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Keystone habits have a ripple effect on other behaviors from "summary" of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life & Business by Charles Duhigg
In some sense, habits are kind of like financial portfolios. You can't change habits without understanding them. When people start habitually exercising, even as infrequently as once a week, they start changing other, unrelated patterns in their lives. Typically, people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. It's not completely clear why. But for many people, exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change. This pattern is by no means universal. There are no guarantees that giving up a single habit will transform everything about a person's life. But disciplines like exercise are keystone habits that help people form other good habits. When people start habitually making their beds, they report setting off a chain reaction that helps them get other tasks done. Making your bed is a keystone habit that can spark "chain reactions" that help other good habits take hold. In the military, making your bed is one of the first tasks of the day. It's a small accomplishment that sets the tone for the rest of the day. It reinforces the fact that little things in life matter. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you'll never be able to do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made, that you made. And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. Small wins are a steady application of a small advantage. Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favor another small win. Small wins fuel transformative changes by leveraging tiny advantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements are within reach. On some level, the progress principle is about how small wins can make a huge difference. Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favor another small win. When a pattern is emerging, people are more inclined to stick to new habits. And as the cycle continues, it gets easier
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