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Keystone habits: the one that pulls the others

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Some habits do double duty

The idea of a keystone habit (from Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit) is that some habits drag a whole load of others along behind them. Start exercising regularly and people often find they eat better, sleep more and procrastinate less — not because they planned to, but because the one habit reset the tone. Find your keystone and you get a lot of leverage from a single change.

The trick is picking the right one and actually keeping it — which is where tracking earns its place. This tool lets you mark a habit as your keystone (it calls it your core habit) and hold yourself to it daily, so you can watch whether it really does pull the others up. Just try it: pick the one habit you suspect changes everything else, and track it for a month.

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Common questions

What is a keystone habit?
A habit that triggers positive change in other areas without you forcing it — exercise, a consistent sleep time, or daily planning are common ones. Nail the keystone and other habits tend to follow.
How do I find my keystone habit?
Look for the habit that, when you do it, makes the rest of your day go better. For many people it's morning movement or a set wake time. Track a candidate for a few weeks and see what it drags along with it.
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