Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones Hardcover – October 16, 2018

Atomic Habits is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. Every page I learned something new, or a new way to think about something. There are many instances when I read a sentence and then thought to myself “Wow, I have never thought of that in that way.” I also found myself guilty of a lot of bad habits. For example: I get an impulse to clean my room and I clean it. It stays clean for 2-3 days and then it goes back to being messy. Clear describes this as “treat[ing] the symptom without addressing the cause.” If you don’t make it a habit to clean your room, it will become messy again and will remain dirty until another burst of energy makes you decide to clean it again. It would be easier if you just made a habit of cleaning your room every day, so you don’t need a burst of energy to clean your room and use your energy for something else in your life.I really think this book is great for all ages. I am eighteen and I learned a lot of things that I could apply to my life and how I can change some of my habits. I think someone 20 or even 60 years older than me can learn a lot from this book because everyone wants to change some of their habits and want to learn better ways on how they can stick to their goals.The format of the book makes it an easy and pleasurable read. I like how most of the chapters start off with a story of a specific person that corresponds with the topic of that chapter. Also, the real life examples of an everyday average person really helps this book make sense to the average person and makes it easier for people to relate to the topics talked about. I also thought the habit cheat sheets were extremely useful and a great way to capture what was talked about in the chapter. I also think someone could copy one of those cheat sheets for their own goal and put it on their own desk computer, refrigerator, or bathroom mirror. It would definitely be an easy way to remember your habit goals if it was right in front of you reminding you what to do.There are a couple strategies to make good habits that I am going to try to apply to my own life. For example: I really liked the idea of having a buddy or partner change all your passwords to social media for the weekdays. I feel like it creates so much free time to explore or find new things when you do not have a choice to go on social media when you are bored. I thought it was a great way to limit you from going on social media during the weekdays. Also, after you stop having someone change your passwords, it creates a habit of not going on your phone so much because you are not used to it anymore. I think this is a really good habit that a lot of young people should try out because teenagers usually can’t separate from their phone and social media very easily. Another habit that I found very interesting was about the business man who moves a paperclip to a separate bowl every time he made a sales call and would not stop until all 120 paperclips were moved to the other bowl. I couldn’t believe how much that paper clip strategy helped his productivity. It was amazing to see such a small change to his work day (or a small habit) made such a huge difference for his entire life.I would strongly recommend this book to any person of any age. I believe this book can really teach many different people from different backgrounds a lot about how to develop good habits, but also learn how to get rid of the bad habits. Lastly, I think the author did a great job of motivating people in this book. He calls people out for being lazy if they are on their phone for more than 20 minutes scrolling through social media, but then he gives tips on how to change that bad habit. I remember reading that the average person spends 2 hour on their phone per day. That is over 700 hours per year spent on your phone. I found that statistic very powerful!I would rate this book a 5/5 stars and would definitely recommend taking the time to read it!

Atomic Habits by James Clear is one of those rare books that I immediately read twice in a row. It is filled with dozens of science-backed and actionable nuggets of wisdom. Do you want to improve any habits in your life? I heartily recommend Atomic Habits to you! We are all driven by our habits - many of which are unconscious. Below are 9 quotes and takeaways from this life-changing book:1. "Getting 1 percent better every day counts for a lot in the long-run." Atomic Habits explains why the little things you do every day matters. Your little habits matter. It may not seem like a big deal to skip a workout or to be kind, but it is a big deal. Imagine if you improved your habits by only 1% every day. You'd be dramatically a different person in a year. Then imagine if you let your habits decline by 1% every day. You'd be in a much worse spot in life overall a year from now. Your little habits - atomic habits - count for a lot in the long run. What little habits are you improving upon (or neglecting...) today?2. "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." This is such an important point in the book. Oftentimes we focus on goals in our life, while neglecting to focus on the systems that help us achieve goals. As an example, I had a friend who had the goal to complete a triathlon. He achieved this goal! And then he quit working out for the next year and got out of shape... He was so focused on achieving a goal that he neglected his underlying systems of being healthy. Goal achievement can actually set us back if we don't get set up sustainable systems. Get the systems right and then we'll indeed also achieve our goals. Systems > Goals.3. "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." I love this quote from the book. Every action - every habit - you take casts a vote for the type of person you want to become. Do you want to be a more organized person? When you develop habits and systems that organize your life, you are casting votes for thinking of yourself as an organized person. You think to yourself, "hey, I'm an organized person." And then you reinforce that belief with your habits and actions - a virtuous cycle! The flip side of this can be true too. What if you often show up late to meetings? You're casting votes that may make you think "well, I'm just a person that is always late." An un-virtuous cycle. Be careful to make sure that your habits and ultimately your beliefs cast votes for the type of person you want to become and, indeed, who you truly are.4. "How long does it actually take to form a new habit? You just need to get your reps in." Atomic Habits answers the question of "how much time does it take to form a new habit" with a better answer of : X number of actions. Meaning, you may need to simply complete a new habit 100 times for it to stick, which could be done in 3 days or 3 weeks or 3 months, depending on the new habit. It is better to think of forming new habits in terms of consistently taking action, versus trying to stick to a habit for just X number of days. Get your reps in.5. "Reduce friction. Decrease the number of steps between you and your good habits." The inverse of this is also true - increase friction between you and your bad habits! I think about this a lot when it comes to eating healthy. I need to reduce friction by having healthy food in the house and healthy snacks at work. And I need to increase friction by not having candy in the house or in my office! Out of sight, out of mind. In sight, and I eat it. :) (which of course reminds me of the Dad joke I often tell my girls: "I'm on a seafood diet. I see food and I eat it...)6. "Use temptation bundling. Pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do." This is a powerful concept. I put this in practice by only "watching TV" when I'm on the treadmill. I am able to run at a 6 MPH pace and watch TV or videos on the iPad when I'm on a treadmill. So, I generally only watch sporting events or movies or 80s music videos on YouTube when I'm running on the treadmill. This approach actually allows me to run longer if I want to watch a full half of a game, for example. And 80s music videos will often give me the energy to run that extra mile. :) Think about a new habit you want to start and how you can bundle it with an action you're already taking. Stack them together - i.e. habit stacking.7. "Use a habit tracker. Keep track of your habit streak and 'don't break the chain.'" Atomic Habits does a nice job of explaining the importance of tracking your habits for success. What gets measured gets managed. One of my favorite habit trackers is a FitBit/Apple Watch, which tracks steps, heart rate, sleep, weight and can even track food intake/calories, if you input this data. My behavior definitely changes thanks to these habit trackers. Atomic Habits gives you additional habit tracker resources.8. "Never miss twice. When you forget to do a habit, make sure you get back on track immediately." We all will have days where we fall off the bandwagon and our habits go in reverse. Well, that's okay for one day. Don't let it happen twice. Get back on track as soon as possible. (And, yes, sometimes we miss a habit two days in row. Just don't let it become three days...)9. Author James Clear gets to the point quickly in Atomic Habits and with actionable advice. James has been blogging about habits, health, happiness, creativity and productivity since 2012. Check out a sampling of his writing at his website. James is also fun to follow on Twitter. Atomic Habits has 20 relatively short chapters that open with compelling stories and end with helpful chapter summaries. If you listen to books on Audible, I highly recommend the audio book as James reads this book very passionately.

I haven’t finished it yet but it is an EXCELLENT book! It really breaks down the process of forming good habits. Which helps you to learn, practice and apply changes to your life. Looking forward to breaking the chains of those old detrimental habits and replacing them with new positive, life transformational ones. On the Atomic level one small change at a time.

Great book with lots of practical tips for building better habits. The ideas are clear and easy to follow, and I’ve actually started using some of them. It does get a bit repetitive in places, but overall it’s super helpful and motivating.

It’s with rare exception I leave a review for any purchase, but I felt compelled to hear. As an avid reader, I put this book amongst my all time favs. Magnificently written, captivating, easy to understand and an easy read. Bring your highlighters and tag away, so much wisdom in these pages that you’ll want to circle back once completed and read again!