Stack Up a Range of Benefits: Kick Off New Habits During Open Enrollment

Originally published on Aflac Newsroom

Everyone has habits built into their day. Think of getting up in the morning and stumbling to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, or getting home after work to wind down with a good book. Repetition might reduce these habits to background noise, but they can actually be the stepping stone to self-improvement.

But how can a familiar habit help upgrade daily life? The answer is habit stacking. Habit stacking is the practice of attaching a new habit to a current one, which helps strengthen the connection. Both physical and mental well-being can be positively impacted.

It can even help with tasks that are more mundane or where procrastination could set in because it seems stressful to get started. Making the most of your insurance benefits might seem like a daunting task, for example, but habit stacking can help, and open enrollment is a perfect time to get started. Let’s break it down into simple tasks to get started and habits you can implement to help create a fun new routine:

Actions to get started:

• Start with researching benefits offerings. While you’re brewing that first cup of coffee, spend a few moments reviewing trusted resources online. Or make it a social event by setting up a coffee date with a friend and researching benefits together. If any questions come up during the research process, reach out to an insurance agent or an HR professional at work. After sending the email or making a phone call, grab a favorite treat as a reward.
• It’s also important to look into medical history or review the past year. What coverage would be most beneficial when considering family medical history or your own? Are there any events from last year where certain insurance coverage would have helped? After making those notes, take a bubble bath or enjoy a relaxing hobby like knitting.
• Next comes the actual enrollment process. Try including your colleagues to make it more fun for everyone — create a game in the group chat. When everyone has completed open enrollment, you can order donuts to the office. If enrollment feels like more like a solo venture, make it a cozy one. Grab a blanket, light a scented candle, and get comfy on the couch while getting started on matching the right coverage to your needs.

Habits you can stack:

• Once coverage is in place, make the most of your benefits by building health care-related habits into your routine. Start with a routine that occurs regularly. Follow a simple mental formula to remember to link these habits: “After I put the coffee pot on, I will pick out a recipe to make tonight.” A few other examples include:
  • In between flossing and brushing your teeth, take a moment to schedule a dentist appointment — or after you’ve laced up your shoes for a walk, make sure you have an upcoming doctor appointment on the calendar.
  • While you run a load of laundry, take a moment to plan healthy meals for the week.
  • Do yoga while listening to a podcast, or clean the living room with an audiobook playing.
  • Practice deep breathing between each step of a skincare routine.

Dedicating time to better understanding and fully leveraging your benefits is an important habit to form, and habit stacking makes it easier. Habit stacking requires dedication to work, but it can yield great results which can help improve multiple areas of life at once, including taking care of mental and physical health — now and into the future.

For more inspiration on how to make supplemental insurance coverage a new habit, visit Aflac.com and discover how the confidence of coverage can help protect daily life.

Aflac coverage is underwritten by Aflac. In New York, Aflac NY coverage is underwritten by Aflac New York.

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