Tiny Habits Week
Goal
Create a new habit in seven days with BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits method: no willpower, making it so small you can't fail, anchoring it to something you already do, and celebrating it. Each day builds one piece of the method.
Day 1 — Choose the habit and make it tiny
Micro-habit: Choose a habit you want to build and shrink it to its smallest version: not "exercise", but "two squats"; not "meditate", but "one deep breath".
Duration: 3 minutes.
Why it works: A tiny habit doesn't depend on motivation, because it costs almost nothing. And what takes root is repetition, not size.
Tip: If just thinking about it feels like a drag, it's still too big. Make it smaller.
Day 2 — Find your anchor
Micro-habit: Identify a routine you already do every single day without fail (putting the coffee on, brushing your teeth, sitting down in the car) and use it as a trigger.
Duration: 2 minutes.
Why it works: The existing routine acts as an automatic reminder. You won't depend on memory or an alarm.
Tip: Choose a stable anchor at the time of day when you want the new habit.
Day 3 — Write your recipe
Micro-habit: Write the formula: "After [anchor], I will [tiny habit]". For example: "After putting the coffee on, I will do two squats".
Duration: 2 minutes.
Why it works: The formula links the trigger and the behavior into a clear instruction that the day itself activates.
Tip: Put it where you'll see it for the first few days, next to the anchor.
Day 4 — Add the celebration
Micro-habit: Run the formula and, right as you finish, celebrate: a "yes!", a smile, a victory gesture.
Duration: 1 minute.
Why it works: Feeling good immediately afterward is what wires the habit in. Positive emotion fixes the behavior.
Tip: Don't wait to "feel proud" weeks later: celebrate in that very second.
Day 5 — Repeat without increasing
Micro-habit: Run your tiny habit and its celebration, resisting the temptation to demand more of yourself.
Duration: 1-2 minutes.
Why it works: The goal of this phase is consistency, not volume. Keeping the habit tiny makes sure you don't fail.
Tip: If you do more on a given day, great; but the commitment is only the minimum.
Day 6 — Let it grow on its own
Micro-habit: Today, let the habit grow naturally if you feel like it: do more repetitions without forcing yourself.
Duration: Variable.
Why it works: Once the minimum has taken root, you almost always do more on your own initiative. Growth is a gift, not a requirement.
Tip: Even if it doesn't grow, you've already won: you kept the consistency, and that's what creates the habit.
Day 7 — Review and adjust
Micro-habit: Look back over the week: did the anchor work? was the habit small enough? did you celebrate? Adjust whatever needs it.
Duration: 5 minutes.
Why it works: Fine-tuning the design (a better anchor, a smaller habit, a more felt celebration) is what turns an attempt into a stable habit.
Tip: If something failed, the fix is almost always to make it even smaller.
Closing reflection
Write one line: "After ___, I now do ___". Tiny Habits dismantles the myth that change demands willpower: it demands design. Start absurdly small, every day, and watch how far it goes.