Book Review - Atomic Habits
A teen entrepreneurs book review of Atomic habits by James Clear
What is an Atomic Habit?
In Atomic Habits by James Clear, the author walks the reader through the process of making (or breaking) habits. He does not talk about any old habit though, Cleat specialized in atomic habits. What is an atomic habit? Let’s start with some definitions.
Atomic (a·tom·ic)
an extremely small amount of a thing; the single irreducible unit of a larger system.
the source of immense energy or power.
Habit (hab·it)
a routine or practice performed regularly; an automatic response to a specific situation.
So, drawing from these definitions, we might say that an atomic habit is a tiny change we make, that becomes automatic, and yields results. Now one atomic habit on its own might not yield immense energy or power, but what about a hundred?
That is the message that Clear seeks to get across. Many tiny changes, that we might think make no difference, added together, yield immense results.
In his book, Clear talks about the four laws of habit making: 1. Make it Obvious, 2. Make it Attractive, 3. Make it Easy, 4. Make it Satisfying. Let’s break down each one.
Law #1: Make it Obvious
There are a few pieces of advice that Clear gives on how to make a habit obvious, but the most notable are becoming aware of your habits, an implementation strategy, and habit stacking.
One way to become more aware of your habits is to fill out a habit scorecard. To do this, you write down a list of your habits. The length can vary, but I recommend writing down at least twenty. Then, next to each habit write either a plus symbol (+), a negative symbol (-), or a neutral symbol (=). This represents whether a habit is good or bad for you, or has no effect.
By definition, habits are practices that have become automatic. It might surprise you what some of your habits are. If there is a particular area of your life that you consistently struggle with, filling out a habit scorecard will be particularly useful.
Once you know what your current habits are, then you can implement new ones. An effective way to do this is a habit implementation strategy.
It is not enough to say “I want to start working out.” When you are not painfully specific about your new habits your chances of success are greatly diminished. The habit implementation formula is as follows: “I will do [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].” So, if you wanted to start getting up earlier you might say, “I will run for 30 minuted at 7 am tomorrow in the local park.” By doing this your chance of success is heightened.
Another strategy is habit stacking. Habit stacking is when you take a habit and then say that you will do X other habit right after.
For example; “After I brush my teeth in the morning, I will say 3 things that I am grateful for.” Do you see? By saying that you are going to do X habit right after Y habit, the time, place, etc. is already implied!
You don’t’ have to stop there though. You can stack multiple habits on top of each other. The sky is the limit!
Law #2: Make it Attractive
One technique for making habits attractive is temptation bundling. How it works is you take something you find pleasurable and pair it with the new habit you want to implement.
There is a story of a student who loved to watch Netflix, but wanted to ride his stationary bike more. The bright young man figured out a way to hook his bike up to the television so that Netflix would only play if he were peddling a certain minimum speed.
The point of temptation bundling is to create a natural association of pleasure with the new habit you are implementing.
Another important aspect of making a habit attractive is the role of environment. People are herd animals. We desire to “fit in” and be like those around us. The people you associate with play a significant role in creating your habits.
If you want to start running more, join a running club. Make friends with runners. By putting yourself in an environment where your desired behavior is the norm you increase the likelihood of sticking with it.
Law # 3: Make it Easy
The easier a habit, the more likely you are to do it. We have all heard the words, “I started to do X habit, but then I gave up.” It can seem weak and pointless to start a easy habit, but it is smart.
I have a habit of doing twenty pushups every night. Sometimes, I do not feel like doing them and try to convince myself to skip for “just tonight.” The problem with skipping something “just once” is that it makes it more likely that you will skip it the next time. I have come up with a simple trick that has kept me doing my pushups every night. If I feel like skipping, I allow myself to do 15 or maybe 10 pushups instead. Some nights I have been in my bed and remembered to do my pushups. As you can imagine, I do not enthusiastically jump up and rep them out, but to keep my streak, I force my self to roll over and do at least one push up in my bed. Better that than nothing!
If forced myself to do 20 or nothing would have given up long ago. My habit has continued because I have been consistent.
If you make the choice to do a good habit as easy as possible, the habit will continue. Once it has become a habit then you can up the intensity.
Law #4: Make it Satisfying
The first three laws of habit making deal with the start of a habit. The fourth deals with continuing a habit long term.
Primitive humans lived in direct results world. Thank about it. If you successfully hunted an animal, you got to eat. You are focused on the immediate future and survival. In our modern world, we live in a delayed results society.
“If I work harder now, I will get a promotion in six months.”
“If I go to the gym now, I will be fitter in six weeks.”
But our brain is not naturally wired to think this way. The human brain is wired to put a higher value on immediate results than long term results. That is why we binge watch and eat ice cream instead of going to the gym. We want to feel good now.
To create a consistent habit, it needs to immediately rewarding, even in a small way. There are many ways to do this, but a simple one is a habit tracker. Seeing that box get checked is a reward. It gives you a sense of accomplishment.
Note: You want to avoid rewards that go against your habit. For example, if you are making a habit of going to the gym, you should not make your reward a milkshake. You might want to choose something like buying a new article of athletic clothing which will make you feel good and will motivate you to work out again.
Here is an expanded version of Clear’s 4 Laws for habit making:
Thank you for reading and happy habiting!