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ATOMIC HABITS - James Clear

GOALS vs. SYSTEMS

Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.

  • Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.
  • Winners and losers have the same goals.
  • Achieving a goal is only a momentary change.
  • Goals restrict your happiness.
  • Goals are at odds with long-term progress.
  • The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game.
  • You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
Changing our habits is challenging for two reasons:**
  • We try to change the wrong thing.
  • We try to change our habits in the wrong way.
Three Layers of Behavior Change
  1. The first layer is changing your outcomes. This level is concerned with changing your results: losing weight, publishing a book, winning a championship. Most of the goals you set are associated with this level of change.
  2. The second layer is changing your process. This level is concerned with changing your habits and systems: implementing a new routine at the gym, decluttering your desk for better workflow, developing a meditation practice. Most of the habits you build are associated with this level.
  3. The third and deepest layer is changing your identity. This level is concerned with changing your beliefs: your worldview, your self-image, your judgments about yourself and others. Most of the beliefs, assumptions, and biases you hold are associated with this level.

The alternative is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become.

Behavior that is incongruent with the self will not last. You may want more money, but if your identity is someone who consumes rather than creates, then you’ll continue to be pulled toward spending rather than earning.

The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this. It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this. New identities require new evidence. If you keep casting the same votes you’ve always cast, you’re going to get the same results you’ve always had. If nothing changes, nothing is going to change. It is a simple two-step process: Decide the type of person you want to be. Prove it to yourself with small wins.

I have a friend who lost over 100 pounds by asking herself, “What would a healthy person do?”

The formation of all habits is a feedback loop (a concept we will explore in depth in the next chapter), but it’s important to let your values, principles, and identity drive the loop rather than your results. The focus should always be on becoming that type of person, not getting a particular outcome.

PROCESS OF BUILDING HABITS (4 laws)

  1. Cue

    • anything related to the habit that signals to start a particular habit

  2. Craving

    • You do not crave smoking a cigarette, you crave the feeling of relief it provides. You are not motivated by brushing your teeth but rather by the feeling of a clean mouth. You do not want to turn on the television, you want to be entertained.
    • Every craving is linked to a desire to change your internal state.
    • The thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the observer are what transform a cue into a craving.

  3. Response

    • The response is the actual habit you perform, which can take the form of a thought or an action. Whether a response occurs depends on how motivated you are and how much friction is associated with the behavior.

  4. Reward

    • Rewards are the end goal of every habit.
    • The first purpose of rewards is to satisfy your craving.
    • Second, rewards teach us which actions are worth remembering in the future.

If a behavior is insufficient in any of the four stages, it will not become a habit.

  • Eliminate the cue and your habit will never start.
  • Reduce the craving and you won’t experience enough motivation to act.
  • Make the behavior difficult and you won’t be able to do it.
  • And if the reward fails to satisfy your desire, then you’ll have no reason to do it again in the future.

Without the first three steps, a behavior will not occur. Without all four, a behavior will not be repeated.

The problem phase includes the cue and the craving, and it is when you realize that something needs to change. The solution phase includes the response and the reward, and it is when you take action and achieve the change you desire.

you don’t need to be aware of the cue for a habit to begin. You can notice an opportunity and take action without dedicating conscious attention to it.

HABIT SCORECARD

  • Make a list of your daily habits.

    • Ask yourself, “Is this a good habit, a bad habit, or a neutral habit?”
    • If it is a good habit, write “+” next to it. If it is a bad habit, write “–”. If it is a neutral habit, write “=”.

  • If you’re having trouble determining how to rate a particular habit, here is a question I like to use: “Does this behavior help me become the type of person I wish to be? Does this habit cast a vote for or against my desired identity?”

  • Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity. It is not always obvious when and where to take action. Some people spend their entire lives waiting for the time to be right to make an improvement.

The simple way to apply this strategy to your habits is to fill out this sentence: I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]. eg. I will [exercise] at [5:30 AM] at local [gym]

HOW TO CREATE A GOOD HABIT (4 rules)

  1. Make It Obvious

    • Fill out the Habits Scorecard. Write down your current habits to become aware of them.
    • Use implementation intentions: “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].”
    • Use habit stacking: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”
    • Design your environment. Make the cues of good habits obvious and visible.

  2. Make It Attractive

    • Use temptation bundling. Pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do.
    • Join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.
    • Create a motivation ritual. Do something you enjoy immediately before a difficult habit.

  3. Make It Easy

    • Reduce friction. Decrease the number of steps between you and your good habits.
    • Prime the environment. Prepare your environment to make future actions easier.
    • Master the decisive moment. Optimize the small choices that deliver outsized impact.
    • Use the Two-Minute Rule. Downscale your habits until they can be done in two minutes or less.
    • Automate your habits. Invest in technology and onetime purchases that lock in future behavior.

  4. Make It Satisfying

    • Use reinforcement. Give yourself an immediate reward when you complete your habit.
    • Make “doing nothing” enjoyable. When avoiding a bad habit, design a way to see the benefits.
    • Use a habit tracker. Keep track of your habit streak and “don’t break the chain.”
    • Never miss twice. When you forget to do a habit, make sure you get back on track immediately.

HOW TO BREAK A BAD HABIT

  1. Make It Invisible

    • Reduce exposure. Remove the cues of your bad habits from your environment.

  2. Make It Unattractive

    • Reframe your mind-set. Highlight the benefits of avoiding your bad habits.

  3. Make It Difficult

    • Increase friction. Increase the number of steps between you and your bad habits.
    • Use a commitment device. Restrict your future choices to the ones that benefit you.

  4. Make It Unsatisfying

    • Get an accountability partner. Ask someone to watch your behavior.
    • Create a habit contract. Make the costs of your bad habits public and painful.

HABIT FOMULAS

  • Implementation Intention: I will (BEHAVIOR) at (TIME) in (LOCATION)
  • Habit Stacking: After (CURRENT HABIT), I will (NEW HABIT)
  • Habit Stacking + Temptation Bundling:
    • After (CURRENT HABIT), I will (HABIT I NEED)
    • After (HABIT I NEED), I will (HABIT I WANT)
  • Habit Stacking + Habit Tracking: After (CURRENT HABIT), I will (TRACK MY HABIT)
  • Mastery = Habits + Deliberate Practice

MOTIVATION is overrated ,ENVIRONMENT underrated

  • Environment design allows you to take back control and become the architect of your life. Be the designer of your world and not merely the consumer of it
  • Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior. Despite our unique personalities, certain behaviors tend to arise again and again under certain environmental conditions.
  • A stable environment where everything has a place and a purpose is an environment where habits can easily form
  • Optimize your environment…This is the secret to self-control.The central idea is to create an environment where doing the right thing is as easy as possible

MEASURING PROGRESS

  • Simple Rule: “Never miss twice…Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.”
  • Habit Tracking
    • “Perhaps the best way to measure your progress is with a habit tracker…Habit tracking (1) creates a visual cue that can remind you to act, (2) is inherently motivating because you see the progress you are making and don’t want to lose it, and (3) feels satisfying whenever you record another successful instance of your habit. Furthermore, habit tracking provides visual proof that you are casting votes for the type of person you wish to become, which is a delightful form of immediate and intrinsic gratification.”
  • 1 Percent Better
    • “If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Conversely, if you get 1 percent worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero"
  • Time
    • “Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy.“
  • Outcomes
    • “Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat.“
  • Reflection and Review
    • “Reflection can also bring a sense of perspective. Daily habits are powerful because of how they compound, but worrying too much about every daily choice is like looking at yourself in the mirror from an inch away. You can see every imperfection and lose sight of the bigger picture. There is too much feedback. Conversely, never reviewing your habits is like never looking in the mirror. You aren’t aware of easily fixable flaws—a spot on your shirt, a bit of food in your teeth. There is too little feedback. Periodic reflection and review is like viewing yourself in the mirror from a conversational distance. You can see the important changes you should make without losing sight of the bigger picture. You want to view the entire mountain range, not obsess over each peak and valley.”