For Headspace's Onboarding redesign, we took a different approach, rooted in behavioral science, recognizing that meditation isn’t an easy habit to build.

First, we ask about your experience level so we can tailor the length of your first few meditation sessions. Most folks who come to Headspace are completely new to meditation, so we recommend you start off with 3 minutes, and you can always increase to longer sessions if you like.

Next, we ask about your reasons for coming to Headspace. The hope here is that if we can identify a strong intrinsic motivator for meditation, you will be more likely to sustain your practice. We used the results of a qualitative science study to identify the top reasons that people come to Headspace.

Lastly, we ask you to choose a “habit anchor” to anchor your meditation practice to – with a few suggestions in the morning and evening. From the habit building research, we know that new habits are effectively formed by attaching them to existing habit. So you might choose to meditation every morning after you brush your teeth, or every evening after you eat dinner.

We wrap up with a quick recap of what you’ve told us so far, and then suggest you try your first meditation.