Atomic Habits by James Clear combines personal anecdotes, scientific research, ancient wisdom, and the achievements of exceptional people, to establish a framework for developing productive habits.
Compounding
Foundationally, the book relies on the principal of compounding. Small (i.e., atomic) contributions can yield huge payoffs. These payoffs are not limited to one’s finances. They apply to any goal.
Speaking of goals, Clear borrows from fellow author Scott Adams, by encouraging readers to prioritise systems over goals. The process of behaviour change matters more than a single outcome or checkpoint.
We Are What We Repeatedly Do
The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.
To determine whether a habit is congruent with who you want to become, Clear recommends asking ourselves ‘Does this behavior help me become the type of person I wish to be?’ and ‘Does this habit cast a vote for or against my desired identity?’
Just as each purchase we make is, in some sense, a vote for a particular product or service, each action (5 minute run) we take is a vote for (or against) a particular habit (exercising).
The Four Laws of Behaviour Change
Atomic Habits presents Four Laws of Behaviour Change; make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying. To disincentivise a bad habit, simply do the inverse.
By making something obvious (e.g. placing fruits on your kitchen table), we reduce the friction between ourselves and the cues most likely to facilitate good habits (e.g. healthy eating).
Making a new habit (cycling) attractive entails pairing it with something you already enjoy doing (listening to music).
‘You can’t improve a habit that doesn’t exist’, writes Clear. Therefore, when establishing a new habit, make it easy. Do this by implementing the Two-Minute Rule: ‘When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.’ Once comfortable with this time-constraint, you can begin increasing the duration (and difficulty).
Clear contends that if an action is satisfying, it is more likely to be repeated (and the inverse). This can be done by habit tracking (e.g. recording how many push-ups you do each week, or depositing money you chose not to squander on junk food in a savings account).
One Vs Zero
[O]ne push-up is better than not exercising. One minute of guitar practice is better than none at all. One minute of reading is better than never picking up a book. It’s better to do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all.
This is something I have written about, myself. It seems obvious that achieving one push-up is better than zero push-ups. But black and white thinking can obscure the obvious. Saying “I must do at least ten push-ups, otherwise there’s no point starting”, just creates an artificial constraint that contradicts the first law of behaviour change (make it easy).
Master the Habit of Showing Up
People often think it’s weird to get hyped about reading one page or meditating for one minute or making one sales call. But the point is not to do one thing. The point is to master the habit of showing up. The truth is, a habit must be established before it can be improved. If you can’t learn the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details. Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis. You have to standardize before you can optimize.
To reiterate, systems are superior to goals. A well-structured system allows you to build consistency, ultimately moving you closer to your stated goals. Conversely, by fixating on goals and outcomes, showing up gets downplayed (because the outcome is what matters most). So, even if you are consistent, you may disregard what you have achieved because you failed to reach your lofty standards. Prioritise consistency (showing up) over crossing an arbitrary threshold.
You Will Feel Like Quitting
I can guarantee that if you manage to start a habit and keep sticking to it, there will be days when you feel like quitting. When you start a business, there will be days when you don’t feel like showing up. When you’re at the gym, there will be sets that you don’t feel like finishing. When it’s time to write, there will be days that you don’t feel like typing. But stepping up when it’s annoying or painful or draining to do so, that’s what makes the difference between a professional and an amateur.
This excerpt relates to the problem of motivation. If you rely solely on an internal sense of motivation and enthusiasm to achieve something, you will likely give up. Motivation is fleeting. Fickle. Unruly and unpredictable. It comes and goes. Thus, the motivation you initially feel upon developing a new habit, will likely fade. There needs to be something deeper driving you forward. Otherwise, when your motivation inevitably disappears and is no longer there to hold your hand, you will quit. When this happens, it is worth returning to the questions posed above, regarding who you wish to become.
Another way to ensure consistency is to create a habit contract: an agreement between you and a therapist, personal trainer, spouse or friend, which stipulates what you aim to achieve and the consequences (e.g. donating a sum of money to a political party you dislike) associated with failing to meet the contract’s requirements.
Closing Remarks
There aren’t many books that are as useful as they are popular. Atomic Habits is one of them. The ancient works of the Stoic and Eastern philosophers (which Clear draws on) remain unparalleled. But if you are looking for a practical and contemporary guide to better habits, Atomic Habits is one of the best.
