Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones

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Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

James Clear (Author, Narrator), Penguin Audio (Publisher)

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Random House presents the audiobook edition of Atomic Habits by James Clear, read by the author.

A revolutionary system to get 1 percent better every day.

People think when you want to change your life, you need to think big. But world-renowned habits expert James Clear has discovered another way. He knows that real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions - doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early or holding a single short phone call.

He calls them atomic habits.

In this groundbreaking book, Clears reveals exactly how these minuscule changes can grow into such life-altering outcomes. He uncovers a handful of simple life hacks (the forgotten art of Habit Stacking, the unexpected power of the Two Minute Rule or the trick to entering the Goldilocks Zone) and delves into cutting-edge psychology and neuroscience to explain why they matter. Along the way, he tells inspiring stories of Olympic gold medalists, leading CEOs and distinguished scientists who have used the science of tiny habits to stay productive, motivated and happy.

These small changes will have a revolutionary effect on your career, your relationships and your life.

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Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones

James Clear (Author, Narrator), Penguin Audio (Publisher)

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Product details

Listening Length	5 hours and 35 minutes
Author	James Clear
Narrator	James Clear
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	18 October 2018
Publisher	Penguin Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07J1LQDWD
Best Sellers Rank	5 in Audible (See Top 100 in Audible) 1 in Psychology & Counselling (Audible) 1 in Cognitive Psychology (Books) 1 in Personal Transformation (Audible)

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Get 1% Better Everyday

Reviewed in Australia on 8 December 2018

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Atomic Habits review

“Get 1% better every day”.

I am slightly biased in writing this review because prior to reading the book I already possessed a near religious belief in habits and how they impact our lives. Having read previous habit books like Charles Duhigg Power of Habits and Marshall Goldsmith “triggers”, I felt I was at least relatively intermediate on my knowledge of the topic.

Why did I read the book then? Because learning (or reinforcing learning) about habits is one of the most powerful ways for you to improve in the game of life. Your habits shape your destiny is one of my core beliefs so I am always happy to try to get a new “edge” or ways to improve them. I also
expected to find new gems that would help reinforce the message of why habits are so powerful and I was not disappointed.

But enough of my own habits and life, the question is whether you should read this book? The resounding answer is YES.
Honestly, who doesn’t want to get better at something? Or who doesn't want to stop doing something?

James Clear is a fantastic writer who I have followed his informative articles on a variety of topics for nearly a year. A lot of what is in the book is material he has written about on his website as other reviewers have stated but he puts it together in a very neat format for the book so even his regular readers should get something out of this. I actually took so many notes/highlights from the Kindle edition that I almost reached the publisher limit of 10% - a sign that I believe highly in what I am reading and want to reflect upon it for years to come.

The opening pages of the book lay down a quote I will now repeat forever “if you can get 1% 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% worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero.” The beginning lays out why habits are so powerful and how habits shape who we are as people before getting into the HOW of starting to build better habits.

The core of the book is based on the author’s “4 Laws” of habit change - Make it obvious, Make it Attractive, Make it Easy, Make it Satisfying”. By following the laws of habit creation we improve our chances of success in creating new habits.

Without droning on too long, I must highly recommend this book. Even if you have no idea about what a habit is or if you are already advanced in the practising of habit change then this book will still teach you so much. If not just a refresher on the topic to keep you motivated. Seriously, anyone of any age could benefit from this book. It gives you the tools to start thinking more clearly about your life and improving it. I would recommend it to anyone over the other habit books I have read (see above) as it is relatively short and provides the “how to” parts on a silver platter.

I will end my post on a few excellent quotes of the book towards the end (Ch.19 ”How to Stay Motivated” as this is the golden question for once you finish the book. A coach was asked by Clear what is the difference between the best athletes and everyone else? The coach said: ‘the factors you might expect: genetics, luck, talent. But then he said something I wasn’t expecting: “At some point it comes down to who can handle the boredom of training every day, doing the same lifts over and over and over.”

“Mastery requires practice. But the more you practice something, the more boring and routine it becomes. Once the beginner gains have been made and we learn what to expect, our interest starts to fade.

It is a fantastic book but the key thing will be can you then translate that into action? The book gives you the best leg up you can get - it’s then up to you to turn knowledge into action and go and get 1% better every darn day.

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Eric J. Drysdale

Tiny Changes - Consistent Application and Discipline - No Limits!

Reviewed in Australia on 24 March 2019

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Although a large percentage of the 2300 plus books I have read since January 2000 are audio, mostly from Audible, I feel this is a case where you need a print edition. With non-fiction books I like to mark the margin in pencil to identify key points, then create my own index, and that is certainly the case here. Although James provides a chapter summary, which is most useful, the items that have relevance for you are worth noting.
James kindly sent me chapter 1, as he no doubt did to tens of thousands on his mailing list. I found this most interesting and prompted me to buy two copies (one to loan to friends) in due course. On reflection it occurred to me that there are 1440 minutes in the day, 1% being 14.4 minutes. Round that up to 15 minutes – a quarter of an hour. All of us can devote 1% a day to a desired project, and over time that adds up. I decided that apart from whatever else I was doing in the writing field, preparing my novel THE PRICE TO PAY and a collection of 25 short stories – THE FORK IN THE ROAD – to go on Kindle, etc. I would devote 1% a day to writing a new short story. Consequently, since the end of October 2018 I have written 8 stories with a word count of a bit over 38,000 words. I do acknowledge that when the creative process is upon me and I am nearing the end I might get up at 4:30 am and write for a couple of hours, but it has been an excellent discipline.
I believe that anyone who wants to improve their productivity, refine the process by which they achieve this and become more efficient in achieving your goals, ATOMIC HABITS is a book to read, then read again and again. Thank you James for your excellent ‘Giving Attitude’ – you deserve all your success and are entitled to enjoy both the tangible and the intangible moments as you pass the markers along Success Road.
Eric J Drysdale – em: ericjdrysdale@gmail.com

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Brilliant stories and compelling case studies make the insights stick

Reviewed in Australia on 18 November 2018

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This book is very well researched and written in a very easy to understand style.

It's full of brilliant stories and compelling case studies which make the insights stick as well as inspiring you to take action.

The summaries at the end of each chapter are very good and worth going back to.

The downloadable resources are excellent and inspire further action taking.

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Len

Practical and easy to apply for behavior change

Reviewed in Australia on 1 November 2018

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I found the four laws easy to understand and apply. Two things especially useful were the concepts about 'the plateau of latent potential', and 'the three layers of behavior change'. I believe that if we adopt identity-based behavior we can overcome the barriers to reaping the rewards that lie beyond our latent potential.
I gladly recommend reading this book.

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Anthony English

Bite-sized, immediately actionable advice

Reviewed in Australia on 2 January 2019

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James has an extremely direct and readable style. He's clearly a student of human nature and uses a wealth of examples that can give you enough to get started with immediately.

The opening story of an injury from baseball may be traumatising for some squeamish readers, but it shows the amazing courage that James had as a very young man. I believe his extraordinary dedication and fidelity to writing and to learning about how we make or break our habits was enough to give this long-lasting gift of this book to the world.

Atomic Habits seems to be perfectly tailored to this age of distraction, and he gives advice for everybody on how they can rise above the clutter and noise.

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Haical Sajovic Haddad

Updated review after 100 days building small yet lasting habits.

Reviewed in the United States on 18 October 2018

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I previously wrote this review right after reading the book. Today, February 15th, after applying James’s system for 100 days on a few tiny habits, I feel compelled to share updates with you because they have sincerely worked.

I will divide the review into 5 parts. The first part is a summary of the book with short excerpts highlighted while taking notes. Next, I hope to share pieces of advice that have motivated me while building new habits. Following that, I will share how I implemented the first 3 habits throughout these months. Then, some thoughts to whom I would recommend reading the book. Last, there are 4 complementary readings.

SUMMARY

[Introduction] James starts by sharing personal strategies he implemented to recover from a serious accident in high school. That event forced him to improve the quality of his routine to get his life in order, coming to the conclusion that “we all deal with setbacks, but in the long run, the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits. With the same habits, you will end up with the same results. But with better habits, anything is possible.”

[Section I : The Fundamentals]

[Chapter 1] Here we learn the power of compounding effect: changes that seem small and unimportant at any given day will compound into remarkable results if we are willing to stick with them for months and years. James explains that “breakthrough moments are often the result of many previous actions, which build up the potential required to unleash a major change.” Comparing to habits, he shows that bamboo can barely be seen during the first couple of years while the roots grow underground before exploding for almost 100 feet into the air in a few weeks. From that perspective, we come to understand the best outcomes are generally delayed.

[Chapter 2] Based on a 3-layer concentric circle behavior change model—divided into outcome change, process change, and identity change—James explains that we should pay attention to our inner identity by focusing on beliefs, assumptions, and values. “Many people begin the process of changing their habits by focusing on what they want to achieve. This leads us to outcome-based habits. The alternative is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become.” The strongest changes, then, happen from inside out, starting from our identity, passing through the process, and ultimately changing the outcome.

[Chapter 3] In this chapter we are introduced to a 4-step framework, which is composed of cue, craving, response, and reward. James calls it 'The 4 Laws of Behavior Change'. He then explains that we can think of each law as a lever that influences our behavior—when the levers are in the right positions, they create good habits effortless whereas when they are in the wrong position, it is nearly impossible. Through examples, he explains that “the cue triggers a craving, which motivates a response, which provides a reward, which satisfies the craving and, ultimately, becomes associated with the cue.” Together they create a habit loop that, when repeated many times, habits become automatic.

[Section II : Make It Obvious]

[Chapter 4] A primer on how cues play a crucial role in predicting habit formation without consciously thinking about the outcomes. Once our habits become so common, the cues associated with them become essentially invisible because they are deeply encoded. If we want to create better habits, a good idea is to be aware of the cues. James finishes up by sharing a strategy called 'Habits Scorecard'—a simple exercise to become more aware of our behavior on a daily basis. We first write down a chronological list of our daily habits and, once we have a full list, we score each habit as an effective, ineffective, or neutral habit. Besides noticing what is actually going on, we can notice if certain behaviors help us become the type of person we wish to be.

[Chapter 5] The cues that can trigger a habit come in a wide range of forms, and the 2 most common cues are time and location. When we make a specific plan for when and where we will perform a new habit, we are more likely to follow through. Stacking our habits by pairing a new habit with a current habit is a form to connect our behavior to our own advantage. An example when building a daily journaling habit would be: “after I pour my cup of coffee each morning, I will journal for 5 minutes.”

[Chapter 6] This chapter shows how our environment plays a crucial role in defining habit behaviors. “Given that we are more dependent on vision than any other sense, it should come as no surprise that visual cues are the greatest catalyst of our behavior.” To build good habits, then, we should either make desirable cues obvious in our environment or build new habits in a new environment to avoid fighting against old ones.

[Chapter 7] One of the most practical ways to break a bad habit is to reduce exposure to the cue that causes it. As James points out, “it is easier to avoid temptation than resist it.”

[Section III : Make It Attractive]

[Chapter 8] James explains how the modern food industry has created products that are more attractive and addictive to consumers, and by doing so he shows that the more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming. Every behavior that is highly habit-forming tends to be associated with higher levels of dopamine. It is the anticipation of a reward that motivates us to take action. “Temptation bundling is one way to make your habits more attractive. The strategy is to pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do.”

[Chapter 9] “We tend to adopt habits that are praised and approved of by our culture because we have a strong desire to fit in and belong to the tribe.” That said, it is common to pick up habits and behaviors from our parents, peers, and colleagues. There is also a tremendous internal pressure to comply with the norms of the tribe. And, finally, we try to copy the behavior of successful people because we desire success ourselves. One of the best strategies to build better habits is to join a culture where the desired behavior is the normal behavior.

[Chapter 10] To avoid unnecessary and detrimental cravings, we should highlight the benefits of avoiding a bad habit by making it seem unattractive. “Habits are unattractive when we associate them with negative feelings.”

[Section IV : Make It Easy]

[Chapter 11] “All habits follow a similar trajectory from effortful practice to automatic behavior, a process known as automaticity. Automaticity is the ability to perform a behavior without thinking about each step, which occurs when the nonconscious mind takes over.” The key component is to pay close attention to the frequency we perform a habit, not much for how long we have been practicing it.

[Chapter 12] Since every action requires a certain amount of energy, we are motivated to do what is easy. By contrast, the more energy required, the less likely it is to occur. “You don't actually want the habit itself. What you really want is the outcome the habit delivers. The greater the obstacle, the more friction there is between you and your desired end state.” That is why we should reduce the friction associated with our habits by creating a prosperous environment to make future actions easier.

[Chapter 13] There are decisive moments that deliver an outsized impact every single day. As James puts, these decisive moments are a fork in the road, sending us in the direction of a productive path or an unproductive one. To avoid procrastination, the skill of 'Showing Up' says that we should start a new habit by taking baby steps, making it as easy as possible to take action. “A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first 2 minutes should be easy. What you want is a gateway habit that naturally leads you down a more productive path.” He calls it the 'Two-Minute Rule', meaning that new habits should take less than 2 minutes to do in the beginning. Once the habit is established we can improve and master the finer details.

[Chapter 14] In order to keep bad habits away is to make them difficult in the first place. There are 2 interesting strategies to improve our future behavior. [1] Make good choices in advance before we can fall victim to temptation in the future. James gives a personal example by sharing that whenever he is looking to cut calories he will ask the waiter to split his meal and box half of it to go before the meal is served. If, however, he waits for the meal to be served and tries to eat just half, that would never happen. [2] Make onetime actions that can automate our future habits and deliver increasing returns over time such as buying a good water filter, unsubscribing from unwanted emails, moving to a friendlier neighborhood, buying a standing desk, or setting up automatic bill pay.

[Section V : Make It Satisfying]

[Chapter 15] We should make sure to feel immediately satisfied after performing a new habit to increase the odds that the behavior will be repeated next time. “The human brain has evolved to prioritize immediate rewards over delayed rewards.” For that, we can add a little bit of immediate pleasure to the habits that pay off in the long-run.

[Chapter 16] Here we learn how to measure our progress by tracking our habits. The immediate satisfaction it delivers—as mentioned earlier in Chapter 15—is one of the many benefits that standout. Besides that, James says, “when we get a signal that we are moving forward, we become more motivated to continue down that path.” The most basic format to track our habits is to get a calendar and mark an X each time we stick with our routine. One of the most important passages of the entire book is as follows: “If you miss one day, try to get back into it as quickly as possible. The first mistake is never the one that ruins you. It is the spiral of repeated mistakes that follows. Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit. This is a distinguishing feature between winners and losers. Anyone can have a bad performance, a bad workout, or a bad day at work. But when successful people fail, they rebound quickly.”

[Chapter 17] In order to prevent bad habits and/or eliminate unhealthy behaviors, James says that we could either add an instant cost to the action or make it painful. A habit contract is also another strategy to hold our accountability: “It is a verbal or written agreement in which you state your commitment to a particular habit and the punishment that will occur if you don't follow through. Then you find one to two people to act as your accountability partners and sign off on the contract with you.”

[Section VI : Advanced Techniques]

[Chapter 18] We learn how to distinguish habits when genes may or may not influence our performance especially for competitive activities. “One of the best ways to ensure your habits remain satisfying over the long-run is to pick behaviors that align with your personality and skills.” James proposes us to set some time apart to explore new activities in the beginning, before shifting our focus to exploit them thoroughly.

[Chapter 19] When we find the sweet spot of our ability we tend to learn best and fastest. The ‘Goldilocks Rule’ states that "humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities. Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right.”

[Chapter 20] One downside of certain habits, James explains, is that we may stop paying attention to the little details and errors. To counterbalance that we should review and reflect on the process over time to remain conscious of our own performance. Using a simple chart to convey his message, we learn that “the process of mastery requires that you progressively layer improvements on top of one another, each habit building upon the last until a new level of performance has been reached and a higher range of skills has been internalized.”

PERSONAL THOUGHTS

Reading the book twice helped me take better notes and capture details. In the meantime, I thought about 3 simple strategies that could improve our adherence to new habits. Let me share these strategies here with you, and in the following section, I will describe how I managed to cultivate the first 3 new habits upon reading the book—following the system proposed by James together with these 3 strategies.

[1] The first strategy is about determining a 'commitment time frame' to avoid excuses during this initial trial period. A 1-month time frame is a fair commitment, choosing to start on the first day of the month to practice it every single day for a full month. Just at the end of the period, I will take the time to reflect and evaluate the pros and cons.

[2] The next one is to choose only 1 new habit each month. In doing so we become familiar with the practice intentionally while we develop a sense of purpose.

[3] Last, during the first month of any new habit, I noticed that if I spend time exploring the details and the benefits, my motivation stays high. It doesn't only help us create better practices, but it is also inspiring to learn from others who have succeeded previously by adding the same habit into their lives. Podcasts, articles, videos, books, online courses, tutorials, and blog posts are all good sources.

IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW HABITS

[Nov 1, 2018] I had been wanting to journal on a daily basis for many years but that had never happened. Although I have carried a notebook with me for quite a while, it has never worked as a real journal—a daily routine, when we sit down and write personal thoughts, intentions, and reflections at around the same time. Instead, it has been mostly used to take notes during meetings, to write down ideas and thoughts, to express travel memories, and to doodle. Today, after 3+ months, I haven't looked back once, and still can't believe it took me that long to start this daily habit. During the first month, I read blog posts, watched videos, and even read a short and inexpensive book to foster my creativity.

[Dec 1, 2018] I have been impressed by the physical capabilities we can develop through body movement. Although yoga has been a special part of my life since I was 18, I hadn't given proper attention to handstands. But now, after 2+ months practicing it every day, it is rewarding to see improvements on a weekly basis. Again, I definitely recommend watching videos and reading tutorials to find your favorite method. This is the perfect habit to stack at the end or in the middle of any physical movement practice you may enjoy.

[Jan 1, 2019] By now we know the benefits of cold showers—ranging from healthier skin appearance all the way to a more resilient perspective of the world. I had previously taken cold showers for 3 months in 2017, but it was a “goal” mindset instead of a “habit” mindset. After that trial I set aside and, although I have kept taking cold showers once or twice a week since then, I wished cold showers was the default mode. Now, after 1+ month, I can't see myself taking warm showers. After all, it is about intention. Again, we can learn uncountable benefits of cold showers by reading success stories. One of my inspirations was Wim Hof. It isn't comfortable in the beginning of any chosen day, but after 3-4 minutes, both my breath and thoughts calm down.

Putting them together, these 3 habits don't take more than 30 minutes of my day. While I spend about 10 minutes journaling and 10 more minutes practicing handstands, I save 5 minutes taking cold showers because I won't stay any longer than necessary.

RECOMMENDATION

[1] First, if you have watched videos, listened to podcasts, read articles and books on habit formation and, after all that, you feel satisfied, then, please, save your money and time.

[2] However, if you are like me, that even after reading a few books on building habits and having successfully added good habits to your life, feel that there is still room for improvement, this book can be a terrific addition.

[3] Last, if you haven't spent much time and energy discovering a good system to build lasting habits while breaking bad ones, please, read this book.

COMPLEMENTARY READINGS

[1] Game Changers, by Dave Asprey, exposed me to a wealth array of ideas/habits/tools that have helped me decide which new habit to build next. The book is divided into 46 laws.

[2] Essentialism, by Greg McKeown, helped me focus on less but more important tasks, giving clarity to what matters most. This is especially interesting to break bad habits.

[3] The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle, brought more motivation when learning new skills based on the assumptions that we develop new talents through deep practices, finding our ignition identity, and having the right coach to guide us genuinely. I read it many years ago, then, a few years back, I read his following book called The Little Book of Talent—which is perhaps even more to the point.

[4] The Systems View of Life, by Fritjof Capra, enlightened my perspectives on how nature and living beings are systematically integrated. It is a profound and slightly academic book that can complement Atomic Habits especially to tie together the 4-step framework into the feedback loop system.

I sincerely hope you, too, have fun while building new habits.

Take care,

Haical

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Tushar Joshi

Atomic Habits by James Clear is highly recommended read

Reviewed in India on 27 October 2018

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I was aware of many concepts of this book through the web site of the author jamesclear.com In fact that the place from where I came to know James first time. The article on habits where he mentions process is important than goals was my starting point. I continued reading his updates through the consistent newsletter he publishes through his site.

Once the book was announced and available it was a no brainer for me to purchase my own copy to have all the concepts in one place and to go through the ideas in succession.

This book provides supplementary material like cheat sheet and templates which are very useful for planning your own habit profile and continuous improvement.

This book is action oriented. The concepts present an action plan for trying them in your own situation and to practice the ideas directly in day to day life. This makes the book an instruction manual for nurturing good habits and killing bad habits. I was able to immediately relate to many new habits to start and many not so good habits I can stop and avoid using the identification pattern provided in the book.

The principle presented in the book about understanding who to become, that is finding out what identity to achieve instead of just starting or stopping a habit is very helpful.

One important aspect of this book is the to the point summary provided after every chapter. Once you have read the book this summary helps recall all the concepts in short time and becomes a concise model to revise the concepts.

The book is engaging and is suitable for reading cover to cover as it provides many stories and references. As the concept of process than goals was already known to me through the Learning How to Learn MOOC at Coursera, I was glad to find the same concept mentioned in this book and was able to relate quickly with the principles.

The book also becomes a workbook and reference material once you have gone through it. The chapters are divided into sections which can be referred for particular situation in hand.

I will recommend this book for anyone who is eager to understand why habits are formed and how to nurture good habits and avoid bad ones.

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Pimlico reader

Treasure trove of tips on how to manage habits, but let down by unresolved contradictions

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 September 2019

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This is a wonderful book for tips on how to manage habits. But the author is more of a presenter of information than a clear thinker, and more work is needed to resolve some of the contradictions in his presentation.

For example, he uses the term "habit" to refer to three quite different things without taking into account the differences: First, what one might call "unthinking habits," such as making coffee first thing in the morning, automatically, no decision required, you just do it without thinking, but there is none of the progressive effect that Clear describes as a virtue of "habits." Unthinking habits are all about economy of effort in routine chores.

Second, "cumulative habits," which also don't require a decision or a lot of thought - you just do them, because you have got into the habit - but these result in a cumulative effect over time; for example, exercising after work, which can lead to quite substantial improvements in fitness with a little effort each time over a period of time.

Third, what are really "routines" rather than habits: for example, writing 10 pages of your novel before breakfast every morning. Once established, these are initiated each time automatically, because that's your time to do X, and they are cumulative (10 pages/day adds up to a complete book at some point), but they are most definitely not unthinking or automatic in their execution.

These distinctions are important because the three types of habit need to be handled differently. We don't need to think about automatic habits or even cumulative habits, during the rest of the day. But to make progress with a routine such as writing or any other creative endeavor, a constant mulling over outside the actual time of the routine involvement is essential. The first two are about economy of effort, while the third is about momentum of engagement and reaching a distant target with consistent application over time, but with very little "economy."

Another point: Clear says initially that we change our habits by changing our beliefs about ourselves (pp. 32-35), but this is manifestly untenable - believing you are a writer is not the same as actually writing a book, nor does mere belief lead to action. So he is forced to shift the narrative to seeing change of self as a matter of acting in a way that creates the person we want to be, by developing the right habits (as Aristotle described this), and there he is on sounder ground. But it would be helpful to the reader if he worked out these untenable lines of thinking beforehand and avoided taking the reader down them altogether.

Timothy Corwen (author, The Worth of a Person; https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1790698391/)

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Old China

A Long Time Favourite Author of Mine...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 October 2018

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I have been a subscriber of James's email for a number of years and have always thoroughly enjoyed his writing. It's practical, useful and always well presented. As soon as he announced his book, I was straight on Amazon to pre-order. Although it only arrived today, I had the chance to listen to an early audio book copy. It's absolutely superb!

This book is as practical as the content of his email newsletters, and I intend on reading (or listening to) this book multiple times over so I can 'extract' as much value from it as possible. He offers background, context, stories and more, to illustrate each of his points. As with all books of this nature, merely listening is not enough; application and implementation is key to gaining value from it.

There's a good amount of additional supporting material that you can download too (links are in the book). So you not only get the book to read, but lots of extras to help you make use of what is taught.

It's an engaging listen (or read) and comes highly recommended by me! If you're unsure, search online for "James Clear", have a read of some of his content, and make a decision.

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Francoise

Absolutely superb!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 January 2019

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OH.MY.GOSH! What a phenomenal book! I have read so many books as part of my personal development but I always find that authors end up glorifying themselves throughout continuously going on and on about their own achievements. Yes you finish the book feeling pumped up to a certain extent and feeling like you too, can be a superstar only to find yourself in the same place a week later.
This book is completely different, a no nonsense, down to earth practical piece with fantastic takeaways which anyone can apply so easily to fit in with their lifestyle. It is so methodical in it's approach and so clear (the family name suits him well! :-p).
It has a perfect blend of research, anecdotes, real life stories, tools and references. I also love his sense of humour and those little details interjected along the way. I simply did not want the book to end.
I urge anyone who loves the book to read his blog which has loads of truly awesome resources. Having implemented some of the tools, I already find that they have had a tremendous impact.
He is for me the Dale Carnegie of the modern era with added humour. Cannot recommend this book enough. I bought it on Kindle and had to buy the paperback version too to have it on my shelf!

76 people found this helpful

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Pravin Poojary.

Beware!! This Book can change your Life :)

Reviewed in India on 16 November 2018

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And I absolutely mean it what I said in Headline of my comment. I have been following jamesclear.com from very long.
His one article has absolutely changed my life, imagine what this book can offer to you.

I have been chasing to build many habits and experimenting with them a lot but I would always find a bit difficult to stay with my changed behavior and then while browsing on internet studying more on habits formation I stumbled on James's articles and boy this guy has the answer for habit formation.

If you are looking to form a new habit you have to read this Book.

I have never commented online on any of the books that I have read but this one deserves a lot of appreciation.

This one is for you James, in future if you ever read this comment I want to tell you that your work has hugely impacted my life. And I express my huge gratitude towards your work on Atomic Habits and the articles you post. Thank a lot for this :)

136 people found this helpful

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Matt Evans

You know everything already.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 January 2019

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I bought this book as I listened to an interview with James Clear on a podcast and found him interesting. His book, however was disappointing. It follows the typical self-help formula of common sense and old ideas combined with overly simplistic charts and celebrity anecdotes to remind you of what you already know.

That said, sometimes you do need the reminder. And I did pick up a few useful tips. So it’s worth the read. But don’t expect anything special.

61 people found this helpful

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Simon

Life changing - well worth buying

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 October 2018

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James Clear has a great writing style which captures you and makes it easy to grasp his teaching. I have been reading his blog for years and got tremendous value from his actionable points. Keep up the good work James! Atomic Habits will be life changing for many. A few of my favourite concepts : 4 Burners theory, the bus station (life choices), and focusing on a system as opposed to goals. I've had so many eureka moments and realisations reading the blog and look forward to finishing this wonderful book.

42 people found this helpful

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Mavieestbelle

A revolutionary, mind-blowing approach to habit-formation

Reviewed in Germany on 2 November 2018

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This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to build good habits and break bad ones (And who doesn't ?).
Unlike most books I'd read on the subject, "Atomic Habits" is neither an autobiography nor a purely theoretical piece of writing. In fact, it is a real hands-on book and the strategies it contains can be applied immediately.

The major concept of the book is to focus on small but consistent improvement. The author argues that "just as atoms are the building blocks of molecules, atomic habits are the building blocks of remarkable results". According to James Clear, there are four stages that are crucial when it comes to creating good habits (and breaking bad ones):
1. Cue -Make it obvious (invisible)
2. Craving - Make it attractive (unattractive)
3. Response - Make it easy (difficult)
4. Reward - Make it satisfying (unsatisfying)

In my opinion "Atomic Habits" is a treasure for anyone seriously interested in personal development and self-improvement.

58 people found this helpful

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Tessa

Best book I have read on the subject

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 October 2018

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I have enjoyed reading the weekly newsletter James sends out so knew the book would be good, I just didn’t know how good. It is so practical and explains ideas in a way that I could connect with. There are so many great strategies to address the barriers to maintaining habits. ‘Never miss twice’ has become my profile picture and such a great way to deal with the occasional relapse to laziness or when life takes over. Thanks James for sharing these ideas in such a useable format and for staying on task so the rest of us can achieve our full potential too.

29 people found this helpful

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Patrick

Das beste Buch für Gewohnheiten.

Reviewed in Germany on 10 May 2019

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Unbedingte Leseempfehlung...
Ich bin seit Jahren dabei immer und immer wieder neue Gewohnheiten in meinem Alltag zu integrieren mit Blick auf Selbstverbesserung - sportlicher, gesünder, produktiver usw.. - dieses Buch macht all das einfach.
Das was mir am meisten gebracht hat ist es:
A) Gewohnheiten lächerlich klein zu machen (Bsp. Sportsachen herauslegen statt 1 Stunde Joggen)
B) Gute Gewohnheiten leicht zu machen -> gutes Essen gut sichtbar herrichten (Apfel, ..)
Schlechte Gewohnheiten schwer machen -> Süßigkeiten in die letzte Ecke der Wohnung.
Der Effekt der Punkte allein wäre mir schon ein paar hundert Euro wert.

43 people found this helpful

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alina

As good as gold

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2020

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This book is just fantastic!! I am a reader of self development books especially, so I basicly study in details the books that I read, but this book I couldn't stop using my hilighters:) It seems like every idea that I read is important and I want to retain it. Amazing, fantastic, awesome, deserved to be read and kept, even in a decluttered house!! And as a conclusion, I already sstart to see improvements in my behaviours because I start to understand the psychology underneath.

12 people found this helpful

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Mr. G. Lawrence

For anything you want to improve in your life

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 November 2018

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James Clear is the best. His writing is clear, sorry, no joke intended there - all straightforward and beautifully expressed. His character and integrity come through honestly. The ideas are all explained and illustrated with examples, and you will find them practical and helpful. I'd recommend getting on to his email list, as his regular free communications are rather better than many other people pushing life-improvement concepts. (If you don't agree with me you can always unsubscribe!) The book is well worth the value, in my opinion.

14 people found this helpful

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Lyra

One of the few good ones and it works

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 December 2018

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I'm a little snobby about self help books - like many things, there's a handful of excellent ones, and a lot of rubbish. This falls into the former category. I've read and enjoyed a few of the author's articles and wondered if there was enough to justify a book... there is. It's much easier to apply than Covey's 7 habits of highly effective people (one of 3 personal development books I like including this one) and the tone is informed but humble. More importantly, my resistant butt is exercising again, reading more and watching less mindless tv so that's proof enough for me. Will happily recommend.

13 people found this helpful

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Amazon Kunde

Tolles Buch!

Reviewed in Germany on 23 December 2018

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Tolles Buch mit vielen guten Erklärungen zu Tipps und Tricks wie man neue gute Gewohnheiten einbauen und schlechte Gewohnheiten weglassen kann. Hab’s auf Englisch gelesen das nicht auf deutsch erschienen ist. Das Englisch ist mit Schulniveau gut zu lesen.

37 people found this helpful

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