Notes on Atomic Habits

Notes from “Order From Chaos” Business Success Series: #4: How To G...

Notes on Atomic Habits

Pookybears,

Yesterday I shared with you my notes from reading Order From Chaos.

I found it helpful writing out those notes, so I thought I’d try again with another book!

I just finished Atomic Habits by James Clear today. It’s a super sonic bestseller – over 3 million copies now sold. I’ve seen it around quite a bit the last few years, and decided to grab a copy a few months ago because I was wanting to improve my habits.

I think it was a great book. HOWEVER… I am unsure yet whether I:
a) can remember anything from it (thus me reviewing my notes here)
b) will actually do anything differently from it.

I’ll let you know over time if it does make a big difference in habit formation & keeping!

In the meantime, here’s my notes!Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years. With better habits, anything is possible.British Cycling made massive gains in improvement by aggregating marginal gains… possibly. It may also be due to the fact they were doping.Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action. Improving by 1% can compound over time. What starts as a small win can accumulate into something much more. Habits are the compound interest of self improvement.The effects of habits multiply as you repeat them.Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits.Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results. Focus on systems.Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity.Ask yourself “Who is the type of person that could get the outcome that I want?” i.e. “What would a healthy person do?”You don’t need to be perfect. Your goal is simply to win the majority of the time with good habits over bad.Your identity emerges out of your habits. Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.Without good health habits, you will always be short on energy.A habit is a behaviour that has been repeated enough times to become automatic.The ultimate purpose of habits is to solve the problems of life as little energy and effort as possible.The Four Laws of Behaviour Change are a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits
1) make it obvious
2) make it attractive
3) make it easy
4) make it satisfyingHabit stack by pairing a new habit with an existing habit.Make the cues of good habits obvious in your environment.People with high self-control tend to spend less time in tempting situations. It’s easier to avoid temptation than resist it.One of the most practical ways to eliminate a bad habit is to reduce exposure to the cue that causes it.Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one.Make the cues of bad habits invisible.Temptation Bundling: bundle a necessary habit with something enjoyable. For example, listen to podcasts or voicemails only while walking.Habits are attractive when we associate them with positive feelings, and unattractive when we associate them with negative feelings.Quantity of creating breeds quality.The most effective form of learning is practice, not planning.Make the good habit the path of least resistance.
Reduce friction and obstacles between you and good habits.
Increase friction and obstacles between you and bad habits.Create an environment when doing the right thing is as easy as possible.When you start a new habit, it should take less than 2 minutes to do.The point is to master the habit of turning up.Victor Hugo had a book to write… so he locked up all his clothes and only left himself with a shawl. That way he couldn’t leave the house and needed to just write the book instead. Ha!The ultimate way to lock in future behaviour is to automate your habits.You are more likely to repeat a behaviour when it is satisfying.What is rewarded is repeated. What is punished is avoided.The costs of good habits is in the present.
The costs of bad habits are in the future.Make things satisfying using habit trackers, visual reminders of progress, money thermometers etc.If you miss a day try to get back on track as soon as possible.When you create an overarching goal, break it down into shorter priorities or phases and then daily habits to achieve that.Give yourself unpalatable consequences if you don’t follow through on something.Have an accountability partner or be public about your goals.The Big 5 Personality Traits
1) Openness to new experiences
2) Conscientiousness
3) Extroversion
4) Agreeableness
5) NeuroticismThe Big 5 Personality Traits have biological underpinnings. For example: neuroticism = hypersensitivity of the amygdala.Exploit/explore tradeoff
If winning or attaining the goal you want = keep exploiting current methods. Exploit exploit exploit.
If losing or not attaining the goal you want = explore new methods. Explore explore explore.A good player works hard to win the game everyone else is playing. A great player creates a new game that favours their strengths and avoids their weaknesses. Play a game that favours your strengths.Goldilocks Rule: set goals that are a stretch, but not unattainable. (i.e. not too hot, not too cold).Have a system for reflection and review to have continuous improvements over a career.Review
a) what went well
b) what didn’t go well
c) what did I learn.Hope this was useful in some way!

I read 90% of books on Kindle, and refer to my saved highlights & notes that are automatically added to my Goodreads account. Sometimes when I really want to study a book however, I get it in paperback.

I read this book in paperback format, and studied it like a textbook with highlighters & pens.

Happy learning my loves!

Big hugs,