Stupid small
A mini habit is a good behaviour shrunk until it's almost impossible to fail, like one press-up or fifty words. The size is the point, because you can manage it on your worst day.
Habits
Mini Habits
by Stephen Guise
What if the goal was one press-up?
In late 2012 Stephen Guise felt guilty about skipping yet another workout. On a whim he set himself a single press-up. He did it, then a few more, and ended up exercising properly. Mini Habits turns that one press-up into a method.
Hear a sample · read by Laura
What you'll learn
- Stupid small
- Willpower over motivation
- Everything extra is a bonus
- Keep the bar low
The key ideas in Mini Habits
Willpower over motivation
Guise distrusts motivation because it rises and falls with your mood. He relies on willpower and asks for so little that it never runs out. His case leans on ego depletion, a theory large replication studies have since seriously questioned.
Everything extra is a bonus
Once the mini habit is done, you've succeeded for the day. Anything more counts as bonus reps. Some days one press-up stays one press-up, and that's still a win. Having started, though, Guise found he usually carried on.
Keep the bar low
Even when you're regularly doing far more than the requirement, Guise says to leave the requirement where it is. Put your high expectations into the bonus reps. Raise the daily minimum and the old resistance comes straight back.
Lines worth underlining
One press-up
Stephen Guise got fit by starting with a goal of just one press-up a day.
Too small to fail
Make the goal so small it feels silly. Then there's no reason left to skip it.
Willpower
A tiny goal needs very little willpower, so you can meet it even on your worst day.
Bonus reps
Once you've started, you'll often keep going. Anything past the tiny goal is a bonus.
Stay small
Don't raise the goal when it gets easy. Keep it tiny and let the extra happen by itself.
A story from the book
Fifty words a day
Guise used the same trick on writing and reading. His daily requirement was fifty words and a couple of pages. On most days he went well past both, and on the bad days the tiny minimum kept the streak alive.
One thing to try
Shrink one habit
Choose a habit you've failed to keep and shrink it until it feels silly. One sit-up, or one sentence in a journal. Do it every day this week, and count anything extra as a bonus, never the new minimum.
There's more to Mini Habits
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. Mini Habits comes with a Spot the Trap case to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appQuestions about Mini Habits
What is Mini Habits about?
What if the goal was one press-up? In late 2012 Stephen Guise felt guilty about skipping yet another workout. On a whim he set himself a single press-up. He did it, then a few more, and ended up exercising properly. Mini Habits turns that one press-up into a method.
What are the key ideas in Mini Habits?
Stupid small; Willpower over motivation; Everything extra is a bonus; Keep the bar low.
What's one thing to try from Mini Habits?
Choose a habit you've failed to keep and shrink it until it feels silly. One sit-up, or one sentence in a journal. Do it every day this week, and count anything extra as a bonus, never the new minimum.
Is Mini Habits on Knotd?
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from Mini Habits in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Spot the Trap case to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
