Atomic Habits - Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Atomic Habits by James Clear is a fantastic book that changed my life for good. I read this book 3 years ago when I was struggling with over-weight issues. I tried different ways to get into a healthy routine. I didn't lack motivation at all, but I knew that something was fundamentally wrong.
I came across this book on the internet when I was searching for best self-improvement books. I was not much into reading during those times, and I took it slow but this book hooked me more than any other books I tried before. I started implementing the tips mentioned in this book into my daily routine slowly but steadily. There was no turning back and my life got into this continuous improvement mode ever since.
So pick up this book if you want to develop a system that takes your life to the next level.
Core Theme
James Clear introduces two key concepts in this book associated to building better habits.
1) The power of atomic gains: Just as atoms are the building blocks of molecule, atomic gains are the building block of remarkable results. Atomic gains works similar to how compound interest works over time. If you get 1 percent better every day, you will be 37 times better end of the year. In order to develop atomic gains into your schedule, it is important that you have a strong system that supports it.
Focus on the overall system rather than goal setting. The purpose of goal setting is to win the game, but the purpose of building system is to continue play the game.
For example, instead of focusing on losing 5 pounds in a month, start getting into into healthy eating.
2) Habits are not about what or how, it is all about who: Most of us associates habits to what we want to achieve. An alternative is associating habits to who we wish to become. This is called identity-based habits.
You have the choice to change your identify today with the habits you choose today. Habits are evidence that informs you about your new identity. Changing identity is a two-step process - a) decide the person you want to become b) prove it to yourself with small wins (atomic gains).
For example, if you want to become a writer, you will start writing one page every day.
Building Habits
New habits can be built using 4 simple steps.
1) Make it obvious: To build a habit, the first step is to make that habit so obvious that, with enough repetitions, it becomes part of your system.
Following are some of the ways you can make your habit very obvious.
a) Give your habit a time and place: When gym memberships were not working for me, I purchased a treadmill (place). I decided to run every weekend at noon(time). Today, I get this urge to run on my treadmill every weekend around noon, and I end up running 2 to 3 miles.
b) Habit stacking: Stack your new habit after or between your current habits. After running on the treadmill I don't feel like doing any floor exercises. I found a time to stack some pushups and plank, while I wait for the shower to get heat up every morning. Now, I manage to do 30 to 40 minimum pushups everyday!
c) Environment: It is important to set up your environment in a way that it becomes obvious for you to pick up your habit. I arranged my work room with a reading chair and a stool, with at least one book kept on the stool all the time. This helped me to read at least one page every day before or after my work schedule.
Note: In order to build new habit, it is important for you to be self aware of your current habits. A habit scorecard is a good tool to analyze your current habits and identify room for improvement.
2) Make it attractive: Habits are formed through repetitions. You should feed your cravings to make your habit attractive.
Following are some of the ways you can make your habit attractive.
a) Habit stacking: You can use the same habit stacking strategy we discussed above to make a habit attractive. You can make a habit that you need to do attractive by stacking just before the habit you want. After I get back from lunch break on Fridays, I set 30 minutes to prepare the task list for next week (need). As soon I prepare the task list, I get to play with my kids(want).
b) Role of social setting: We tend to adopt habits of three groups - the close, the many and the powerful. Be mindful of the social setting you are in, or make necessary adjustments so that it helps in building the habit. I used to follow many celebrities like Bill Gates to learn about their morning routine. Today I have a morning routine that works for me.
3) Make it Easy: The third step is all about taking action. Showing up is important here, as habit is a function of number of times you performed it, and not the amount of time.
Following are some of the ways you can make habit easy for you.
a) Prime the environment: Habits are easier formed when it seamlessly fits into the flow of your life. When I arranged my work room and placed a reading chair in the corner, reading becomes easy for me. It is as if the chair is inviting me to read!
b) 2-minute rule: When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minute to do. The idea is to make your habit as easy as possible to start. As I said, I was not much into reading when I started with this book. I wanted to improve my reading habit. I made sure I brought thinner books from the library ( This is one of my earlier books that I read, loved it!) and started reading just one page, sometimes even half page every day. Gradually I started picking up pace and consistency.
c) One-time choices OR automate habits: Some habits you can automate using technology or you can invest on one-time choices that makes the habit easier. When I wanted to cut down my sugar intake, I turned into black coffee. I bought a coffee machine from Costco and made the dark coffee intake as part of my morning routine. The strong dark black coffee slowly got into my system and helped me in reducing sugar intake in general. Similarly I got a blackout curtain to get better sleep, a standing table to reduce afternoon sluggishness and good Ikea book shelf to take reading to the next level. To avoid late payment fees, I enrolled all my bill pay in to auto-payments and to bring savings, I enrolled in company stocks and 401k offerings.
4) Make it satisfying: The fourth and final step in building habits is to make the habit satisfying. While the first 3 steps increase the odds of performing the habit, the 4th step increase the odds of repeating the habit in the future.
Following are some of the ways you can make your habit satisfying.
a) Instant gratification: What is instantly rewarded is repeated. Select instant rewards that goes with your identity. I try various methods to get instant satisfaction such as a personal loyalty program (savings account) to cut down impulse purchases and using sticky notes for personal tasks.
b) Make your progress visible: Making progress is satisfying. A habit tracker is a good way to stick to your habit everyday. Whenever I want to pick up a new skill or certification at work, I go to the learning platforms such as LinkedIn Learning or Udemy that give a good visual measurement on my progress and keep me motivated to make progress everyday.
Breaking Bad Habits
You can apply the opposite of each of the 4 steps mentioned above to get rid of bad habits.
1) Make is invisible: It is easier to avoid the temptation than to resist it.
When I realized I was wasting a lot of time in browsing facebook, I uninstalled it from my phone. That saved lot of time and distractions. It was that simple!
2) Make it unattractive: Highlight the benefit of avoiding a bad habit to make it unattractive.
I track the number of hours I waste in browsing internet and youtube videos and write it down on the white board next to me every day. I also use my phone's tracker that tracks the screen time everyday. I set threshold for me every day and if I cross the threshold I go into a 'digital fasting' mode.
3) Make it difficult: Increase the friction around a bad habit to keep us away from doing it.
In order to avoid procrastination at work, especially things that involve research, what I do is that I put a meeting on the calendar with key stakeholders first and work backwards. This makes it difficult for me to push my research beyond a point as the meeting is already scheduled.
4) Make it Unsatisfying: Make the outcome of a bad habit immediately unsatisfying so that the odds of repeating it is less.
I have kept a weighing scale right next to the coffee maker. Weighing myself in the morning is part of my daily routine. Whenever I overeat, the next day it shows on the weighing scale and that gives me the motivation to balance my meals for the rest of the week.
I would like to conclude by this - building habit is not about achieving a goal. It is about becoming the person you want to be. It is about staying true to your identify and dedicate your life on continuous improvement and learning. Good luck!
Don't wait, grab your copy now - Atomic Habits.