Bitesized Strategies: Stacking Habits - Small Attachments Create Sustainable Change

ADHDers often approach self-improvement by attempting complete life overhauls, but lasting change is more likely when small positive behaviours are attached to routines that already exist. 

Drawing on insights from psychologist Matthew Campbell, this episode explores the strategy of "stacking" — connecting healthy actions to established habits so they require less motivation, less memory, and less effort to maintain. 

Key Points

• Large-scale overhauls tend to rely heavily on motivation, which is difficult to sustain for ADHD brains. 
• Stacking involves attaching a small healthy behaviour to an existing routine.  The goal is attachment, not addition. 
• Existing routines act as reliable cues, reducing the need to remember new habits. 
• Research shows habits are more likely to stick when linked to existing behavioural cues. 
• Stacking reduces cognitive load and supports executive functioning challenges. 

DR MATT CAMPBELL S2E41: https://adhdifference.nz/s2e41-why-self-care-feels-harder-than-it-should-guest-dr-matthew-campbell/

ADHDIFFERENCE: https://adhdifference.nz/stack-dont-overhaul/

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Transcript

JULIE: When it comes to self-improvement, ADHDers are often all in. We don't usually decide to make one small change. We decide to start exercising 5 days a week, completely overhaul our diet, meditate every morning, organize every cupboard in the house, and finally become the person we've always imagined we could be. It's ambitious. It's exciting. And for about a week, it works brilliantly. Then something happens. We get sick. We have a busy day. We forget once. And suddenly the whole thing comes crashing down because the system depended on motivation, not sustainability. Today we're talking about a strategy that takes a different approach. Instead of rebuilding your life from scratch, what if you simply attached one small positive action to something you're already doing? It's called stacking.

Welcome to ADHDifference Strategies. I'm Julie Legg, your host, author of The Missing Piece, and an ADHD advocate. Over the years, I've had the privilege of speaking with incredible guests, unpacking real life strategies, mindsets, and tools for navigating ADHD. This bite-sized series brings those insights together. Short, practical, and ready to use.

Today's strategy comes from my conversation with clinical psychologist Dr. Matthew Campbell. Matt spends a lot of time helping people improve their well-being, but what I love about his approach is that he doesn't focus on massive life overhauls. He focuses on sustainable change. And one of the tools he recommends is stacking. Before we go any further, let's hear Matt explain in his own words. 

MATT: In so far as stacking is is we're trying to we're trying to things that we already do, we're trying to attach them or do them with something healthy as well. So, if I like to get up and have a cup of coffee, you know, when I wake, how about I do it on a porch? How about I do it, you know, somewhere that I'm getting some sunlight, you know? How about I do that? Uh, that is ideal. Morning sunlight is the ideal. It sets our circadian rhythm. It's going to help with sleep at night, you know. Let's do that. Different ways of of things that we're already doing, trying to add or put, you know, connect something that's healthy for us, you know.

JULIE: One of the biggest traps for ADHDers is believing that change has to be dramatic. We love fresh starts, new planners, new systems, new routines. The problem is that every new habit requires energy, attention, memory, and follow through. Four things that ADHD brains can find challenging on a good day. Matt's idea is simple. Don't create a whole new routine. Attach a small, positive behavior to something that already exists. This strategy is especially useful when you feel the urge to completely reinvent your life again. You've started and abandoned countless routines. You're overwhelmed and don't know where to begin. Motivation keeps disappearing after the initial excitement. You're trying to improve your well-being without adding more pressure. And you want change that actually lasts. The smaller the step, the more likely it is to survive real life.

When it comes to practicing stacking, identify what's already stable. Maybe it's making a morning coffee, having a shower, walking the dog, brushing your teeth, dropping the kids at school. Don't look for perfect routines. Look for reliable ones. Attach, don't add. Choose one small behavior and connect it to an existing habit. If you need to spend more time outside, do it with your morning coffee. If you need to do some exercise, attach it to your existing dog walk. If you struggle to remember taking medication, take it immediately after breakfast. Think attachment, not addition. Keep it tiny. This is where most ADHDers get it wrong. If the habit feels impressive, it's probably too big. Aim for something almost ridiculously easy. Success builds momentum. Struggle kills it. Don't upgrade too quickly. Once something starts working, ADHD brains want to turn one habit into 10. Resist the temptation. Let it settle. Let it become normal. Give it time to become part of your day before adding anything else. You can stack again later. Once the first attachment feels effortless, you can gently add another layer. Not because you're chasing perfection, because you're building sustainability, one layer at a time. The research behind habit formation consistently shows that behaviors are more likely to stick when they're attached to existing cues. Your brain already recognizes the trigger, the coffee, the shower, the dog walk. That means you don't have to rely on remembering, motivating yourself, or creating a completely new routine. For people with ADHD who often experience challenges with executive function and task initiation, this reduction in cognitive load is incredibly important. Instead of forcing your brain to create a new pathway from scratch, you're strengthening one that already exists. In other words, the brain prefers attachment over reinvention. 

One of the things I love most about this strategy is that it removes the pressure to become a different person. You don't need a brand new life. You don't need a perfect routine and you don't need another dramatic fresh start. You just need one strong anchor. ADHD brains often chase transformation, but lasting change usually arrives much more quietly. Small attachments create stability. Stability builds confidence and confidence grows one layer at a time. Stack don't overhaul. 

A big thanks again to Dr. Matthew Campbell for sharing this strategy and for being part of the broader ADHDifference conversation. If you'd like to hear more from that episode, head over to our main series. You'll be looking for season 2, episode 41 to hear more of his ADHD insights. Thanks for tuning in. For more practical tools for beautifully different brains, hit the subscribe button.