Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy
A few weeks ago, I started adding a small little thing to my morning routine. I’m making myself a warm cup of lemon water. I’m doing it in tandem with other self-care practices I do each morning. The author that wrote Atomic Habits, James Clear, calls it habit stacking. Habit stacking is, “The process that involves grouping together small activities into a routine which you link to a habit already set in your day. This makes the routine memorable and anchors your new habits to an existing trigger.” Since I’m already doing some great habits, it makes sense to add something else good into the mix.
James Clear also writes about his four step process when creating habits and asking yourself the following:
“How can I make it obvious?” - cue
“How can I make it attractive?” - craving
“How can I make it easy?” - response
“How can I make it satisfying?” - reward
I’ve known for a long time that drinking lemon water in the morning has many health benefits and even though I’ve done it in the past I’ve ended up quitting without realizing. I’ve run out of lemons and then forget to buy them, therefore delaying the morning cup. The real issue is I’ve never established a clear routine. James also goes on to explain that successful pattern building is only found in mastering the art of showing up. This is more important than the habit. You must lay the foundation before the routine can be mastered or improved.
I’m adding the warm lemon water as a follow-up to my morning wake-up routine (cue) and prelude to my final morning ritual. Since I’m sandwiching it between a few already existing practices (craving) this makes it easy to execute (response). I’ve been buying bags of lemons to pre-cut and seed, making the morning task easier. Feeling the warm lemony liquid run down my throat is soothing, satisfying, and good for me (reward).
Maybe for you it’s not adding lemon water to your morning, but some other practice that lights you up or you look forward to. Maybe it’s high-fiving yourself in the mirror or saying something encouraging to kick-start your day. Maybe it’s the treadmill, yoga, or meditation that feels right to you. I encourage you to try adding a self-care practice to your day. Before you know it, a routine will be established and you’ll be saying to yourself, “This is easy peasy lemon squeezy.” BOOM!
xoxox…..Sheryl
PS … pucker up!