Habit Action Plans (HAPS)

Goals

  1. Describe a habit action plan.
  2. Skillfully create better habits with HAPs.

What?

A Habit Action Plan (HAP) is a simple, actionable set of steps designed to:

  1. Establish a new healthy habit.
  2. Lessen or eliminate an unhealthy habit.

Analysis

Here is a breakdown of the ideas used in the HAP definition.

Plan

A clear set of steps designed to lead to a worthwhile result.

Healthy Habit

A habit that provides you with long-term positive payoffs.
Example: Daily exercise or being nice to others.

Unhealthy Habit

A habit that results in long-term negative payoffs.

Examples: Frequent late-night screen time or excessive junk food consumption.

Payoff

Your rewards minus your drawbacks, considering both short-term and long-term effects in a holistic way.

Why?

  1. Grow better habits that improve your life.
  2. Always have a game plan instead of relying on willpower or vague intentions.

Good habits don’t happen by accident—they are built through intentional actions guided by clear plans.

Template

Here is the pattern for writing a Habit Action Plan (HAP):

“After I [trigger], I will [habit action] at [location/context].”

Example: After I brush my teeth in the evening, I will write one sentence in my journal at my desk.

For eliminating a habit:

“When I feel the urge to [undesired habit], I will [replacement action] instead.”

Example: When I feel the urge to check social media during work, I will stand up and stretch for 30 seconds instead.

How?

Here is how to skillfully create and follow HAPs.

Principles

  1. Motivation is fickle. Environment is strong. Design your surroundings and triggers to make good habits easy and bad habits harder.

  2. Doing is what works. Success comes from consistent action, not from waiting to “feel like it.”

  3. Friction refers to something that makes a habit harder to do.

    1. For healthy habits, reduce friction.
    2. For unhealthy habits, increase friction.

Framework

  1. Identify the habit you want to grow or eliminate—the one with the biggest payoff.

  2. Write a HAP using the template to define clear triggers and actions.

  3. Follow it daily.Keep it easy enough that you can succeed even on tough days.

  4. Apply Reflective Thinking (RT) to review progress, adjust your plan, and improve your habit-building skills.

Tips

  1. Focus on 1 to 3 habits at a time—those that offer the greatest rewards.
  2. Make your HAP visible—post it where you’ll see it.
  3. Start small—consistency matters more than intensity.
  4. Use existing routines as triggers.
  5. Celebrate small wins to reinforce the behavior.