We are already in June, how many of your new resolutions are still going strong? How long did they last? Be it getting fit or reading more, creating a habit is hard admittedly. But if you have heard of Atomic Habits by James Clear, you know there is a way.
This is just a book summary of Atomic Habits by James Clear to help other people who would not be able to read the entire book by themselves. These lines are taken from James’ book for academic purposes only. I am not posing as it is my work or my ideas. The copyrights rights are with the author only.
THE 2ND LAW Make It Attractive
8 How to Make a Habit Irresistible
The brain of each animal is preloaded with certain rules for behavior, and when it comes across an exaggerated version of that rule, it lights up like a Christmas tree.
Scientists refer to these exaggerated cues as supernormal stimuli
The more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming.
daydreaming about an upcoming vacation can be more enjoyable than actually being on vacation.
Dopamine surges during anticipation, not achieving the result.
You can link an action you want to do with an action you need to do.
After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED]. After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT].
After I get my morning coffee, I will say one thing I’m grateful for that happened yesterday (need).
After I say one thing I’m grateful for, I will read the news (want)
9 The Role of Family and Friends in Shaping Your Habits
We don’t choose our earliest habits, we imitate them. – Group behavior/herd mentality.
We copy habits from 3 different groups.
The close
The many
The powerful
Imitating the close
the closer we are to someone, the more likely we are to imitate some of their habits.
a person’s chances of becoming obese increased by 57 percent if he or she had a friend who became obese.
higher your best friend’s IQ at age eleven or twelve, the higher your IQ would be at age fifteen,
Join a culture where
(1) your desired behavior is the normal behavior and
(2) you already have something in common with the group.
shared identity begins to reinforce your personal identity.
I am a reader –> We are readers
Remaining part of a group after achieving a goal is crucial to maintaining your habits.
Imitating the Many
There is tremendous internal pressure to comply with the norms of the group.
we’d rather be wrong with the crowd than be right by ourselves.
Imitating the Powerful
We want to be acknowledged, recognized, and praised.
Once we fit in, we start looking for ways to stand out.
If a behavior can get us approval, respect, and praise, we find it attractive.
10 How to Find and Fix the Causes of Your Bad Habits
Make bad habits unattractive .
You see a cue, categorize it based on past experience, and determine the appropriate response.
Not reactive but predictive
You see a cue, categorize it based on past experience, and determine the appropriate response.
Reframing your habits to highlight their benefits rather than their drawbacks to make a habit seem more attractive.
“I need to go run in the morning,”
“ It’s time to build endurance and get fast.”
“I am nervous”
I am excited and I’m getting an adrenaline rush to help me concentrate.”
Habit stacking Atomic habits by James clear
THE 3RD LAW Make It Easy
11 Walk Slowly, but Never Backward
“The best is the enemy of the good.” – Voltaire
If you want to master a habit, the key is to start with repetition, not perfection.
You don’t need to map out every feature of a new habit. You just need to practice it.
Quality vs Quantity experience
Motion vs Action
If I search for a better diet plan and read a few books on the topic, that’s motion.
If I actually eat a healthy meal, that’s action.
If I outline twenty ideas for articles I want to write, that’s motion.
If I actually sit down and write an article, that’s action.
Motion is useful, but it will never produce an outcome by itself.
Talking to a trainer has no use, unless you start working out.
Sometimes we need plans to start working.
Mostly we do it because motion allows us to feel like we’re making progress without running the risk of failure.
you want to delay failure.
Motions you feel like you’re getting things done, but you are just getting prepared to do things.
It is why the students who took tons of photos improved their skills while those who merely theorized about perfect photos did not.
One group engaged in active practice, the other in passive learning.
The amount of time you have been performing a habit is not as important as the number of times you have performed it.
21 days vs 1 time for 21 days
12 The Law of Least Effort
The difference in shape between continents played a significant role in the spread of agriculture over the centuries.
When agriculture began to spread around the globe, farmers had an easier time expanding along east-west routes than along north-south ones.
This is because locations along the same latitude generally share similar climates, amounts of sunlight and rainfall, and changes in season. These factors allowed farmers in Europe and Asia to domesticate a few crops and grow them along the entire stretch of land from France to China.
agriculture spread two to three times faster across Asia and Europe than it did up and down the Americas.
The more energy required, the less likely it is to occur.
scrolling on our phones, checking email, and watching television steal so much of our time because they can be performed almost without effort.
The less friction you face, the easier it is for your stronger self to emerge.
We try to write a book in a chaotic household.
We try to concentrate while using a smartphone filled with distractions.
Lean production in Japanese car systems
Reduce the friction associated with good behaviors.
When friction is low, habits are easy.
Want to draw more? Put your pencils, pens, notebooks, within easy reach.
Increase the friction associated with bad behaviors.
When friction is high, habits are difficult.
I leave my phone in a different room until lunch.
Prime The Environment For Future Use
Resetting the environment – cleaning strategy and getting ready for next action
Putting things back to place
13 How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the Two-Minute Rule
Decisive moments
The moment you decide between ordering takeout or cooking dinner.
The moment you decide between starting your homework or grabbing the video game controller.
“When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.
Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis.
A new habit should not feel like a challenge.
The secret is to always stay below the point where it feels like work.
Standardize before you optimize.
14 How to Make Good Habits Inevitable and Bad Habits Impossible
Success is less about making good habits easy and more about making bad habits hard.
Have you tried other self help books or Atomic habits by James Clear, earlier? Do they work for you? What are your other favorite self help books? Let us talk.
I have been hearing about Atomic Habits for a while now and there was a period when I was obsessed with James Clear’s website too. I finally got to read the book Atomic Habits recently, thanks to my new habit of rising an hour earlier in the morning, and I thought why not share the summary of Atomic habits with y’all. Don’t I sound a nice?
The aim is to bring you the essence of the books, even if and especially if you are not a reader. Not everyone likes or wants to read but everyone wants to learn right? Let us use that motivation to better ourselves. So let us get on with it, shall we?
About Atomic Habits
Book Name: Atomic habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results, An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
The book consists of about 21 chapters including the conclusion. And the summary of Atomic habits will be in three parts, so that each post will be a bite sized version and would not overwhelm you. As I said we will make it easy as possible for you!
This is just a book summary of Atomic Habits by James Clear to help other people who would not be able to read the entire book by themselves. These lines are taken from James’ book for academic purposes only. I am not posing as it is my work or my ideas. The copyrights rights are with the author only.
Chapter 1: The Surprising Power of Atomic Habits
The aggregation of marginal gains – searching for a tiny margin of improvement in everything you do.
The idea is that if you broke down everything you could think of, and then improve it by 1 percent, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together.
It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis.
Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action.
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement .
1% BETTER EVERY DAY
1% BETTER EVERY DAY 1% worse every day for one year. 0.99 365 = 00.03 1% better every day for one year. 1.01 365 = 37.78
Be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.
If you find yourself struggling to build a good habit or break a bad one, it is not because you have lost your ability to improve. It is often because you have not yet crossed the Plateau of Latent Potential.
FORGET ABOUT GOALS, FOCUS ON SYSTEMS INSTEAD
Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.
If you’re a coach, your goal might be to win a championship. Your system is the way you recruit players, manage your assistant coaches, and conduct practice.
Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.
What happens when you have goals but not systems?
Problem #1: Winners and losers have the same goals. So that can’t be the reason for the winners/survivors.
Problem #2: Achieving a goal is only a momentary change.
Achieving a goal only changes your life for the moment.
If you have a goal to have a clean room, cleaning it is only for NOW. It will be a mess again soon.
We think we need to change our results, but the results are not the problem. What we really need to change are the systems that cause those results.
Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.
Problem #3: Goals restrict your happiness.
“Either you achieve your goal and are successful or you fail and you are a disappointment”. “Once I reach my goal, then I’ll be happy.”.
You can be satisfied anytime your system is running.
Problem #4: Goals are at odds with long-term progress.
When all of your hard work is focused on a particular goal, what is left to push you forward after you achieve it?
A SYSTEM OF ATOMIC HABITS
If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you.
The problem is your system.
Habits are like the atoms of our lives. Just as atoms are the building blocks of molecules, atomic habits are the building blocks of remarkable results.
Chapter 2 How Your Habits Shape Your Identity (and Vice Versa)
Changing our habits is challenging for two reasons: 1) we try to change the wrong thing and 2) we try to change our habits in the wrong way.
There are three levels at which change can occur.
Changing your outcomes: losing weight, publishing a book, winning a championship. Outcomes are about what you get.
Changing your habits and systems AKA process: new routine at the gym, decluttering your desk for better workflow, developing a meditation practice. Processes are about what you do.
Changing your beliefs/Identity: your worldview, your self-image, your judgments about yourself and others. Identity is about what you believe
Your behaviors are usually a reflection of your identity.
I am horrible at math, I am not a morning person, I am not organized
When you have repeated a story to yourself for years, it is easy to slide into these mental grooves and accept them as a fact.
In time, you begin to resist certain actions because “that’s not who I am.”
There is internal pressure to maintain your self-image and behave in a way that is consistent with your beliefs.
You find whatever way you can to avoid contradicting yourself.
It can feel comfortable to believe what your culture believes (group identity) or to do what upholds your self-image (personal identity), even if it’s wrong.
Whatever your identity is right now, you only believe it because you have proof of it. If you go to church every Sunday for twenty years, you have evidence that you are religious. It’s unlikely you would consider yourself a soccer player because you kicked a ball once or an artist because you scribbled a picture. The more evidence you have for a belief, the more strongly you will believe it.
We do not change by snapping our fingers and deciding to be someone entirely new. We change bit by bit, day by day, habit by habit.
Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.
If nothing changes, nothing is going to change.
The most practical way to change who you are is to change what you do.
Each time you write a page, you are a writer. Each time you practice the violin, you are a musician. Each time you start a workout, you are an athlete. Each time you encourage your employees, you are a leader.
New identities require new evidence.
Changing is a two step process
Decide the type of person you want to be. “I’m the kind of doctor who gives each patient the time and empathy they need.” “I’m the kind of manager who advocates for her employees.”
Prove it to yourself with small wins. “What would a healthy person do?” Would a healthy person walk or take a cab? Would a healthy person order a burrito or a salad?
Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits.
It’s a two-way street.
Building better habits isn’t about littering your day with life hacks.
Your habits matter because they help you become the type of person you wish to be.
Chapter 3 How to Build Better Habits in 4 Simple Steps
A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic.
Habits are, simply, reliable solutions to recurring problems in our environment. – Jason Hreha
People who don’t have their habits handled are often the ones with the least amount of freedom. If you’re always being forced to make decisions about simple tasks—when should I work out, where do I go to write, when do I pay the bills—then you have less time for freedom.
The cue triggers your brain to initiate a behavior.
What you crave is not the habit itself but the change in state it delivers. You do not crave smoking a cigarette, you crave the feeling of relief it provides.
We chase rewards because they serve two purposes: (1) they satisfy us and (2) they teach us – reward detector.
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. It is an endless feedback loop
THE 1ST LAW Make It Obvious
Chapter 4 The Man Who Didn’t Look Right
You don’t need to be aware of the cue for a habit to begin. – hunger/cookie
We dont realize that you apologize before asking a question, or that you have a habit of finishing other people’s sentences.
Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. – Carl Jung
We’re so used to doing what we’ve always done that we don’t stop to question whether it’s the right thing to do at all.
It is a lack of self awareness
Create your Habits Scorecard
Make a list of your daily habits.
Write your score near each 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 “=”.
The goal is to simply notice what is actually going on.
You can try Pointing-and-Calling for extra dose of self awareness
If you want to cut back on your junk food habit but notice yourself grabbing another cookie, say out loud,
“I’m about to eat this cookie, but I don’t need it. Eating it will cause me to gain weight and hurt my health.”
Chapter 5 The Best Way to Start a New Habit
Voter turnout increases when people are forced to create implementation intentions by answering questions like:
“What route are you taking to the polling station? At what time are you planning to go? What bus will get you there?
People who make a specific plan for when and where are more likely to follow through.
Habit stacking
Identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top.
Example: After I finish eating dinner, I will put my plate directly into the dishwasher. After I put my dishes away, I will immediately wipe down the counter. After I wipe down the counter, I will set out my coffee mug for tomorrow morning.
Habit stacking allows you to create a set of simple rules that guide your future behavior.
Chapter 6 Motivation Is Overrated; Environment Often Matters More
People often choose products not because of what they are, but because of where they are.
Make sure the best choice is the most obvious one.
Example: If you want to drink more water, fill up a few water bottles each morning and place them on your table
In fact, the trigger is rarely a single cue, but rather the whole situation
Create a separate space for work, study, exercise, entertainment, and cooking. “One space, one use.”
It is easier to build new habits in a new environment because you are not fighting against old cues.
Change your environment/routine to change habits
Chapter 7 The Secret to Self-Control
Disciplined people are better at structuring their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower and self-control, because they spend less time in tempting situations.
Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one.
Other parts of the summary of Atomic habits
By the way, do not forget to grab the next two parts of the summary of Atomic Habits by James Clear in the following weeks.
Did you find my summary of Atomic Habits useful? Do you read summaries of books or would you rather read the entire book by yourself? Do you read non fiction at all? What other non fiction book should I be summarizing? Let us talk.
Are you feeling overwhelmed with work aka the never ending to do lists and work that would not stop piling? You are not alone in this. Especially during this dire time, we are all juggling multiple roles at the same time and it takes a toll on us.
Here are some tips on recovering from the feeling of being helpless and getting things done.
White noise
Despite our best efforts, life gets us down. I have days when none of my usual routines work and I cannot put a word on the paper or get the household chores done. There are phone calls to make, Zoom meetings to attend and there is something always burning in the kitchen. Well, these are getting commoner these days.
One thing that has always worked during those hard days is Stop, Drop and Breathe. And I usually put on my earphone with on some white noise (say, airplane noise or sleep noise) and I just focus on that. White noise are proved to be effective in calming down our nerves. Hey if the science says so, I am up for it.
I know it sounds counter intuitive. But trust me, I am a total list freak. Almost every day I start the day with a to do list and I would be quite lost without them.
Writing up a to do list and jotting down everything that is weighing on your mind is therapeutic.
Credit: Giphy
Pick up a paper or a mobile app whichever you feel comfortable with (both are equally effective), and list down the things to be done. Once you have written down everything, just mark them based on their urgency and priority.
Start it slow
Once your nerves are calm and you have identified your priorities, all your gut might say is jump right into it. Sure do it, but take things slow. Do not try to do all at once. I repeat do not overwhelm yourself by attempting to do everything at once.
Even better, find the one thing that is the quickest to complete in your list and finish that one off. Just striking that one thing off the list would give your dopamine aka the motivation to work on the other things.
Pomodoro technique
Don’t you hate it when you have to clean an entire room but Netflix is calling out to you? Choosing between number crunching on a spreadsheet and filling those Buzzfeed quizzes seems hard right?
I know it is easy to get sidetracked by other shiny little things when you have to do a serious chore, especially when that said chore is boring and difficult. It happens to me. A lot.
Credit: Giphy
Whenever I have to do any hard tasks I hate, I set my handy little timer app for 25 minutes and get to work. At the end of the twenty five minute slot, I take a five minute compulsory break to do something I like – perfect for a quiz don’t you think?
A walk around the room, refill your water or do whatever you want to. But essentially, do not do that hard work you hated. Once the five minute is up, get back to your work or the next item on the to do list. You can substitute the 25/5 ratio with 40/10, as in forty minute of focused work and a ten minute break as well.
The reward system works perfectly and keeps you productive consistently. And mainly keeps you off from feeling overwhelmed with work overload.
Emotional time out
These uncertain times have got us all in a bunch. Having to live and work alongside family 24*7 may be a double edged sword. The fear of the pandemic and the new normalcy are all scaling up high against us and it is okay to be emotional about it.
Take a break each day from the chaos of the new normalcy and do something that you love. If you paint or do some kinda art, break a leg. Read a book. Write stuff out. Meditate. For me, cleaning around the house or just rearranging the furniture makes me feel better.
Credit: Giphy
Choose your own weapon. Do what you love, at least for a few minutes and take some time out.
Feeling overwhelmed with work is common thing, given the uncertain situation and the number of changes that are happening so fast around us. But if it is happening regularly and coupled with other issues, please consult a doctor. The mental health is nothing to be ashamed of.
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What are your go to calming techniques when you are feeling overwhelmed with work and everything? Share it in the comments below. Let us talk.
