Atomic Habits

James Clear

Rating: 8.5/10.0

I’ve read summaries of this book online and so avoided reading the book itself for a while. I’m glad I decided to pick it up—even though I am already familiar with many of the principles and strategies discussed, Clear goes into great detail about the biological motivations behind them as well as how you can implement these strategies yourself. I don’t have much else to say. Here are some useful takeaways in my opinion:

• Outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits.
• Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.
• Each repetition of a habit is a vote cast towards a certain identity (e.g. Every time you pick up a book, you are casting a vote towards your own identity of yourself as a reader).
• There are 4 stages to a habit. An ineffective habit fails at one or more of these stages.
  1. Cue: Noticing the reward. If you keep forgetting about your habit, make it more obvious (e.g. place a book on your pillow in the morning, so you see it at night).
  2. Craving: Wanting the reward. If you remember the habit but don’t feel like starting, make it more attractive (e.g. next time you buy something, ship it to a friend’s house and tell them to give it to you once you’ve finished the book).
  3. Response: Obtaining the reward. If you attempt but struggle at doing a habit, then make it easier (e.g. read 1 page a night at first).
  4. Reward. If you don’t feel like sticking to a habit, then the reward is not satisfying, so do you really want to keep doing it?
• Disciplined people do not necessarily have more self-control. Instead, they are better at restructuring their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower.
• Life feels reactive, but it is actually predictive. You are reacting to your own predictions of the near future.

IRL Update (01/07/2024): I’m doing fine I guess. Was very busy last semester and basically got no reading done. Now I’m on my second co-op term and hope to restore this habit :)