How I use habit stacking to recover from surgery

[@anahidkassabian4471]

Hey, Eryk- i’ve been meaning to say this for ages, but it was particularly important tonight. The intro, the music, the tea rituals, and the Outro of your videos are all so crucial to what I love about your channel and your content. I open the video knowing that I will feel cared about, and that is a very special gift you give us. And you have an unusual capacity to give it, so thank you. ❤

[@Eryykc]

Thank you! I worried that the same music would get boring but when we watch tv they use the same music. Im so glad to hear that you are getting the experience I’ve been wanting to create. ❤️🖤🙏🏾

[@anahidkassabian4471]

@ I was a background music scholar, and there’s almost no scholarship on audiovisual works shorter than TV, with the exception of video games. But my guess is that if you were regularly putting out content of half an hour or more, the music might be too repetitive; in the 10 to 20 minute range, I think it’s probably just fine. And it certainly is for me as a listener. 😄🌻

[@violetsinspring5863]

Yes!!!! Well said! I feel the same.

[@GoodBeets4ME]

Book score!!!!!!! I love thinking of all the fingers that turned the pages and how life was when the book was printed. I do like the concept of "habit stacking" but find that it kicks up my , what is it called, the "dont tell me what to do"-duty resistance or something- syndrome? lol. I still have to cheer myself on when I do one thing well. I think its from a lifetime of multi-tasking while being dissociated. Now that I am in my body more, I find quite a bit of resentment in me and try and counter it with authentic being.

[@Eryykc]

That’s valid, I’m glad you are finding your own way. Not sure if it would help, but I would suggest instead of stacking a “must do” action to your habit, add a “want to do” action, something fun. Like how some people get snacks and a drink before a movie.

[@CalmlyCreate]

Lovely to see you getting back to normality. I use habit stacking to help me remember to do the things I forget or don't enjoy doing.

[@Eryykc]

Same

[@juliae.8237]

Glad you were able to have a “normal day” - yeah, I know, whatever that means (lol). I spent my day thinking about routines and habits too. I haven’t consciously tried habit stacking, but I have inadvertently done it. I’m still mulling some things over in my head, but I will think about habit stacking more intentionally in the future. Thanks for the tea! *CLING* 🦋

[@Eryykc]

Thank you! 😊 I love that you have been already doing this, I hope it helps you manage the important things.

[@JustFluffyQuiltingYarnCrafts]

Welcome back to the office. I hope that you can get back to your previous in-office days schedule soon. For me, there is a feeling of fulfilment that I get from being face-to-face with my work peeps. I currently don't enjoy working from home anymore. Maybe in the future, but not at this time. Continue to take it slow and listen to your body. Habit stacking sounds like a winner. As we add more things to our collection of daily habits it can be hard to add new tasks. I use timers on my phone to keep track of my habits because I like to do things at the same appointed time. When I don't add the item as an alarm I get frustrated. I love learning new terms along with you. ❤

[@Eryykc]

Thank you my friend. At this point my habits/ routines are a mix of a routine app called Tiimo, a task app called Things 3, and alarms. For work I use Google tasks because we use the Google office stuff at work. It’s kinda a tangle of yarn but it’s by importance and complexity. Critical things get an alarm, multi-step routines are on Tiimo, and non urgent things go on my task app. But to be honest it took me over a year and doing OT to get me there

[@GoodBeets4ME]

Nutrition- Ive studied it for decades!!!!! One of my "interests". What ive most learned is every body is different. I am mostly plant based, dont digest meat well anyway and have cheese and eggs sometimes as my body needs them. I listen well and it (my body) will tell me! Listen to you and trust your bod! They know so much.

[@Eryykc]

Agreed, I’m not against advice, but at the end of the day only I know my body and all the different factors I have to consider.

[@violetsinspring5863]

Eryk, yes I do habit stacking too. Wow, thst book!!! Glad you did good getting back to work. That tea sounds interesting. Like the other commenter said, I just love the opening music and throughout ❤ I meant to add when I’m adding a new habit I put sticky note like on bathroom mirror or on coffee pot etc till it’s a habit. As a back up to stacking 😃

[@Eryykc]

Adding a note where you will be is a good idea

[@colleenfalo232]

I have a morning routine I love but started to add peppermint tea to my evening routine. It helps me relax and decompress from the day. Now if I don’t have my tea time I can tell there is a difference. Something is off. Love Habit Stacking😊

[@Eryykc]

Yes! Having a certain tea at bedtime is such a great idea.

[@carolhydon7324]

Hi Eryk, good to see you back to work. Normal is very underrated. I’m still struggling with January , and horrendous fatigue. I’m frustrated from not being able to all my normal chores/ stuff! My sense of purpose is rooted in being able to do things. No idea how to blast through this xx

[@Eryykc]

I feel this, not being able to do what I’m used to doing can really wear at my mental health. I didn’t realize how much I needed to do even simple things like laundry or dishes until I couldn’t. I feel so worthless when I can’t help around the house. I try to remember that I have to rest and heal so I can help, but some days it’s just tough. So I try to have compassion for myself and focus on healing so I can get back to what I like to do.

[@agentmirv]

I really enjoy your videos as part of my morning routine ☀. I just watched Brandon Sanderson's (new for 2025) writing lecture 1. He mentions habit stacking at the end of this QA (he called it habit bundling) for a question of how do you do revisions when you hate revising lol

[@Eryykc]

I like habit bundling, that’s a great term for it! I will look up his lectures, I could use some guidance for my writing.

[@user-rr3ps7iz3e]

Happy to see your healing. Book nerd here too... really appreciate book recommendations if u feel like sharing. Rereading swans way. Take care and thanks for sharing. P.s. after back surgery my walker was cumbersome but necessary hang in there it gets easier.

[@Eryykc]

Thank you my friend, I will hang in there. Let me know what kind of books you like or maybe what you don’t like and I will see what recommendations I have.

[@anncordis]

Just wanted to say hi. I’ve been following you on TikTok and this is my first time watching your KZbin video. I like the long form video😊

[@Eryykc]

Thank you! It’s less stressful because I have time to build up to something if I want to. I’m also not really worrying about growing the channel. Of course I hope it does, but I want it to be because I’m making videos that others can resonate with.

[@cynthiabohli-nelson1824]

I've heard the term before, but never knew what habit stacking was. It makes sense & I'm going to think about how I already do this during my day, and see if I can stack anything else. Recently I started keeping my night facial moisturizer in the bathroom instead of on my dresser. Now I remember to use it instead of walking by it to get in bed, & my face feels much nicer.

[@Eryykc]

Yes! That’s what I do as well, placing things where it will be easy for me to take action instead of having to look for it. I think habit stacking is something we all do to some degree, but maybe if we can slowly be more intentional about it can help us take care of the important things

[@annclyde]

Omg is that a first edition?? Wow what a find!

[@Eryykc]

Not a first, it’s a second edition which is still pretty exciting for me.

[@annclyde]

@ wow! That’s amazing!

[@bridgetumphryes3368]

Hi Friend, glad you made it through your first day back to work (in-person). I'm a herbal tea drinker as well, not a coffee fan the smell of it makes me nauseous, not sure why. Have you tried Chamomile & Lavender tea. Bigelow brand is what I buy. I try all kinds of flavors from different brands. Where can I find the one you are drinking sounds good.

[@Eryykc]

That sounds delicious I’m gonna have to pick that up!

[@jwuertz7101]

I dont know why but I prefer bags of frozen corn over peas.

[@Eryykc]

Interesting, maybe I will try frozen corn next. I need to get more anyway because I’m keeping bags at home and at work