What Are Tiny Habits?
Let’s shrink those habits down and start making those changes!
Here at Shelpful we talk A LOT about Tiny Habits because they really do work! Building healthy habits, and making intentional changes in your life can feel extremely overwhelming when looking at them as a whole. Taking a new habit you want to achieve and shrinking it down to make it less intimidating can make building new habits that much easier. Read to learn how to build good habits and increase your productivity!
Definition of tiny habits
Tiny Habits ® is a behavior design method developed by Stanford professor and world-renowned habit expert BJ Fogg. In his book Tiny Habits, Fogg focuses on making small, easy changes in daily routines to create long-lasting habits. The method involves breaking down larger goals into smaller, more manageable behaviors that can be accomplished in just a few minutes each day.
To create a Tiny Habit, you start by identifying a specific behavior you want to change and then breaking it down into a simple, easy-to-do action that can be completed in under 30 seconds. For example, if your goal is to start exercising regularly, your Tiny Habit might be to do one push-up each morning.
After choosing your Tiny Habit, attach it to an existing habit. This will be your Anchor (or trigger) to do the new Tiny Habit. Establishing an anchor helps you build the new habit into your daily routine without having to make major changes to your schedule. For example, you might attach your push-up habit to your morning habit of brushing your teeth. We tie your NEW behavior to an EXISTING behavior to make it easier for your brain to make this an automatic thing. When we place the new habit within an existing cluster of behaviors, our brain doesn’t have to spin up a whole new neural network to do the new habit.
Another key step to the Tiny Habits method is that you celebrate your success each time you complete your Tiny Habit. This positive reinforcement helps to build motivation and reinforce the behavior, making it more likely that you'll continue to do it over time. Over time, Tiny Habits can build momentum and lead to bigger changes in behavior. By focusing on small, achievable goals, you can build confidence and develop the skills you need to make lasting changes in your life.
When forming new habits, we like to use this simple tiny habit equation:
Anchor (existing habit) + Tiny Habit (a miniature version of your new habit) + Celebration (allowing yourself to feel good)
Tiny Habits to Get You Started:
Here are some of our favorite tiny habits to use as inspiration for your own or just to get you kickstarted on your tiny habit journey!
After I turn on the light in my office, I will set a 5-minute timer (to tidy up and reset my space)
After I scoot in my chair at my desk, I will have a sip of water.
After writing my to-do list, I will draw a star next to the three most important tasks.
After brushing my teeth, I will complete one task in the bathroom (this is a great time to tidy your counter).
After I hear my alarm, I will put one foot on the floor.
After hearing my alarm, I will take a sip of water.
After I turn off my alarm, I will think of three things I am grateful for.
After getting dressed, I will put my dirty clothes in the laundry basket.
After I put my toast in the toaster, I will take my vitamins and supplements.
After I dry my face, I will say one positive affirmation
After I sit down in bed, I will pick up my book.
Tiny Habits Resources
Building new habits is HARD, no matter how tiny you make them, the task can still feel incredibly daunting. Sometimes the hardest part can be leaving those bad habits behind. Don’t do it alone! It’s ok to ask for help, it's still YOU building that habit in the end. Sometimes all it takes is a helpful nudge! The real-human buddies at Shelpful help their members with sticking to their daily goals with reminders and celebrating even the smallest wins. Shelpers can help you turn big-picture goals into tiny habits and help build those tiny habits into your routine. They will then check in periodically, to hold you accountable.
An accountability buddy is a massive help, especially at the beginning of your habit-building journey, explore accountability buddies to find the right fit for you. Maybe you don’t need an accountability buddy but still need some extra help? Check out our Shelpful groups where you can work with others working toward similar goals with a coach. We also highly recommend doing our 90-min workshop to learn the methodology behind Tiny Habits.
Maybe you fell in love with healthy habit-building and tiny habits just like us. Dive into the habit world to learn how to best build your own habits to achieve your goals! We recommend habits books like Tiny Habits By Dr. BJ Fogg as we mentioned before. He really breaks down the science behind each aspect of the tiny habit method and gives you great ways to utilize it.
Here are a few other Habit-Building books to check out:
Little Wonders by Angie DeGeronimo
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Habit Stacking by S.J. Scott
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Mini Habits by Steven Guise
Take inspiration from other Shelpful Blogs about tiny habits and different ways you can use them in your life. Whether you want to drink more water, to practice mindfulness or you want to find out how you can use timers to increase your productivity, we are here.
Let us know how you incorporate tiny habits into your life! Message or tag us on Instagram / Tik Tok.
