built stronger flossing habits than those who flossed before, and were still flossing more months later. An existing routine gives a new habit a reliable cue. It was an exploratory study, so treat it as a helpful pointer rather than a law.

Source: Forming a flossing habit: an exploratory study of the psychological determinants of habit formation (Judah, Gardner & Aunger, 2013)