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Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
by
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem ...more
If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem ...more
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Kindle Edition, 319 pages
Published
October 16th 2018
by Avery
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Start your review of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

This book does a great job of laying down the framework of how habits are formed, and shares insightful strategies for building good habits and breaking bad ones. Even though I was already familiar with research behind habit formation, reading through this book helped me approach habits I’m trying to adopt or break in my own life from different angles.
But the book suffers from the same problems that seem to plague all self-help books. In the chapter about tracking habits, the author shares an an ...more
But the book suffers from the same problems that seem to plague all self-help books. In the chapter about tracking habits, the author shares an an ...more

TLDR;
- "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."
- The best way of building a habit is making it part of your identity.
- Make it easy to start: Habits are the entry point - not the goal. "Read 30 books" ⇒ "Read before bed every night" ⇒ "Read one page". Reduce a habit into a 2-minute first step.
- Stick to the plan: "Professionals stick to the schedule, amateurs let life get in the way." Don't be a "fair weather runner" if you want to run a lot.
- Make it ...more
- "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."
- The best way of building a habit is making it part of your identity.
- Make it easy to start: Habits are the entry point - not the goal. "Read 30 books" ⇒ "Read before bed every night" ⇒ "Read one page". Reduce a habit into a 2-minute first step.
- Stick to the plan: "Professionals stick to the schedule, amateurs let life get in the way." Don't be a "fair weather runner" if you want to run a lot.
- Make it ...more

May 13, 2019
Annie
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
good-habits,
recommend
Before starting this book, write down some good habits you want to build and some bad habits you want to break. This book is filled with practical steps and examples. Yes, there are plenty of habit-building books out there (just as there are plenty of diet books but yet there are still more new books published every year). Plenty of people are seeking the right book that resonates with them. The key points in this book are:
* Compound Effect - Very small changes over time will have a big impact.
* ...more
* Compound Effect - Very small changes over time will have a big impact.
* ...more

The first great book about habits was the Power of Habit. That book was quite theoretical and difficult to apply. This book, Atomic Habits, has a completely different approach. James Clear focused on writing a book that goes deep into every single step of habit creation from a practical point of view. At the end of the day, who we are and what we will achieve depends so much on these small habits that we do every day. James Clear argues, that focusing only on improving those habits will lead to
...more

“The more pride you have in a particular aspect of your identity, the more motivated you will be to maintain the habits associated with it. If you’re proud of how your hair looks, you’ll develop all sorts of habits to care for and maintain it. If you’re proud of the size of your biceps, you’ll make sure you never skip an upper-body workout. If you’re proud of the scarves you knit, you’ll be more likely to spend hours knitting each week. Once your pride gets involved, you’ll fight tooth a...more

I was prepared to dislike this book but I really enjoyed it!
I've seen it on so many list of "life-changing non fiction" next to deeply misogynistic authors and it's popular with people promoting hustle culture so I didn't expect it to work for me.
While I can't say that the information in it is that different from other books I've read on the topic, it's definitely the best breakdown of said info that I've seen.
Super accessible, bitesize chapters... absolutely go with the audiobook if you enjoy t ...more
I've seen it on so many list of "life-changing non fiction" next to deeply misogynistic authors and it's popular with people promoting hustle culture so I didn't expect it to work for me.
While I can't say that the information in it is that different from other books I've read on the topic, it's definitely the best breakdown of said info that I've seen.
Super accessible, bitesize chapters... absolutely go with the audiobook if you enjoy t ...more

Jul 18, 2020
Mario the lone bookwolf
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
0-mental-strength,
0-primate-brain
The nuclear option for pimping, rebranding, fine-tuning, and perfecting grey cells.
Atomic also in one regard: As long as it works, it´s perfect down to the smallest part, each atom. If it fails, it´s radioactive and self cannibalizing, -destructing- and demotivating.
To exaggerate, we can develop great working, social. and creative habits or destroy ourselves with neuroticism going haywire, find great ways to optimate oneself or madness, just read anecdotal filled pop psychology/science/philoso ...more
Atomic also in one regard: As long as it works, it´s perfect down to the smallest part, each atom. If it fails, it´s radioactive and self cannibalizing, -destructing- and demotivating.
To exaggerate, we can develop great working, social. and creative habits or destroy ourselves with neuroticism going haywire, find great ways to optimate oneself or madness, just read anecdotal filled pop psychology/science/philoso ...more

Almost everybody can relate. We make lofty goals: I’m going to run a marathon! I’m going to write a book! I’m going to lose weight! After a few weeks of intense effort (if we make it that far), we give up and go back to the way things were.
The only reason that I initially picked up this book was that someone was RAVING about it, and I was extremely skeptical. I honestly thought that this book was just going to be a bunch of rah rah feel good, you can do it, pep talk. However, it had an entire li ...more
The only reason that I initially picked up this book was that someone was RAVING about it, and I was extremely skeptical. I honestly thought that this book was just going to be a bunch of rah rah feel good, you can do it, pep talk. However, it had an entire li ...more

Reading this book feels like reading a homework assignment. James Clear wanted to read a lot of books and make a summary of the concepts he would implement for self-improvement. He also made a point in improve himself in the most hacky way possible. Instead of keeping the summary as personal notes, he published it. The fact that the author boasts about being a writer only makes it worse. You can actually smell the cheap tools he uses to put words into text and build chapters out of thin air. I w
...more

This is the only book on 'habits' you should read.
It lays out all the rules of changing/developing habits in a simple, straightforward way and gets right to the point without a bunch of rambling and seemingly unrelated filler chapters like some other self development books i've read. ...more
It lays out all the rules of changing/developing habits in a simple, straightforward way and gets right to the point without a bunch of rambling and seemingly unrelated filler chapters like some other self development books i've read. ...more

This book just climbed to the top as my most favourite self-help non-fiction of the year!
Totally engaging and quite convincing in how the book makes you want to change your bad habits and adopt good ones, this book doesn't talk in a way to make you feel overwhelmed or make you feel like everything you do is wrong or inadequate.
The book doesn't give you impractical tips yet it tells stories and what to learn in how to gradually maintain habits that would benefit you in the long run as well as ho ...more
Totally engaging and quite convincing in how the book makes you want to change your bad habits and adopt good ones, this book doesn't talk in a way to make you feel overwhelmed or make you feel like everything you do is wrong or inadequate.
The book doesn't give you impractical tips yet it tells stories and what to learn in how to gradually maintain habits that would benefit you in the long run as well as ho ...more

I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway yesterday and immediately settled down to read it. I am always very skeptical of self help books because they often do no get to the root of issues. This one did. James Clear's main arguments are that habits are the compound interest of self improvement and that your identify emerges out of your habits. So, you must expereince a shift in identity for your habits to hold. This made a lot of sense to me, but I do think that Clear should have addresses d
...more

I am in the mood for more non fiction lately, so I decided to read the books of Ali's book club. I wanted to read a book on habits for a long time now and Atomic Habits met all those criteria.
I am not gonna elaborate a lot since it is a well known book and there are a lot of YouTube videos that summed it up better than I can ever do including Abdaal's video here:
Check Video
Like all non-fiction books, I found most of the information in the book to be logical but the way it was written and ordere ...more
I am not gonna elaborate a lot since it is a well known book and there are a lot of YouTube videos that summed it up better than I can ever do including Abdaal's video here:
Check Video
Like all non-fiction books, I found most of the information in the book to be logical but the way it was written and ordere ...more

Why do I keep doing this to myself? All I want is a productive little audiobook to listen to while I work, helpfully filled with tips to improve my life. All I get is priviledged white people recycling the same old advice over and over. This book is especially grating as it's filled with cute little platitudes like "the same boiling water will soften a potato and harden an egg". I already know how boiling water works, thanks, can we get to the part where you tell me something I haven't heard fro
...more

"Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations."
Goals are useful for charting a course, but systems are the most effective in moving forward. When you spend too much time thinking about your goals and not enough time creating your systems, you'll run into a few issues. The antidote is a systems-first mentality. When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to permit yourself to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime you ...more
Goals are useful for charting a course, but systems are the most effective in moving forward. When you spend too much time thinking about your goals and not enough time creating your systems, you'll run into a few issues. The antidote is a systems-first mentality. When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to permit yourself to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime you ...more

Oct 25, 2021
Ahmad Sharabiani
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
psychology,
united-states,
21th-century,
non-fiction,
health,
leadership,
self-help,
science,
business
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, James Clear
If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system.
Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.
Clear is known for his ability to ...more
If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system.
Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.
Clear is known for his ability to ...more

Jan 15, 2019
David Laing
added it
In an episode of the North Star Podcast with David Perrell, the software entrepreneur Daniel Gross said something that I thought was wise:
The definition of a habit, for me, is something that doesn’t require willpower. How can I build a large collection of habits that are healthy—that are correct—and save them to RAM in my head so that I don’t have to think about them? I would like to have that done by the end of my 20s. I’d like to be in a good place in terms of body composition, in terms of wha...more

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones is a practical framework for how to build and keep new habits. To create a good habit, author James Clear suggests:
- Make it Obvious
- Make it Attractive
- Make it Easy
- Make it Satisfying
While at first glance these may seem overly simplistic, Atomic Habits delves into each of these concepts and also describes how these same ideas can be inverted to break bad habits. The content is easily digestible.
Different parts are ...more
- Make it Obvious
- Make it Attractive
- Make it Easy
- Make it Satisfying
While at first glance these may seem overly simplistic, Atomic Habits delves into each of these concepts and also describes how these same ideas can be inverted to break bad habits. The content is easily digestible.
Different parts are ...more

This is a dual review of two books about habit. Habits are important things in one’s life and there are numerous books on the subject. The classic book, a must read, is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. Another two popular books about habits are The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and Atomic Habits by James Clear, that came out very recently. Having read all three of them I combined my notes for the last two in this post. No matter what stage in life you are, it is al
...more

I really enjoyed how easily digested this book was. We all have certain habits we want to learn or unlearn and we usually start strong but lack the motivation to stick to it. This book really expanded my mind about what it actually takes to make habits stick and how motivation has VERY little to do with it.
I added a few of key quotes from the book that touch on some of the steps: why the smallest habits matter, awareness, repetition over perfection, focus on environment, how to keep going when ...more
I added a few of key quotes from the book that touch on some of the steps: why the smallest habits matter, awareness, repetition over perfection, focus on environment, how to keep going when ...more

This is basically reinforcement for Duhigg's books on habits. There is some good advice--get rid of obstacles, use cues of things you like to do with things you need to do (i.e., everytime you check facebook, do pushups or whatever). It's good advice, but nothing new or unique.
...more

Well, there’s almost no single shred of original content here. It could be a fine book if it’s the first self-improvement book you have started to read.
The science is also flawed. He presents the following elements for habit:
1. Cue
2. Craving
3. Action
4. Reward
Not to mention that its a skewed copy of principles presented in Power of Habits (to authors credit, he mentions it), craving starts to appear strongly only when your brain has learned to associate the cue, action, reward which happens wit ...more
The science is also flawed. He presents the following elements for habit:
1. Cue
2. Craving
3. Action
4. Reward
Not to mention that its a skewed copy of principles presented in Power of Habits (to authors credit, he mentions it), craving starts to appear strongly only when your brain has learned to associate the cue, action, reward which happens wit ...more

James Clear is very clear on this topic. I had to use that pun, as it's so true. The audio version of this is great, crisp and easy to understand.
The building of habits, not so much in what you want to achieve, but the way you go about it. The process. Surprisingly there is a lot to be said about this, and I think I do a lot of this stuff already, methodically tidying up as I go etcetera, to make the foundation easier. Think smart, and being organised for example. Being a fastidious tidier is mu ...more
The building of habits, not so much in what you want to achieve, but the way you go about it. The process. Surprisingly there is a lot to be said about this, and I think I do a lot of this stuff already, methodically tidying up as I go etcetera, to make the foundation easier. Think smart, and being organised for example. Being a fastidious tidier is mu ...more

This life-changing non-fiction title is one often spoken of, highly praised, and much recommended. I would say it is well-deserving of all this celebratory hype it has garnered over the years for how concise and yet detailed its content are, how many different suggested areas of daily improvement are included, and how easily implemented Clear makes them appear.

"Atomic Habits" relates to building and keeping good habits for a better life and success. After reading a few pages, the easy-going and casual tone of the book engages me to read on. The author correlates plenty deep and academic evaluation. My take on is to handle life overwhelming and stressful; having a certain number of good practices can prioritize the more important work. Also, as we know, starting and keeping a good habit is easier said than done, but "a thousand miles begins with a sing
...more

It's complicated ... my relationship with self-help books that is. On one hand, I'm one of those people who always wants to learn and improve, while also getting in my own way due to character/personality flaws, which I'm well acquainted with, which is why, occasionally, I read yet another self-help book, hoping to get inspired or to learn something that will result in me taking action.
I heard about this book from different sources which propelled me to put it on hold.
My usual scepticism was p ...more
I heard about this book from different sources which propelled me to put it on hold.
My usual scepticism was p ...more

Randomly started listening to this one because I'm trying to get out of my reading slump and I reaaaally enjoyed it! Some tips were super helpful!
...more

5.0 ⭐
GENRE - NON FICTION / SELF - HELP.
This is a masterpiece, If you are at that point of your life where you have failed, given up and feeling low and depressed, here is something for you which will not only lift up your spirits but bring you right on the path of success.
The Author James Clear in this book explains the importance of strengthening the foundation of life in order to achieve greater hights.We as human usually focus on the greater aspects of life while we fail to see that happiness ...more
GENRE - NON FICTION / SELF - HELP.
This is a masterpiece, If you are at that point of your life where you have failed, given up and feeling low and depressed, here is something for you which will not only lift up your spirits but bring you right on the path of success.
The Author James Clear in this book explains the importance of strengthening the foundation of life in order to achieve greater hights.We as human usually focus on the greater aspects of life while we fail to see that happiness ...more
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James Clear is the author of "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones"
He writes about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement at jamesclear.com. His website receives millions of visitors each month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his popular email newsletter.
His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Mornin ...more
He writes about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement at jamesclear.com. His website receives millions of visitors each month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his popular email newsletter.
His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Mornin ...more
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1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”
—
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“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
—
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