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Habit Stacks
Habit stacking links a new behaviour to something you already do — then chains those links into a rhythm you can run without willpower.
The core move is simple: after [current habit], I will [new habit]. One anchor, one addition. String enough anchors together and you have a stack — a fixed sequence that carries you from body to mind to plan without deciding what comes next.
Four kinds of habits
A good stack mixes four kinds of steps. The emoji in the examples below tell you which is which — a stack that is all reflection never moves your body, and a stack that is all action never aims the day.
- ✍️ Journaling / reflection — answer a question in writing: "What's the most important thing to get done today?"
- 📊 Tracking — put a number on something: "Track my productivity out of 10."
- ⚡ Action — do something right now: take your meds, three deep breaths.
- 📅 Schedule — plan something: book the wind-down, solidify the calendar.
Three rhythms, three altitudes
Founders need more than a morning routine. Run stacks at different cadences: daily to ground and aim the day, weekly to set direction and protect the calendar, monthly to zoom out on goals and life design. The weekly stack can absorb the monthly layer on the first Monday of each month — one trigger, two depths.
- Daily — short pre-work sequence: health, reflection, planning, handoff to deep work.
- Weekly — Monday morning: projects, calendar, intentions, life domains, then into the daily stack.
- Monthly — first Monday add-on: retro, vision board, quarterly and monthly goal review.
Example: daily pre-work stack
Run this before work starts. Keep the order fixed so each step triggers the next.
- 💊 Take your meds
- 🍅 Start a pomodoro
- 🫁 3 deep breaths
- 📊 How am I today — energy, excitement, calm, out of 10
- ✍️ Affirmation: I am leading an awesome life and I'm just getting started
- ✍️ How can I make today 1% better — and bring more joy to it, for myself and the world?
- 📅 Check projects and calendar
- ✍️ Reflect on yesterday's goals, then set goals and tasks for today
- 📅 Schedule the wind-down
- 💌 Share today's traffic light with your co-founder
Example: Monday morning stack
Weekly zoom-out before the daily pre-work stack. On the first Monday of the month, run the monthly layer first (below).
- 🍅 Start a pomodoro
- 💭 Vision board, then read through quarterly and monthly goals
- 📌 Go through projects
- ✍️ This week will be a success if…
- 💢 What might trigger me this week?
- 📅 Go through the calendar and solidify as much as possible
- ⚖️ Life domains check — romance, work, social, alone time (min. half day), culture, health, food
- 🎯 Set weekly tasks and intentions — fun, relationships, being productive, chilling
- ▶️ Straight into the daily pre-work stack
Example: monthly layer
Runs on the first Monday, before the rest of the weekly stack. Keeps long-horizon goals visible without a separate ritual.
- 🪞 Monthly retro — highs and lows, lessons, people, decisions made, what you're contemplating and looking forward to
- 💭 Vision board review
- 🎯 Read through quarterly and monthly goals
- ▶️ Then continue with the Monday morning stack
Copy the shape, not every item. Swap in your anchors — medication, journaling app, co-founder check-in — and trim until the stack fits in the time you actually have. A stack you skip is worse than a shorter one you keep.
Source / credit
James Clear · Atomic Habits · Habit-stacking concept adapted for Outstride OS founder rhythms
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