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New Book Summary: Atomic Habits by James Clear
Another summary of a habits-related book—this time, it's Atomic Habits by James Clear. The key takeaways are below and, as usual, you can find the full summary on my website.
I've also published a post about some problems with Atomic Habits and intend to follow up with a post comparing Tiny Habits and Atomic Habits next week. Then I'll be done with habits for a while, I promise!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Habits are important because small changes compound, habits save us mental energy, and much of our lives are habitual.
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Focus on changing your processes and identity, rather than on outcomes:
- Focusing on processes can help with motivation.
- In the long-term, what sustains a change is a change in your identity.
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The Habit Loop consists of the 4 steps needed to build any habit.
- Cue. The cue makes your brain predict a reward.
- Craving. The motivational force that makes you want to act.
- Response. The actual habit or behaviour you do.
- Reward. The reward makes the behaviour occur again in the future.
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From these 4 steps, Clear derives 4 laws of behaviour change:
- 1st law: Make it obvious (good habits) / invisible (bad habits). Specific strategies include: implementation intentions; habit stacking (basically a shortened version of the Tiny Habits method); and environment design.
- 2nd law: Make it attractive (good habits) / unattractive (bad habits). Specific strategies include: temptation bundling; using peer pressure, finding alternative ways to address underlying motives; focusing on benefits of good habits; and motivation rituals.
- 3rd law: Make it easy (good habits) / difficult (bad habits). Specific advice includes: repeat your habit; adjust the friction in your environment; and scale down your habit.
- 4th law: Make it satisfying (good habits) / unsatisfying (bad habits). Specific advice includes: tracking your habit in some visual way; habit contracts and accountability partners.
- In the last few chapters, Clear includes some high-level, general advice about finding things you’re good at, putting in your reps even when you’re bored, and reflecting and reviewing yourself to find ways to constantly improve.
Read the full detailed summary on ToSummarise.com.
ToSummarise.com
I summarise non-fiction books with more detail and critical analysis than you'll find elsewhere. Join my newsletter to get new summaries delivered straight to your inbox!
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