Sep 29, 2025
Mini habits take as little as one minute to practice. They may relate to fitness, nutrition, or other areas of your life you want to improve.
Changing a habit all at once, especially a deeply ingrained one, can be hard. You may be wishing you could trade some of your habits for new, better ones. Maybe you’d like to trade in your junk food habit for a healthier food plan. Or perhaps you’d like to swap your daily social media scrolling habit for a workout routine. Great! It likely won’t be easy, though. So, what can help? Enter the power of mini habits.
What is a mini habit?
Mini habits involve doing something small that takes as little as one minute. You can apply them to areas of your life you want to improve, such as fitness or nutrition. These tiny habits make helpful behaviors more automatic. With time, these new behaviors become reflexes. You don’t even think about them anymore—you just do them.
Here’s an example of a mini habit. Maybe your goal is to give up foods that have added sugar, but you’re just not ready to ditch your morning pastry. So, you vow to add a mini habit. You will eat a piece of fresh fruit each day before you eat your pastry. You haven’t given up pastry yet, but you’ve taken a small step closer to the goal. Taking just one minute a day to eat a banana or a small serving of strawberries is enough!
Challenge yourself to take on a new mini habit each week
One way to take on the magic of mini habits is to choose one small habit to add to your life. How about adding one mini habit each week of this month to try it out?
To get you started, here are some ideas for 3 areas of life. These are mini habits you can do in a minute. Choose one of these each week that interests you most. Or choose something that ties to a goal you are already thinking about pursuing.
1. Physical activity goals
Beef up your cardio workout.
Mini habit: March or jog in place for 30–60 seconds each time you go to tie your shoes.
Build your upper body or core strength.
Mini habit: Spend one minute doing pushups or a plank before you brush your teeth each day.
Improve your flexibility.
Mini habit: Stretch your calves for one minute while waiting for your oatmeal to heat up each morning.
2. Eating healthy goals
Work on a more healthy food plan.
Mini habit: Eat one piece of fruit after you start your morning coffee or tea each day. Eat 3 baby carrots as part of your lunch each day.
Get a handle on food cravings.
Mini habit: Postpone acting on each craving by taking 5 deep, cleansing breaths.
Add interest to salads.
Mini habit: Sprinkle sliced almonds or some walnuts on your greens. Or add chickpeas to boost protein. You can also experiment with cheeses such as Parmesan or feta cheese to top your salad.
3. Mental outlook goals
Improve your mood and outlook.
Mini habit: The moment you get out of bed each morning, tell yourself it will be a fantastic day.
Be more mindful of your world.
Mini habit: After stepping out of your front door in the morning, pause to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the new day.
Focus on your values, such as loving others.
Mini habit: Take a few moments to gaze at a photo of someone you love and think about all the joy that person brings to your life.
One way to stay faithful to a new mini habit
Once you have your task for the week in mind, the next step is to “attach” it to something that you already do. This is known as habit stacking. An existing habit or routine can act as a prompt to practice your new mini habit. For example, you might attach your jumping jacks to the first time you wash your face in the morning. Take one minute or less, do a round of jumping jacks, then wash.
Other ways to habit stack could be to practice your new activity or mindset mini-habit after you put on your glasses or shoes.
More ways to stick to your new mini habit
It’s important to nix the all-or-nothing approach to a new habit. If you are especially stressed one week, you may find you don’t have the energy to keep up a new habit that involves physical activity. That’s okay. Just go back to your new habit when you feel able. Or you may vow to give up eating candy bars but give in to the temptation of a sweet bite one afternoon when you are dragging. That’s okay, too. Just get back on track with giving up sweets the next day.
Practice compassion for yourself. After a setback, tell yourself you still want to pursue that good habit. Leave the past behind and forge ahead. Remind yourself that you do have the willpower to practice healthy habits. You can do it!
Once you’ve mastered one mini habit, it’s up to you to create another one that will serve as a bridge to your bigger goal. But even if you don’t, you’ve built one healthy minute into your daily routine. Just one minute a day can make a positive difference in your health, fitness, or mood. A minute goes by fast, but it can be a powerful thing.
Thanks for reading this article!
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References
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Fogg, B. J. (2013). The Fogg Method: 3 steps to changing behavior. http://www.foggmethod.com/
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Phillips, E. G., Wells, M. T., Winston, G., Ramos, R., Devine, C. M., Wethington, E., Peterson, J. C., Wansink, B., & Charlson, M. (2017). Innovative approaches to weight loss in a high-risk population: The small changes and lasting effects (SCALE) trial. Obesity, 25(5), 833-841. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21780
Reid, S. (2024, November 21). How to break bad habits. HelpGuide.org. https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health/wellbeing/how-to-break-bad-habits-and-change-negative-behaviors
Robinson, L., & Segal, J. (2025, January 16). Healthy eating. HelpGuide.org. https://www.helpguide.org/wellness/nutrition/healthy-diet
Stanford Medicine. (2022). Introduction: Tiny habits for self compassion, getting started. https://med.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/ascend/documents/Introduction_%20Tiny%20Habits%20for%20Self%20Compassion,%20Getting%20Started.pdf
This article was written by Sharon Odegaard, edited by Stephanie Ruiz, and clinically reviewed by Jaynie Bjornaraa, PhD, MPH, PT, LAT, ATC, CSCS, CSPS, on June 27, 2025.
