Atomic Habits by James Clear is a great book about building good habits.
I especially like the way James Clear describes the impact of small daily actions and routines on your life.
It really made me think carefully about all the little things I do every day. Some of it is probably not even worth doing. But, others are significant for my goals.
Clear also shows how you can use this knowledge to improve your life.
The book even lists the ten most important lessons at the end, so I decided to put these in a blog post if you want to reread them or need a reminder.
Get ready for some actionable insights that will help you take control of your habits!
1. Habits power your life, so manage them accordingly
It seems like we manage everything else in our lives: Our careers, finances, etc. Even our time for relaxation and entertainment has to be managed and scheduled into the calendar.
Yet, we still spend most of our days on autopilot until something unexpected happens and interrupts us from living purposefully.
As Clear says:
“We live our lives on autopilot and then look back in regret once we realize what happened.”
Habits are like software for your brain. They make things easier by removing the need to make decisions over and over again every single day. Clear gives an example: If you want to build healthy eating habits, you’ll save a lot of time if you make your lunch in the evening instead of deciding what to eat every day.
You can see habits everywhere once you know what to look for. For example, if you wake up early every morning, it might be a habit that helps you get more done before other people are awake and distract you with their demands. If someone works late into the night every day, they might be protecting a habit that is rewarding in some way but not very healthy.
I find most interesting about this insight that we tend to distinguish ourselves from our habits more than anything else. We define ourselves by the choices we make daily:
For example, I am a person who doesn’t like fast food.
I am a person who likes to stay up late and sleep in late.
Yet, these choices we make every day are not really the most important things about us. They don’t define who we are as people. Instead, what defines you is your core values and how you choose to live out those values each day:
My core value is to be healthy, so I need to eat healthily and get enough sleep.
My core value is to be a good husband and father, so I choose to spend time with my family every day.
When we understand that simple idea of identifying what really matters in our lives and then building habits that support those values each day, we can start to live with a lot more intention.
2. Big changes begin with tiny habits
The author gives several examples of effortless habits that we can build every day, like drinking a glass of water or setting your watch five minutes ahead (this might sound strange, but it helps you focus on the future and spend less time worrying about the past).
These habits are so small that it’s easy to underestimate their impact on your life.
Yet, they have a huge potential for change because of the sheer number of them you can build each day. What seems like one single action is actually hundreds or even thousands of individual actions added together over time, which makes a huge difference in your life.
This allows you to build momentum and consistency, which is the golden combination for creating the habits that will help you succeed in your career and your personal growth.
As Clear says:
“Start tightening the screws on what matters most.”
3. Small wins encourage action and put you on a path of constant improvement
The author tells a story of how he played poker once a week for 10$ with his friends when he was in college. It was just for fun, and it didn’t matter if they won or lost.
Then one day, he realized that he had an opportunity to earn $25 by playing poker on the weekend, so it became more like a job and less like fun.
What does this story teach us about building self-discipline and habits?
The key is not to focus on the end goal (making as much money as possible) but instead focus on all the small wins that happen along the way: Every time you win a round of poker, you earn $1.
Every time you lose a round of poker, you pay $1.
Winning and losing are not nearly as important as the connection between each step on your way to the final result. The author calls this mindset taking “small steps in the right direction.”
When you focus on these small wins, it becomes much easier to push through challenges that might otherwise feel daunting and impossible.
You’re not trying to beat the final boss at the end of the game; you’re just playing one level after another, learning from your mistakes and getting better with time.
It is how we learn and grow: Focusing on the small steps in front of us and strengthening our skill set through repetition and consistent effort.
4. Every habit is simply a matter of following the three R’s: Reminder, Routine, and Reward
The author explains this concept with an example from football practice at his high school. His coach would divide the players into pairs and have them run through different drills that required them to communicate back and forth what they were doing, like giving and blocking signals for plays or calling audibles.
The author noticed that the players who made the most mistakes in practice were the ones who rushed through it to get it done as soon as possible (after all, they had other classes to attend). However, the players who took their time and carefully went over each play were much more successful and rarely made mistakes.
This all comes down to the three R’s: Reminders, Routines, and Rewards.
As Clear says: “When we create an environment that supports our desired behaviour, we can make almost any habit easier.”
The takeaway here is to find a way to remind yourself of your desired behaviour as often as possible. For example, if you want to be more productive, set the alarm on your phone every 30 minutes as a reminder.
This is the routine you need to follow before receiving the reward of taking a break and enjoying some social time with your friends or co-workers (or whatever reward you prefer).
5. If you fail at first, don’t give up
The author tells a story about how he failed at learning guitar. He had been determined to learn it for years, and yet every time he tried. It never clicked for him, no matter how hard he practiced.
Then one day, something changed: The author realized that a significant part of his problem was where he lived. He didn’t have any friends who played guitar, so he didn’t have anyone to share ideas with and learn from.
He moved to a new town where everyone plays guitar, joined a band, and never looked back. He now plays guitar every day for an hour as part of his morning routine.
The lesson here is simple: When you find yourself confronted with challenges, don’t give up.
Instead, find a way to change your environment so that it’s more supportive of the behavior you want to develop. For example, if you’re trying to learn guitar but have no one to share ideas with, move where more people play!
6. Start small and think big
This is another common advice given in many different variations, but the author gives good examples of why this is so important.
Take running, for example. If you want to run a marathon, it’s not enough to show up at the starting line. Instead, you have to train for months and build your endurance slowly over time.
This can be challenging because it requires patience and planning. In addition, it means you have to show up day after day and do the same thing over and over again.
It’s not glamorous or exciting like an overnight success, but it’s what successful people know how to do best: They accept what is and take small steps in the right direction.
7. When we develop a clear “why” for our habits, we can endure almost any “how”
The author gives the example of why he started waking up early: To spend time writing before work. He knew that if he didn’t take the time and energy to write and publish a new article every day, his business would fail, and he’d be back living with his parents.
This “why” is what helped him endure the difficult process of waking up early every day.
The author says that this strategy can be applied to anything—whether it’s quitting smoking or learning a new skill, knowing your why will help you figure out how to do it and help you persevere when it gets hard.
8. In the beginning, you will be motivated by force
The author tells a story about how he quit smoking when he was in college. At first, it was really hard, and he would constantly think about smoking and go out with his friends who smoked.
Then one day, something changed: He saw a picture of himself from a wedding they attended a few weeks earlier. In the photo, he was laughing with a friend, and you could see a lit cigarette in one hand.
When he looked at that picture, he realized how unhealthy his behaviour had been and decided to quit smoking.
This is an example of what psychologists call “behavioural contrast.” It happens when we make a sudden shift in behaviour and compare our old selves to our new selves.
This contrast often makes us realize how big a problem we had all along, motivating us to change for good.
9. We are more motivated by the fear of loss than the possibility of gain
The author tells a story about going out with his friends one night. One of his friends ordered a beer, and when he was almost done with it, a fantastic song came on the radio. His friend offered to give it to him, but he refused because he had already “paid” for his drink (by spending money in the bar).
This is an example of loss aversion—we experience more pain from losing something than the pleasure of gaining something new.
Psychologists have conducted thousands of studies on loss aversion and consistently find that losses are twice as powerful as gains. This is why people often sell their possessions at a much lower price, for example.
10. Not all consistency is created equal
This idea came up earlier in the book when talking about starting small. The author says that if you want to make a big and sustainable change in your life (like quitting smoking, losing weight, or learning a new skill), it’s better to start small and think big than the other way around.
He explains that consistency is crucial for developing any lasting habit, but we often overestimate how important consistency is at the start.
In other words, it’s okay to be inconsistent at first—it will help you build momentum and take bigger steps later on.
Conclusion: Atomic Habits by James Clear
The author concludes by discussing how you can use the Atomic Habits strategy to build an “Atomic Habit” for any area of your life. First, identify the core behaviour that drives results in a specific area. Then, figure out what needs to happen each day to move the needle just enough to get you closer to your goal.