Finished 21/02/2026

Atomic Habits

James Clear

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Good book, solid, well written, easy to remember, with examples in every chapter and a four-rule framework that offers little gems even to me, and I’ve read similar books. I see why it’s considered one of the best books on productivity. I enjoyed reading it and it motivated me to pick back up a couple of habits I was neglecting.

Notes

Small habits make the difference. It’s the same idea as compound interest; the result grows exponentially over time. They are the atoms.
Ice cube example… from -6 to 0 nothing happens, then it melts. At the beginning people stay in the valley of disappointment and think they’re not making progress.
If you want better results, don’t waste time setting goals. Focus on the system.
3 levels of change: outcomes, process, and identity. We should focus on identity. Writing one line makes us a writer. Going to the gym makes us an athlete. Identity emerges from habits.
4 laws of behavior change from Duhigg. 1. Make it obvious 2. Make it attractive 3. Make it easy 4. Make it satisfying
Awareness. Do point and call on your behaviors.
Rule 2, make it attractive. The trick is to place something I have to do between the craving and the reward. For example, after coffee (trigger) I write in Notion and then I read the newspaper (craving).
Habit stacking. The rule is: after [current habit] I [new habit].
If you want a habit to become an important part of your life, make the cue part of the environment. Example: a basket of apples in plain sight.
It’s easier to build a new habit in a new environment. If you want to change, go somewhere else.
Inversion of the first law: make it invisible. If you want to avoid something, remove it from sight. Habits link to cues, and we need to break that chain.
We imitate the close, the many, and the powerful.
To build a habit the key is not time but repetitions. Accumulate, accumulate, accumulate. Example: photography class quantity vs. quality.
The two-minute rule: start doing something for two minutes to associate it with a habit. Example: want to go to the gym? Start by putting on your workout clothes. Then go for a walk. Then 5 minutes at the gym, then 3 times a week.
You need a commitment device, a decision in the present that will control future actions. Example: Hugo having his clothes locked up, or Ulysses.
Why do people make poor choices? Because the brain is still that of primates; we want instant gratification.
But to encourage ourselves to do unsatisfying things now that will have a future impact, we need to give them a bit of pleasure. You cannot set generic goals like “I want to stay in shape”; rather, “after I go to the gym I allow myself xxx”.
It’s also crucial to have a habit ledger. For example, a checklist or a visual method like the salesman with the paperclips.
Never skip a habit twice in a row.
Inversion of the fourth law: make slipping up extremely unpleasant. A habit contract with strong penalties, for example.
Phelps example: genetics helps; choose to focus where you have the most opportunity. You won’t know right away, but progress should feel easy.
But the only way to excel is to stay consistently fascinated by repeating the same things endlessly. You have to fall in love with boredom.