Micro habits are small behaviors that achieve big results through lasting change, improving your personal and professional life.

Like many of us, you may have experienced the challenge of starting a new habit, only to find yourself struggling to maintain it after a few days.

The most effective micro habits take only two to three minutes and seamlessly integrate into your daily routine.

Remember, no single habit can magically transform your life if it demands too much mental energy.

A small habit is just that tiny repeatable action you can do consistently. Think of it like planting a seed in the beginning; it's just a small action, it's barely noticeable, but over time with consistency, it grows into something much bigger.

The Science Behind Micro Habits

Once a habit is formed, decision-making related to that habit slows down and stops, thereby saving energy. Between 40% and 95% of what we do daily falls into the habit category.

Micro-habits tend to have a compounding effect because they trigger the brain’s dopamine response, which is the brain’s reward chemical, explained Dr. Gina Cleo, PhD. Habit Researcher Dietitian, the director of the Habit Change Institute in Australia.

“So that reinforces the habit loop — when we get a hit of dopamine, our brain’s like, ‘whoa, that felt good, we should do that again,’ and so our brain starts to make us want to do that habit again,” Dr. Cleo said.

Our brains are wired to form habits through a cue, routine, and reward loop. Once a habit is formed, it becomes automatic, requiring much less effort to maintain over time. That's why small habits are so powerful. They sneak into our routines and start making a difference without us even realizing. Small habits can trigger a domino effect, leading to more significant changes over time.

“Many people struggle with motivation because they set goals that are too ambitious or require drastic lifestyle changes,” said Israa Nasir, a therapist and author of “Toxic Productivity.”

This is where a certain type of approach ― known as a micro-habit ― comes into play.

“Micro-habits remove that overwhelm,” Nasir said, noting that they “improve well-being by reducing the gap between intention and action.”

Discipline & Micro Habits

The goal is to hack the brain into developing new micro-habits on autopilot. However, that requires performing at least 66 times. Until then, discipline holds the process together.

You need a system to ensure you consistently practice the small actions until they become second nature.

A powerful technique for making small habits stick is habit stacking. This concept was created by SJ Scott in his book "Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes that Take 5 Minutes or Less," published in 2014. In this book, he outlines the idea of creating routines by linking small habits together into a sequence, which makes it much easier to adopt new habits by attaching them to existing ones.

To use this idea it's just a matter of attaching your new habit to an existing routine that you already do automatically, for example: to make journaling a consistent part of your morning routine; you can stack it on to having your morning coffee, so every time you brew your coffee you automatic pull your journal and start writing 5 min, and then over time, it becomes just so automatic that you don't even think about it, it becomes a natural extension of your coffee ritual.

How can just a few minutes bring more positivity into my life?

It’s all about how you spend those minutes. If you commit to doing something to improve your life, whether that is stretching, meditating, or making a calming cup of tea, those minutes could be the most important part of your day. That’s the beauty of micro habits! They don’t require much of your time, yet they greatly impact your life.

10 Examples of micro habits to consider:

List 3 things you're grateful for.
Meditate or pray for one minute every day.
Make your bed every day.
Write or journal for five minutes.
Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up.
Read one or two pages each day.
Put things back or wash them when you’re finished using them.
Walk for 5-10 minutes.
Go outside for 5 minutes.
Pause and take some mindful breaths.

Micro habits require very little commitment, making them a great way to start a new habit if you’ve felt overwhelmed or intimidated. Small steps can lead to really great results when you’re consistent with your efforts.

What Are Micro Habits?