Atomic Habits

James Clear

4/5

"I really liked it"

People rave about Atomic Habits, and I believe that for some people, this book just clicks and helps them make big changes in their life. I also believe that for non-readers, picking up a self-help book like Atomic Habits can, if nothing else, force you to “wake up” and reflect on your habits and whether you’re being the person you want to be. So I think this book gets some points just for doing that, if nothing else.

That being said, there is real wisdom in this book. I’m a firm believer of the principle of limited willpower. When you wake up each morning, you have a limited amount of willpower; when it’s gone, you are far more likely to indulge in bad behavior. You can only walk by a bowl of chocolate so many times before you pick one up. The easiest way to reduce bad behavior (read: “habits”), in my opinion, is to change your environment. Atomic Habits discusses this principle in the “Cue” section of a habit, where you can choose to make good habits “obvious” and bad habits “invisible”. Beyond the principle of changing your environment, there are a few other practical applications of the principles in this book. Just read it, or see my notes below.

I found Atomic Habits to be repetitive and uninteresting at times, but it is a great book overall, and I would recommend it to anyone. I will always remember this principle from the book, because I’ve found it to be true over and over again in my life:

You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

Notes

It’s not about your results, or your goals; it’s about your “systems”

Change occurs at 3 levels: identity, processes, and outcomes

Habits have 4 parts

4 laws of habits:

  1. (Cue) make it obvious/invisible
  2. (Craving) make it attractive/unattractive
  3. (Response) make it easy/hard
  4. (Reward) make it satisfying/unsatisfying

2 methods to get habits to stick:

  1. “Implementation Intention”: “I will do [behavior] at [time] in [location].”

    • Often, people pick habits that are too vague. Make them specific.
    • E.g. “when I take a work break, I will do 10 push-ups” -> trigger is unclear, where/when/how? -> “when I close my laptop lid to take a break, I will do 10 push-ups next to my desk” -> ambiguity is gone
  2. ”Habit Stacking”: “after I do [established habit], I will do [new habit]“

    • Build on top of existing habits

”Motivation is Overrated: Environment Often Matters More”

Recognize that your skills and tendencies are different from everyone else. Find what you’re good at, and exploit that.

Integrity Report

  1. Come up with a list of characteristics and rules for my perfect self/“the person I want to be”.
  2. Occasionally, compare your recent actions to the list, and reflect on how to improve.

Takeaways