Atomic habits by James Clear

This blog wants to help me remember the books I read while inspiring my work as a Leadership, Performance and Team Coach.

You will find a summary of the book, key takeaways as well as my view on how to apply them when coaching people: you being a Team Leader, an athlete, a coach, a father & mother or someone interested in personal and people development.

I sincerely hope you may find some valuable insights for your professional and personal Self.

What is the book all about?

The book focuses on how small, consistent actions compound into significant results over time referring to these as "atomic habits".

Clear provides a framework of strategies and principles you may apply weaving insights from psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics.

Why should you read it?

The strategies provided herewith help form good habits and break bad ones.

Here comes a selection and some examples.

1. Make it obvious

You want the good habit to be easily reachable and visible.

For example, place fruits and vegetables on the kitchen counter instead of hiding them in the fridge or lay out your gym clothes next to bed every night.

Bill Gates makes reading a habit by keeping books on his desk, bedside, and in his bag.

2. Make it attractive

Pair new habits with enjoyable activities to increase their appeal.

For example, Duolingo managed to gamify Language Learning using rewards and notifications, a busy professional may pair workouts with favorite podcasts, a runner joins a local running club so that camaraderie and social connections make running more enjoyable.

3. Make it easy (and hard)

This law is about reducing friction for good habits, increasing it for bad ones.

For example, instead of committing to an hour-long workout, one individual started with just 20 minutes. The fact of showing up at the gym being the real win.

To reduce screen time, a reader locked the phone in another room, making it less convenient to check their phone while concentrating.

4. Create a loss

Creating small penalties for failing (like losing money in a bet) motivates adherence.

A wine enthusiast coach for instance asked his players to pay the team an expensive bottle of wine each time they cursed publicly.

5.  Stack habits together

It involves linking a new habit to an existing one to create a seamless chain of actions.

For example, a dentist recommended a patient add flossing to their routine by saying, “After I brush my teeth, I will floss one tooth.” This small stack led to a full flossing habit over time.

Or a busy professional added a gratitude practice by stacking it onto their morning coffee routine. “After I pour my coffee, I will write down one thing I’m grateful for. This changes my view of the day”.

6.  Design your environment

Adjusting your surroundings can make good habits easier and bad habits harder. 

For example, a writer placed their laptop, notebook, and pen on a clean desk every night, so they were ready to start writing first thing in the morning. 

To drink more water, I personally keep several open bottles around the house.

My suggestion as a coach is to help creating habits that speak to your client: these have to embrace their world and struggles. Do not jump in…even if you may see the answer. At most, whisper. Then it is trial and error, have them test, check, re-adapt.

Remembering what neuroscience tells us, habits are driven by the brain’s reward system. Dopamine spikes when we anticipate rewards, not just when we receive them!

Conclusions & takeaways

The author finally concludes with some principles we might have heard of: still, he puts them in a way which is clear and simple helping us refocus our efforts.

1. Compounding and exponential growth

Clear likens habits to compound interest: this concept, borrowed from mathematics and behavioral science, reinforces the long-term value of incremental progress.

Improving by 1% daily leads to being 37 times better in a year, thanks to exponential growth.

In 2003, the British Cycling team hired Dave Brailsford as their coach. His strategy was marginal gains, focusing on improving everything by just 1% - from bike ergonomics to athletes' sleep patterns, demonstrating the power of cumulative small changes. Within five years, the team dominated the Olympics and the Tour de France, proving the compounding power of small changes.

Why don’t you ask your team, for instance, to produce 1 good idea each month?

To innovate, to get better. You may ask them to select the best idea among all. 1 per month. Then monitor the impact, hang it somewhere visible. Devil is in the details…

2. Start small, think big

Clear emphasizes the power of starting with minimal effort so that mental resistance fades.

It is important to show up as Your New You, with ease. You want to slide into your new being, building momentum. You act as you want to become, until you find yourself being the way you acted.

3. Use a habit tracker, make it visual

Visual cues like habit trackers help reinforce good habits by creating a sense of accomplishment.

For example, Jerry Seinfeld uses the "Don't Break the Chain" method, marking an 'X' on a calendar for each day he writes new material, leading to a successful comedy career.

Ultimately, the focus is on the process and who you are Being while Doing it.

Not Outcomes solely. Systems over goals: habits create processes.

Which then leads us towards outcomes. Which then lead us to our goals.

In my 12 sessions Coaching Program, I support entrepreneurs, Team Leaders, Athletes, fathers & mothers in designing a plan to incorporate new habits in their lives.

Please check here for more details on the program: https://www.kilianbaccari.com/coaching

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Things don’t get easier. We get better.