The Power of Mini Habits: Never Skip, Just Shrink

We all have days when life gets in the way: you’re running late, you have too much to do, or you’re tired or sick. On those days, it can be tempting to skip some of your daily habits. But skipping is dangerous because it breaks the chain of consistency that habits rely on.

Don’t skip it. Instead, do a mini-version.

Why Mini Versions Work

With habits, consistency is far more powerful than intensity, because it reinforces your identity as a disciplined person who does what they say they’ll do. If you skip, you instead are starting to build an identity of a person who does things only when they feel like it. If you give yourself permission to skip it one day, then you have actually given yourself permission to skip it any time you want.

And skipping even one day creates friction to starting again, while doing a mini-version keeps the habit alive in your streak and in your identity.

As James Clear says in Atomic Habits, “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”  

Doing a mini-version is still casting your vote for the person you want to become.

Examples from Daily Life

• Instead of a 30-minute run, walk for 3 minutes.

• Instead of 25 push-ups, do just 1.

• Instead of a 10-minute meditation, do a minute of box breathing.

• Instead of a full journal entry, write one sentence.

• Instead of reading a chapter, read a single page.

• Instead of filling out your full Happiful Planner, just put down your 3 most important actions for the next day. 

These small acts are reminders that say: “I’m the kind of person who does this, no matter what.”

Why it Matters

Skipping says this habit doesn’t actually matter. Doing a mini-version says this habit matters. The difference is enormous over weeks, months, and years.

Mini versions protect your momentum and prevent the slippery slope of “I’ll just skip today.” That one skipped day too easily becomes a week, and then it’s really hard to start up again. On the other hand, every time you do a mini-habit instead, you are building your “discipline muscle”. 

The Happiful Way

We’re not suggesting you can be perfect every day. Instead, we aim for consistency, which leads to improvement. By doing the mini-version instead of skipping, you’ll keep moving forward. And stringing together those forward steps, however small, creates lasting change.

“When climbing a mountain, define each step in the right direction as success. Many small successes add up.” - Dan Millman