Stabit Hacking or Habit Stacking...It Depends

Need to "get into the habit" read on

I exited Zoom and quickly wrote down a note before my over-excited ADHD brain lost focus. I had just met with a new ADHD coaching client, and I felt strongly that habit stacking would be integral to our work together. However, I mistakenly wrote "stabit hacking" instead. I giggled at my error and then wondered if anyone had trademarked "stabit hacking" yet. Could this be my million-dollar business idea? Should I start the Shark Tank application now?

“Earth to Franki!” I reminded myself as I recalled the task at hand and corrected my note to read “habit stacking.” I was so excited to introduce this concept in a neurodivergent-friendly way to my new client next week that I decided to share a little taste of this life hack with you, too!

What is habit stacking?

Habit stacking, also known as stabit hacking (but only in my brain), is the concept of pairing a desired new habit with an existing automatic habit in your life. Now I know what you are thinking:

“Franki, I have ADHD; I am a hot mess express. I have no automatic habits.”

“Challenge accepted!” I retort.

I’m confident that you have a list of many habits you’d like to become automatic, i.e., doing the laundry, folding the laundry, putting it away, and organizing the laundry room. Why is it always the d*mn laundry? However, I am also confident that most people have at least one automatic habit. For me, it’s all about the coffee.

Every morning, I wake up, grumble about being awake, whine about it to my husband, get annoyed with my teenagers for also complaining about being awake, and THEN… (drumroll please) I make THE COFFEE! I don’t think about it at all. It doesn’t need to be added to a to-do list or Google Calendar or require a timer. This is a classic example of a completely automatic habit.