78 habits to get more daily movement

Finding little ways to add extra exercise into your day

If you're looking to get more movement in your life, you've come to the right place. In this post, we'll discuss 21 habits that can help you be more active. With these habits, we've included examples on how to anchor them to an existing habit in your day, and ways to make them tiny, which will improve your chances for success.

We like to use the Tiny Habits Method to break our habits down and make them almost impossible NOT to do. The Tiny Habits Method is based on the work of Dr. BJ Fogg, who is a world-renowned habits expert. If you're not familiar with his work, we highly recommend checking out his book, Tiny Habits. In a nutshell, the Tiny Habits method says that you should make your habits as small and easy as possible, and anchor them to an existing trigger in your day. This makes them much easier to stick to, and eventually, they become second nature. You may have also heard about this concept in the book Atomic Habits, where author James Clear labels it "Habit Stacking."

Tiny Habits and Habit Stacking work great for getting movement in. ittle bits of movement throughout the day can add up and make a big impact on your overall health and wellbeing!

When we're talking about these Tiny Habits for exercise, we've started using the term "Movement Snacks" – little bits of exercise you can “bite off” to increase movement throughout the day. This is a way to get the benefit of daily movement quickly, even when you aren't feeling it. With movement, it's SO helpful to focus on small habits that you can incorporate into your day that don't require a lot of time or effort. When we anchor Movement Snacks to an existing behavior and make them small, we have a better chance of making the habit automatic, instead of something you have to think about.

For each of these examples, we use an anchor-habit that may already exist in your life. Then, we attach a new Tiny Habit, that takes less than 30 seconds. We make it small, so that it can become automatic for you. You can and WILL do extra credit and do more than what's written most days.

78 Tiny Habits to Add More Movement to Your Daily Life

78 Tiny Habits to Add More Movement to Your Daily Life

1. "After I use the restroom, I'll step out the front door."

2. "After a meeting ends, I'll stand up and stretch."

3. "After I finish a beverage, I'll walk away from my desk (and walk around the office)."

4. "After I put my shoes on, I will do 10 lunges (5 on each leg)."

5. "After I hit send on an email, I will take 10 steps around my office."

6. "After I arrive at the office, I will open the door to the stairs (to take the stairs instead of the elevator)."

7. "After I pull into the parking lot, I'll find a parking spot far from the entrance (so I can walk to the store)."

8. "After I hear the stop before mine called on the bus or train, I will pull the cord (to get off early and walk the rest of the way)."

9. "After I walk into my bedroom at night, I will set a timer for 30 seconds (and begin to stretch)."

10. "After I walk into my office, I will set a timer for 5 minutes (and drop into a squat)."

11. "After I put my coffee cup in the dishwasher, I will set a timer for 1 minute (and drop into a plank)."

12. "After I begin brushing my teeth in the morning, I will do 10 squats."

13. "After I start the microwave timer, I'll drop into a plank while my food cooks."

14. "After I turn on a podcast, I'll stand up (to walk/pace around instead of sit)."

15. "After I finish my work for the day, I will set a timer for 5 minutes (and do some jumping jacks/run in place)."

16. "After I walk into my room at night, I will set a timer for 2 minutes (and do some light stretching)."

17. "After I check Instagram, I will do 5 squats."

18. "After I post on Facebook, I will do 1 wall pushup."

19. "After I send an email, I will do 3 sit-ups."

20. "After I pet my dog, I will drop to the floor (to stretch)."

21. "After I take my break, I will walk around for 1 minute."

22. "After I park my car at home, I will walk around the block."

23. "After I get out of bed, I will do 10 jumping jacks."

24. "After I drink a glass of water, I will do 5 toe touches."

25. "After I put on my jacket, I will do a quick arm stretch."

26. "After I get off the phone, I will do 5 arm circles."

27. "After I shut the fridge door, I will do 5 squats."

28. "After I finish a snack, I will walk to the end of the driveway."

29. "After I put my laundry away, I will do 10 calf raises."

30. "After I open a book, I will stretch my arms overhead."

31. "After I check my email, I will do 5 lunges."

32. "After I hang up a coat, I will do 5 shoulder shrugs."

33. "After I close the microwave door, I will do 5 heel raises."

34. "After I step out of the shower, I will do 5 pushups against the sink."

35. "After I put away the groceries, I will stretch my legs."

36. "After I finish a cup of coffee, I will walk around the kitchen."

37. "After I close a notebook, I will do 5 tricep dips on a chair."

38. "After I switch off the TV, I will march in place for 1 minute."

39. "After I fill up my water bottle, I will do 5 leg lifts."

40. "After I close the garage door, I will stretch my back."

41. "After I wash my hands, I will do 5 lunges."

42. "After I turn off my alarm, I will do 5 squats."

43. "After I hang up the phone, I will stretch my neck."

44. "After I finish loading the dishwasher, I will do 5 toe touches."

45. "After I complete a task, I will do 5 jumping jacks."

46. "After I check my watch, I will roll my shoulders."

47. "After I finish a chapter, I will stretch my legs."

48. "After I turn off the lights, I will do 5 calf raises."

49. "After I take off my shoes, I will stretch my feet."

50. "After I send a text, I will do 5 knee lifts."

51. "After I zip up my coat, I will do 5 arm circles."

52. "After I step outside, I will stretch my arms."

53. "After I pick up a pen, I will stretch my fingers."

54. "After I log out of my computer, I will do 5 squats."

55. "After I finish a conversation, I will do 5 leg lifts."

56. "After I plug in my phone, I will do 5 lunges."

57. "After I put on my glasses, I will stretch my neck."

58. "After I turn off the computer, I will do 5 heel raises."

59. "After I open the window, I will do 5 shoulder shrugs."

60. "After I hang up my jacket, I will do 5 toe touches."

61. "After I put on my headphones, I will do 5 jumping jacks."

62. "After I check my calendar, I will do 5 arm circles."

63. "After I water the plants, I will stretch my back."

64. "After I close the book, I will do 5 lunges."

65. "After I sign a document, I will stretch my arms."

66. "After I pack my bag, I will do 5 calf raises."

67. "After I open the mail, I will do 5 shoulder shrugs."

68. "After I feed the cat, I will do 5 toe touches."

69. "After I brush my hair, I will do 5 leg lifts."

70. "After I adjust my chair, I will stretch my neck."

71. "After I shut down the computer, I will do 5 heel raises."

72. "After I refill the soap dispenser, I will do 5 arm circles."

73. "After I stack the papers, I will do 5 squats."

74. "After I feed the dog, I will do 5 lunges."

75. "After I turn on the fan, I will stretch my arms."

76. "After I close the blinds, I will do 5 toe touches."

77. "After I set the table, I will do 5 calf raises."

78. "After I adjust my glasses, I will stretch my neck."

How to Find a Micro Habit That Can Work for You

There are many ways to get more movement into your day, but there is no "right" way. Find what works for you and do your best to stick with it. The above examples show ways to make your habit small and examples of triggers/anchors in your day that could prompt you to take action. But please note, habit recipes are personal to you and your routine. Think about your day and jot down potential anchors. The more specific, the better.

More Example Anchors: Your Existing Habits That Can Trigger Your New Exercise Habit

• Standing up out of bed

• Flushing the toilet

• Drying your hands

• Putting your toothbrush back in its holder

• Walking into the kitchen

• Turning the coffee maker on

• Opening the front door

• Walking into your office

• Opening your laptop

• Shutting the dishwasher

• Turning on the tea kettle

• Hanging up your keys

• Picking up a dog leash

• Feeding your cat

When it comes to anchors, the key is to be as specific as possible. For example, rather than saying "after I get home from work," try "after I hang up my keys." Now that you have a list of potential anchors, it's time to start thinking about which ones will work well with your movement goals. Think about what type of tiny movement you could squeeze in with those anchors. Start with a couple that happen at different times of the day. Write them down, commit do doing them, and see which ones work. You will likely need to change things up to make it really fit. There's a lot of trial and error.

Extra Help on Habits

The whole point is to get some extra movement, right? So keep your bar for success nice and low. Any extra movement is a WIN and can have an impact on your health! We've given some examples, and this should get you off to a good start.

To make your journey even smoother, consider using HabitGPT from Shelpful. HabitGPT is designed to help you stick to your habits and keep you moving forward, even on those days when motivation is low. With personalized reminders and gentle nudges, HabitGPT can guide you to celebrate small wins, keep track of your progress, and adjust your habits as needed.

Whether you're aiming to add more "Movement Snacks" to your day or build entirely new habits, HabitGPT is like having a digital coach right in your pocket. It’s real-time support to ensure you’re always on track. Plus, with HabitGPT, you can take advantage of a free one-week trial to see how it can enhance your habit-building efforts.

Ready to make those habits stick? Start your free trial today and let HabitGPT support your journey to a healthier, more active lifestyle! You can ALSO add a real-human Accountability Coach to your chat for that loving peer pressure that can help you actually stick with things.

When it comes to reaching those bigger goals, we've seen the support of an accountability partner work very well. In fact, a 2018 North Carolina State Universitystudy of 704 people taking part in a 15-week online weight-loss program found that participants with buddies lost more weight and waist inches than those who took the course without buddy support.