Think about the domino effect that would happen if you went jogging in the morning? After the run, you stretch, you shower, make yourself a healthy breakfast and then the rest of the day, you feel a lot more energetic and productive.
What you will notice in this example is that the one habit of running in the morning can have a chain reaction impact on multiple areas of your life. Habits are contagious, and if you change a few critical ones–such as exercising in the morning instead of mindlessly scrolling social media on the phone, you can begin to do a larger overhaul of your life.
In this case, starting to exercise in the morning would be considered to be a keystone habit.
What is a Keystone Habit?
Keystone habits can be defined as “small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives” according to Charles Duhigg in his book, The Power of Habit.
A "keystone" in architecture is the stone that sits in the very center of an arch and aids in the interlocking of all of the other stones. If a keystone were to be removed, the arch would collapse since it is a crucial element of the whole construction. Likewise, a keystone habit is a fundamental part of any healthy habit routine.
So, in essence, keystone habits are the beginning of a chain reaction that leads to the formation of other desirable behaviors. They start a chain reaction in your life that has several beneficial consequences. There are certain activities you may do on a daily basis that will only make it easier to succeed in other parts of your life.
You might already practice some keystone habits, even if you’re not aware of it, but more importantly, if you know how to and how long it takes to develop these habits, you can greatly improve your health, professional life, and relationships in order to start living your best life.
Now, not all keystone habits are positive. Think of the negative impacts that could occur in your life if you started binging Netflix shows for the whole night. Your physical health, mental health, relationships, and career would all probably suffer as a result of this.
This implies that it's critical to understand how one activity you do on a regular basis can affect the rest of your life, and we want to make sure our every-day behaviors are taking us towards becoming the greatest version of ourselves rather than hurting us in the long term. If you recognize and adopt good keystone habits, you will notice that your life can improve dramatically because of one small change.
Charles Duhigg on Keystone Habits
What causes you to do something over and over again and it become a habit?
In the book, The Power of Habit, author Charles Duhigg found that there are three elements to every habit: a cue, a routine, and a reward. This is often referred to as a habit loop. Once this loop is formed, you start to crave the reward that you get from engaging in the routine–and that craving begins when you’re triggered.
The most common triggers fall into five categories:
A place
A specific time of day
Other people
An emotion
A preceding behavior or action
If you have a habit of running every morning when you wake up, the trigger (or cue) that leads you to do that is probably the sound of your alarm. Your alarm sends your brain into an automatic processing state, meaning it would actually take effort for you to dispute the trigger, while it would feel natural to move forward to get that feeling of satisfaction after completing your run.
This reward is why your brain determines the actions you took leading up to it are worth remembering in the future. The reward provides positive reinforcement for the behavior, which increases the likelihood you will do the actions again in the future.
When thinking about how powerful your habits are, consider this: almost 40% of everything that you do is a result of your habits, not your decisions.
Charles Duhigg explains that a keystone habit is particularly powerful because it can change your self-image. You may be more inclined to notice something else in your life that could be enhanced if you develop a good habit, and you may begin working on additional positive changes.
Duhigg argues that the power of habits is especially important because people can make any change that they want to if they’re able to recognize this framework. You can also figure out what your habit loop is attempting to fulfill by identifying your established behavior.
I came to realise that whenever I crave for a late morning snack it was not because I was hungry. It was more of the desire of getting out of the office. So every time I have the craving, I will go out for a short walk instead.
All this to say, whether you’re trying to break a bad habit or create a positive one, knowing the lifecycle of a habit is critical.
So let’s look at some keystone habits that you can adopt that will have a positive, widespread ripple effect on your life.
11 Examples of Keystone Habits that Can Change Your Life
1. Make Your Bed
According to Dr. Randall Bell, a socio-economist who has spent nearly three decades studying high-achieving people, making your bed every morning can inspire you to have a productive mindset for the rest of the day and spark other productive behaviors. Doing something as easy as making your bed can increase your efficiency at work and help you get more accomplished.
Further, in a commencement speech given at the University of Texas by Navy Seal William H. McRaven, he stated that making your bed every morning allows you to accomplish that first task every day, which will give you a sense of pride and encourage you to do more tasks.
As Admiral McRaven points out, making your bed sets you up for success throughout the day. At the end of the day, you will realize that completing that one thing led to the completion of many more.
2.Practice Gratitude
A lot of times, it is much easier to see what you don’t have than what you do have. People are so busy thinking about the things that they don’t have that they forget to see everything that is around them.
Practicing gratitude is essential if you want to have a peaceful mind and live in high spirits. Take some time every morning–maybe 15 minutes–to write down the things you’re grateful for that day. Put your problems aside and just focus on the positive.
Once you can make this keystone habit commonplace, you will find out its effects spill over to all the other areas of your life. You will be happier, more mindful, and become quicker to notice the blessings in your life.
3.Exercise in the Morning
If you put forth the effort to go to bed at a reasonable time so you can wake up early and get to the gym before having to rush off to work, how likely would you be to then do something that would completely undo the steps you just took toward your best health? In other words, if you’re going to make the effort to work out in the morning, you’re not going to turn around and hit the drive-through for a deluxe breakfast.
Furthermore, when you exercise in the morning, you’re likely to notice an improvement in your mood. You will feel good after working out–like you already accomplished something. Then you will feel better about facing anything else that comes your way after that.
4. Cooking
If you start a habit of cooking your own food, you will gain control over what and when you eat, which will prevent you from settling for unhealthy food that is quick and easy. When you build a habit of cooking for yourself, you’re setting yourself up to have the power to control what goes into your body, which can lead to a huge variety of positive impacts on your health.
5. Plan the week ahead
What you do with your time has a direct impact on your overall success. Do you use your time efficiently? Or do you just do things as they come?
In my opinion, planning the week ahead is a keystone habit that let me stay focus for the entire week. I am aware of the key tasks to complete and I know that I am in control.
If you’re able to manage your time in this way (or any other technique that you may use), it will have a large impact on the amount of work you’re able to get completed and can help you stop working and do what you want to do because everything is planned for.
6. Protect your Sleep!
Yes, we all wish we had more waking hours during the day to get things accomplished. That’s not going to happen. However, when you get high-quality sleep for 7 or 8 hours a night, your mind and body will be set up and ready to tackle the next day. This means you’ll have more energy and mental awareness to do the work that you need to do and do it well.
Quality Sleep is also a keystone habit that leads to many other benefits such as eating healthier, making more sound decisions, maintaining a healthy weight, and reducing stress.
7. Write Down What You Eat
Studies have found that keeping a food journal can help you lose twice as much weight as you would lose without a food journal. This is because people who keep a record of what they eat are able to go back and find routines and triggers in their eating habits.
With this information, people are able to plan for the day because they know at what times they will be hungry and they could pack a healthy snack to eat at that time. Food journaling created a sense of structure that allowed other good habits to flourish as well.
8. Sticking to a Routine
This might mean going to sleep at the same time every night or doing the exact same thing every morning to get ready for your day. Either way, having consistency creates a huge amount of positive effects.
According to Duhigg, the way that you organize your routines has a big impact on your health, productivity, happiness, and financial security. For example, if you wake up and run out of the door every day to get 45 minutes of cardio in, you will be setting yourself up to be more productive during the day, which could, in turn, set you up for more financial security as your boss is noticing how much more quality work you are producing.
9. Meditating
Doing some meditation in the morning can help you stay calm for the remainder of the day. Also, meditation has been linked to improved memory and awareness, a reduction in stress levels, and a higher sense of motivation to set goals.
Because of these connections, meditating can be a keystone habit that may lead to reduced anxiety, more motivation to get your work done well, and a greater sense of urgency to set goals.
Final Thoughts on Keystone Habits
To figure out the keystone habits that you may already be practicing, consider any of your behaviors that have a domino effect. Let me know in the comment section below, what do you do that changes your other behaviors without inputting extra effort?
Consider adopting some of the keystone habits listed above into your life and see what other areas of your life start to improve.
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