Make the target behaviour ridiculously small to start
Shrinking a new behaviour to its smallest possible form lowers the motivation threshold, making the first repetition almost effortless.
When to use this
- When a client keeps setting ambitious targets and falling short
- When a client has been inconsistent with a behaviour they say they want
- When motivation is low and confidence is the real barrier
- When restarting a habit after a lapse
Why this matters
Clients often set ambitious targets: "I'll run 5k three times a week." When life gets busy, the high effort required means the habit is the first thing dropped. BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits research shows that making a behaviour so small it feels almost absurd removes the motivation barrier entirely.
The goal isn't to do less forever — it's to get the neural pathway established, build identity as "someone who does this", and expand naturally over time. Resistance to a tiny habit feels foolish ("I can't do one push-up?"), and this itself generates momentum.
In practice
Client wants to start meditating but always quits after a week. Coach suggests: "What if you just sat on a cushion for 60 seconds — no app, no guidance, just sit." Client laughs, does it. Two months later they're at 15 minutes daily. The tiny version built the habit identity; the rest followed.
What to say
Word-for-word phrases you can use in session.
- "What's the absolute smallest version of this that would still count?
- "What if we made it so easy you'd feel silly saying you couldn't do it?
Clients often laugh at the tiny version — that's the right reaction. The absurdity removes the resistance.
Source: Fogg, B.J. (2020). Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Try it today
Take a goal a client is currently struggling with and apply the "2-minute rule" — what's the absolute smallest version of this behaviour they could do every day without fail? Write it down and set it as next week's target.
Make it a habit
When any client mentions they've been inconsistent with a habit, your first question should always be: "What's the smallest version of that habit that would still feel meaningful?"
Watch out for
- Letting the client stay at the tiny version indefinitely — use it as a launchpad, then scale up once the habit is automatic.
- Applying it to one-off decisions rather than habits — tiny habits work for regular, recurring actions, not single events.
- Skipping the celebration moment after each tiny behaviour — Fogg's research shows that positive emotion at the moment of completion is what cements the habit.
Ready to put this into practice?
Sticky Coach helps you track client habits and conversations — so nothing falls through the cracks.
More tips
Tie new habits to existing ones (habit stacking)
Linking a new behaviour to an existing routine dramatically increases follow-through by using established neural pathways as an anchor.
Turn intentions into action with if-then planning
Specifying exactly when, where, and how a behaviour will happen — not just that it will — more than doubles the likelihood of follow-through.
Design the environment to make the right behaviour the easy one
Changing the physical and social context — removing friction from good behaviours and adding it to bad ones — is more reliable than relying on willpower or motivation.