How do I practice habit chaining?

The most direct way to practice habit chaining is through a focused exercise: Map one existing chain in your life. Pick a reliable morning or evening sequence and write out every link: 'After I [completion of A], I do [B].' Identify where the chain breaks most often — that's your weakest link. Now design one new two-link chain: pick an existing behavior you already do reliably and attach one new behavior to its completion. Run it for three days. If it holds, extend the chain by one more link.

Common pitfall: Building chains that are too long before any single link is solid. A five-step chain where link two is unreliable means links three through five never fire. The other failure is invisible chains — sequences you run on autopilot that end somewhere you didn't choose. Chaining is powerful in both directions: it can carry you to your desk or to your phone.

This practice connects to Phase 22 (Trigger Design) — building it as a repeatable habit compounds over time.