A review by imogenrobinson__
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Motivation comes after action. Action creates momentum.
Full of all the tips you could ever need on building effective, healthy habits and breaking ineffective, unhealthy habits.
I love the idea of getting 1% better every single day and mastering the art of showing up - a habit has to be firmly established before it can be improved.
Clear stresses the importance on creating systems rather than goals. Goals are about results, whilst systems are about the process. We need better systems to achieve our goals. He reminds us to factor obstacles and 'off' days into our schedules, because a good plan is a flexible plan. Life happens, so create systems where you can show up even on your worst day.
He also talks about how the brain is a reward-seeking mechanism, and how behaviours that are rewarded get repeated. We live in a delayed-return society but have primitive lizard brains which seek immediate returns on our investments. Therefore, there is a lot of power in having a visual representation of how you're doing, to signal your progress and give you a feeling of impetus.
Interesting to learn about the habit loop i.e. the four stages of forming a habit: cue, craving, response, and reward.
With these four steps in mind, I have created the Four Laws of Behavior Change:
- Cue: Make it obvious.
- Craving: Make it attractive.
- Response: Make it easy.
- Reward: Make it satisfying.
If we want to change a habit, we have to work on each of these stages to create lasting behaviour change. We need to start by looking at all the cues which prompt our behaviour:
HOW TO CREATE A GOOD HABIT
The 1st Law | Make It Obvious
1.1 | Fill out the Habits Scorecard. Write down your current habits to become aware of them.
1.2 | Use implementation intentions: “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].”
1.3 | Use habit stacking: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”
1.4 | Design your environment. Make the cues of good habits obvious and visible.
The 2nd Law | Make It Attractive
2.1 | Use temptation bundling. Pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do.
2.2 | Join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.
2.3 | Create a motivation ritual. Do something you enjoy immediately before a difficult habit.
The 3rd Law | Make It Easy
3.1 | Reduce friction. Decrease the number of steps between you and your good habits.
3.2 | Prime the environment. Prepare your environment to make future actions easier.
3.3 | Master the decisive moment. Optimize the small choices that deliver outsized impact.
3.4 | Use the Two-Minute Rule. Downscale your habits until they can be done in two minutes or less.
3.5 | Automate your habits. Invest in technology and onetime purchases that lock in future behavior.
The 4th Law | Make It Satisfying
4.1 | Use reinforcement. Give yourself an immediate reward when you complete your habit.
4.2 | Make “doing nothing” enjoyable. When avoiding a bad habit, design a way to see the benefits.
4.3 | Use a habit tracker. Keep track of your habit streak and “don’t break the chain.”
4.4 | Never miss twice. When you forget to do a habit, make sure you get back on track immediately.
HOW TO BREAK A BAD HABIT
Inversion of the 1st Law | Make It Invisible
1.5 | Reduce exposure. Remove the cues of your bad habits from your environment.
Inversion of the 2nd Law | Make It Unattractive
2.4 | Reframe your mindset. Highlight the benefits of avoiding your bad habits.
Inversion of the 3rd Law | Make It Difficult
3.6 | Increase friction. Increase the number of steps between you and your bad habits.
3.7 | Use a commitment device. Restrict your future choices to the ones that benefit you.
Inversion of the 4th Law | Make It Unsatisfying
4.5 | Get an accountability partner. Ask someone to watch your behavior.
4.6 | Create a habit contract. Make the costs of your bad habits public and painful.
Clear talks about how, to regularly perform a habit, we need a specific when and where: I'll workout at the gym at 9 in the morning on Monday, I'll write at noon every day at my desk, I'll read for 30 minutes in bed each night etc.
I also love the section on identity shifts. Habits shape our identity. We have to claim the identity we want: "I'm a writer" so the habits that come with that identity start to feel normal and natural. For instance, two people are trying to quit smoking and one person says, "No thanks, I'm trying to quit" while the other person says, "No thanks, I'm not a smoker". The latter is more successful.
Mindset shifts can also be helpful: "I have to go to the gym" becomes "I get to move my body today". "I have to eat a salad today" becomes "I get to nourish my body today".
I adore the concept of habit stacking too:
This method was popularized by professor BJ Fogg, who calls it the “tiny habits recipe” and teaches it in his Tiny Habits program. The key idea is to “stack” your new habit on top of a current habit. That is, your current behavior becomes the cue for your new behavior.
The habit stacking formula is:
“After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”
For example, “After I put on my running shoes, I will fill up my water bottle.” By creating simple sets of rules, you can make it easier to remember when to perform a new habit.