Atomic Habits

The summary

A few years ago I read a really good book about how to create good habits in your life and stick to them. It’s called Atomic Habits and it is written by writer and speaker, James Clear. Today I’m summarising a talk that he gave about the subject on YouTube. He believes that it’s the small consistent habits that really make a difference and result in success. He outlines four stages of habit formation.
The first stage is about noticing. He tells us that people think that 'they lack motivation but what they really lack is clarity.’ Instead of feeling that we have to be in the mood to do something and use willpower, it’s much better to take the decision making out of it by planning the logistics and explicitly stating when, where and how you will implement the habit. He introduces us to a strategy that he uses called The Failure Premortem. The idea is that you think about your goal and imagine that in 6 months you actually haven’t achieved it. You then look into what went wrong, the challenges you faced and what took you off course. A realistic plan can then be created that is flexible and includes backup options.

The second stage is called Wanting. He explains that 'one of the most overlooked drivers of you habits is your physical environment.’ If we really want to achieve something, it’s easier if it’s very convenient. He gives some examples, like putting a guitar in the middle of the room if we want to play more or putting our book on our pillow in the morning if we would like to read more at night. I love these ideas and personally know that the reverse is also true. If I don’t have any chocolate in my kitchen cupboards, I’ll eat less as I can’t see it and it isn’t readily available.

The third stage is called Doing. It’s all about putting the reps in and honing the skill. He says that ‘any outcome that you wish to achieve is just a point along the spectrum of repetitions’. It’s best to make it as easy as possible for ourselves at the beginning and focus on the starting line more than the end goal.

The fourth stage is entitled Liking. He talks about the importance of enjoying what we’re doing and the difficulty with the fact that we aren’t instantly rewarded for our effort. He says that ‘you need to figure out ways to bring the reward into the present moment’ and suggests using a wall calendar. When you have finished your workout or whatever it is you are doing, you just put a cross on your calendar. I used to do this and know that it is very effective. You feel great when you see all the crosses and you get the ‘hit’ that you needed.

Changing our habits can change our identity over time. This is so relevant for improving a language as learners go from practising English to becoming English speakers. There are some amazing tips here and I recommend implementing them straight away! Why not choose a goal and go through the four stages to give yourself the best possible chance of success. Let me know what your goals are and how it goes.

Summary with glossary

A few years ago I read a really good book about how to create good habitsin your life andstickto them. It’s called Atomic Habits and it is written by writer and speaker, James Clear. Today I’m summarising a talk that he gave about the subject on YouTube. He believes that it’s the smallconsistenthabits that really make a difference and result in success. He outlines four stages of habit formation.

The first stage is about noticing. He tells us that people think that 'they lack motivation but what they really lack is clarity.’ Instead of feeling that we have to be in the mood to do something and usewillpower,it’s much better to take the decision making out of it by planning thelogisticsand explicitly stating when, where and how you willimplementthe habit. He introduces us to a strategy that he uses called The FailurePremortem.The idea is that you think about your goal and imagine that in 6 months you actually haven’t achieved it. You thenlook intowhat went wrong, the challenges you faced and what took youoff course.A realistic plan can then be created that is flexible and includesbackupoptions.

The second stage is called Wanting. He explains that 'one of the most overlooked drivers of you habits is your physical environment.’ If we really want to achieve something, it’s easier if it’s veryconvenient.He gives some examples, like putting a guitar in the middle of the room if we want to play more or putting our book on our pillow in the morning if we would like to read more at night. I love these ideas and personally know that the reverse is also true. If I don’t have any chocolate in my kitchen cupboards, I’ll eat less as I can’t see it and it isn’treadilyavailable.

The third stage is called Doing. It’s all about putting therepsin andhoningthe skill. He says that ‘any outcome that you wish to achieve is just a point along the spectrumof repetitions’. It’s best to make it as easy as possible for ourselves at the beginning and focus on the starting line more than the end goal.

The fourth stage is entitled Liking. He talks about the importance of enjoying what we’re doing and the difficulty with the fact that we aren’t instantly rewarded for our effort. He says that ‘you need to figure out ways to bring the reward into the present moment’ and suggests using a wall calendar. When you have finished your workout or whatever it is you are doing, you just put a cross on your calendar. I used to do this and know that it is very effective. You feel great when you see all the crosses and you get the‘hit’that you needed.

Changing our habits can change our identity over time. This is so relevant for improving a language as learners go from practising English to becoming English speakers. There are some amazing tips here and I recommend implementing them straight away! Why not choose a goal and go through the four stages to give yourself the best possible chance of success? Let me know what your goal is and how it goes.

Glossary

habits

Things that people do regularly

stick

To continue to work at something that is difficult

consistent

Something that happens in the same way and continues over a period of time

formation

The process in which something is created or develops

willpower

The ability to control your thoughts and behaviour to achieve something

logistics

The practical arrangements that are necessary to organise something well

implement

To do something

Premortem

A pre-mortem is a managerial strategy in which a project team imagines that a project or organization has failed, and then works backward to determine what potentially could lead to the failure of the project or organization.

look into

To do research into why something happened

off course

Not following the intended route

backup
a person, plan, piece of equipment, etc. that you can use to replace another if necessary

convenient

Easy to do

readily

Easily
reps
A shortening for repetitions

honing
To improve a skill or talent

spectrum

The whole range of what is possible

hit

The effect that an illegal drug has on someone that uses it.

 

Questions

  1. Can you write about some of the good and bad habits you currently have?

  2. Are you good at sticking to habits?

  3. Do you agree with everything James Clear says? Is any of it new?

  4. Do you have any other ways of keeping your habits consistent?

  5. What habits do you think are good to implement when you are learning a language?