Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: a7e28941a8eeac49c6c9ab2005637d440671f0400dad3be99338cb43ab49d061

# Mini Habits

Participants identify a desired shift in behavior and define an intentionally tiny action step that takes almost zero willpower. They write down their mini habit and optionally review it with a partner.

**Time:** 10 minutes. Source indicates under 5 minutes; UWT expands to 10 minutes to allow realistic paired refinement and debrief.
**People:** 4 to 24. Individual reflection, then pairs, followed by brief room sharing

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Define a concrete, low friction action step that can be performed consistently without relying on willpower.
**Use it when:** Use when opening a workshop series or team sprint where members want to establish reliable daily or gathering-long routines.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the group needs to resolve complex team systemic issues, resource constraints, or project roadmaps rather than individual behavioral routines.

## Materials and tools

- One index card or sticky note per participant
- One pen per participant
- Countdown timer visible to the room

## Before participants arrive

1. Place an index card and pen at each seat.
2. Set up the room timer for individual, pair, and plenary intervals.

## Say this to open

We are going to set a mini habit for this gathering or your daily routine. Pick an action you want to take every day, but make the target absurdly small: one push-up, reading one page, or writing two lines of notes. The goal is to make it so small that failure requires more effort than doing it. Write down your mini habit on your card.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce concept and define habits (3 minutes)

Read the opening script. Direct participants to choose one target behavior, select one to three actions maximum, and shrink them down until they take under one minute to complete. Each participant writes their mini habit on their card. Example: instead of 'journal for 30 minutes,' set 'write one sentence before lunch.'

### 2. Pair share and reality check (4 minutes)

Invite participants to turn to a partner, or choose quiet solo refinement if they prefer to keep their note private. In pairs, spend two minutes per person: one minute to state the target and one minute for the partner to check whether it is small enough. If it feels ambitious, help shrink it further. Call a switch at the two-minute mark.

### 3. Plenary check-in and debrief (3 minutes)

Call the room back together. Ask two or three volunteers to read their mini habit aloud. Invite responses to the debrief questions from two or three participants.


## Debrief questions

- How does shrinking the target change your resistance to doing it?
- When during your daily routine will this small action happen?

**Finished output:** Each participant has an index card with one to three micro-actions specified, which may be kept private.

## Remote

Use a digital whiteboard or chat. Give participants two minutes of quiet typing time to write their habit privately. Move into pairs in breakout rooms for four minutes, allowing individuals who prefer solo work to remain in the main room. Bring everyone back to the main room and invite up to three volunteers to paste their habit in the chat.

## Hybrid

Remote participants pair with other remote participants in a breakout room; in-person participants pair in the physical room. Both groups write their commitment on personal paper or an individual digital card. Plenary sharing takes turns between one remote volunteer and one in-person volunteer.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may focus on a work task, learning habit, or personal care routine.
- Anyone may keep their written habit private and opt out of the pair share by continuing silent self-refinement.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants pick goals that are too large, like 'exercise for 30 minutes every morning.'**

Remind them of the core rule: make it so small it feels almost ridiculous. Ask them what the first five seconds of that behavior looks like, such as 'put on running shoes' or 'do one stretch.'

**An odd number of participants leaves someone without a pair partner.**

Form one triad and give each person 80 seconds total, or invite the extra participant to pair with the facilitator or complete the silent solo option.


## Terms used here

- Mini habit: An action scaled down so small that it requires almost zero willpower to start and complete.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook, pages 259-260, which describes mini-habit techniques for individuals and teams.

The core mechanic of choosing a daily target and reducing it to an absurdly small size is retained from the Relationship Makers Handbook excerpt. UWT structured the activity into a 10-minute workshop format with individual writing, a 4-minute paired reality-check (with explicit solo pass options), access choices, and brief plenary debriefing. Group scale, materials, and step breakdowns were added for field facilitation.

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/mini-habits/