Lately, I have been pursuing three mini habits with great success. It's four if you count
exercise, but that's already a habit-I go to the gym 3x a week. I still track it weekly, but it
is no longer a willpower challenge. My brain is more likely to encourage exercise than resist it
now.
I would not recommend that you pursue any more than four mini habits at a time(and four might be
too much). While these habits are individually easy to accomplish, the larger the quantity, the
more your focus will be divided amongst them and the more likely you'll neglect or forget one of
them. Not only that, but imagine having to meet 100 tiny requirements every day. Yikes! There is
a willpower cost for having to do a certain number of things every day. Two or three mini habits
will be the sweet spot for many people.
Here are the habit plans to choose from...
One Week Flexible Plan(recommended)
In this plan, you start with one habit and use the Mini Habits system for one week. Then you
evaluate and choose a long-term plan.
Evaluation at one week: Do you feel burnt out? Do you find yourself easily surpassing your
requirement every day?Are you crushing it and craving more good habits? Depending on how
challenging it is for you, you can stay with one or add more. Since not all habits are of equal
difficulty, defining a set number that works for everyone isn't possible or wise. Also keep in
mind that the more mini habits you have, the less likely you are to overachieve in them.
Finally, consider what your most difficult day would be like. Maybe you're driving all day on
the road or preparing for a big party-can you complete your mini habits then? Don't imagine the
easiest days; imagine the hardest days. If you can do something on the day you're tired,
stressed, and very busy, you can do it every day.
Now, if you feel like your willpower can handle an extra mini habit (or two),add it! Notice that
I didn't mention your schedule, because your mini habits should take you less than ten minutes
combined to complete (if you don't decide to do extra). Everyone has ten minutes to spare for
something important.
The one-week flexible plan is recommended for people who want to try the Mini Habits system,
but aren't sure yet what's best for them. This plan will automatically turn into one of the
other plans.
Warning: It's important to mark the oneweek mark on your calendar to make a firm decision that
day about your future plans. Don't allow a gap!