Book notes: Atomic Habits by James Clear

(Updated on Tue Aug 15, 2023)
— Albert De La Fuente Vigliotti

How to create a good habit #

  • Make it obvious
    • Fill a scorecard. Become aware of your habits: write them down (habit scorecard)
    • Intentions. Use: I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]
    • Habit stacking. After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]
    • Design your environment. Make the cues obvious and visible
  • Make it attractive
    • Temptation bundling. Pair an action you want with an action you need
    • Community. Join a culture where the desired behavior is normal
    • Motivation ritual. Do something you enjoy immediately after a difficult habit
  • Make it easy
    • Reduce friction. Decrease the number of steps
    • Prepare the environment. Make future actions easier
    • Optimize small choices. It delivers outsized impact
    • Automate habits. Invest in tech that lock future behavior
  • Make it satisfying
    • Reinforcement. Give yourself an immediate reward when you complete a habit
    • Benefits of avoidance. When avoiding a bad habit, design a way to see the benefits
    • Track habits. Keep the streak
    • Never miss twice. Get back in track immediately
  • How to break a bad habit:
    • Make it invisible
      • Reduce exposure. Remove the cues of your bad habits
    • Make it unattractive
      • Mindset reframe. Highlight the benefits of avoiding a bad habit
    • Make it difficult
      • Increase friction
      • Restrict the choices to the ones that benefit you
    • Make it unsatisfying
      • Accountability partner. To watch your behavior
      • Create a habit contract. Make bad habits cost you

Mindset #

  • Habits are compounded, 1% better counts for a lot in the long run

  • Habits can be good or bad

  • Forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.

  • 3 Levels: outcome change, process change, identity change

  • Identity change is the best: who you want to become?

  • Feedback loop: identity is defined by habits, habits are defined by your identity

  • Expand your identity with new habits to become the best version of yourself

  • Habits can change your beliefs about yourself

  • A habit is a behavior repeated as much as to become automatic

  • Feedback loop: cue, craving, response and reward

  • Four laws of behavior change: make it (1) obvious, (2) atractive, (3) easy and (4) satisfying

  • You need to be aware of your habits before you can change them

  • See the habits scorecard

Make it obvious #

  • Use time and location

  • I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]

  • Use habit stacking

  • After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]

  • Every habit is initiated by a cue. Look for cues that stand out

  • Relate cues with environment. Context becomes the cue

  • Make bad habits/cues invisible (inversion of the 1st law of behavior change)

  • People with high self-control tend to avoid temptation

  • Avoid exposure to th cue that causes a bad habit

  • Self-control is a short term strategy, not a long-term one

Make it attractive #

  • Habits are a dopamine-driven feedback loop

  • It is the anticipation of a reward rather than the fulfillment that gets us to take action

  • Pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do

  • We tend to imitate the habits of the close (family and friends), the many (the tribe), and the powerful (status and prestige)

  • Join a culture where (1) your desired behavior is normal and (2) you have something in common

  • Be careful, the normal behavior of the tribe often overpowers the desired behavior of the individual

  • If a behavior can get us approval, respect, and praise, is attractive

  • Highlight the benefits of avoiding a bad habit to make it seem unattractive

  • Do something enjoable after a difficult habit

Make it easy #

  • Practice is more effective than planning in learning

  • Focus on taking action rather than being in motion (planning)

  • The number of times of a habit repetition is more important than the time you have been performing it

  • We will gravitate toward the option that requires the least amount of work

  • Create an environment where doing the right thing is easy

  • Reduce friction associated with good behaviors

  • Increase friction associated with bad behaviors

  • Habits can be a fork in the road and send you to a productive day

  • When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do

  • Standardize before you optimize. You can’t improve a habit that doesn’t exist

  • Make it difficult (inversion of the 3rd law)

  • Automate your habits to lock in future behavior using technology

  • One time choices actions to automate habits: like enrolling in an automatic savings plan

Make it satisfying #

  • The brain prioritizes immediate rewards

  • What is immediately rewarded is repeated. What is immediately punished is avoided (cardinal rule of behavior change)

  • You need to feel immediately successful, even in a small way

  • By making it satisfying you increase the odds of repetition

  • Making progress is one of the most satisfying feelings

  • Habit trackers help by providing clear evidence of progress

  • Keep your habit streak consistent

  • Never miss twice!

  • Make it unsatisfying

  • We are less likely to repeat a habit when it is painful or unsatisfying

  • Accountability partners help since we care about what others think about us

  • A habit contract can be used to add a cost to a behavior

  • Knowing that someone is watching can be a powerful motivator

Advanced tactics #

  • Habits are easier when they align with your natural abilities

  • Chose habits that best suits you

  • Genes provide a powerful advantage in favorable circumstances

  • If there is no game that favor your strengths, create one

  • Genes don’t eliminate the need of hard work, they clarify it

  • Goldilocks rule: motivation peak is when a task is right on the edge of the current ability

  • Boredom is the greatest threat to success

  • As habits become routine, we get bored

  • Discipline makes the difference

  • Professionals stick to the schedule. Amateurs let life get in the way

  • Upside: do things without thinking. Downside: stop paying attention

  • Habits + practice = Mastery

  • Reflection and review allows you to review performance over time

  • The harder we cling to an identity, the harder it is to grow beyond it

atomichabits.com/scorecard

atomichabits.com/cheatsheet atomichabits.com/business atomichabits.com/parenting atomichabits.com/habitstacking atomichabits.com/journal atomichabits.com/tracker atomichabits.com/contract atomichabits.com/annual-review

atomichabits.com/personality atomichabits.com/integrity