Do you have certain habits that you want to change? Do you want to establish healthier habits that can improve your productivity? In this article, we’ll cover the notion of atomic habits, which are a powerful way to shape our behaviours and pave the way toward self-betterment.
Atomic habits are introduced in the bestselling book by James Clear, in which he suggests that rather than emphasising goals, which are the end results you want to achieve, it’s better to focus on systems, which are the processes which lead you to achieve your goals. Analogously, rather than being preoccupied with current results, we should instead look to the current path that we are on and assess whether it is conducive to reaching our goals.
Systems are underpinned by habits, which are the “compound interest of self-improvement”. Changes to our habits, no matter how small (or atomic) they are, can significantly influence human behaviour. This is due to the power of time. If you make a tiny atomic change today and stick with it, time will multiply that and compound it into large gains in the long run. This is best illustrated by the following:
If you take away 1% every day for a whole year, 0.99 to the power of 365 = 0.03
If you add 1% every day for a whole year, 1.01 to the power of 365 = 37.78
As you can see, a marginal difference can accrue to a monumental difference.
But how do we go about changing our habits?
We can turn to the Four Laws of Behaviour Change to help us out:
Obvious: Create cues that help you establish the habit. Common cues include time and location. For example, if you want to start reading more books, you can place your chosen book in an obvious location on your desk, so that you see it first thing in the morning when you sit down. Or you can set up daily reminders in your phone to help you become accustomed to the habit of reading.
Attractive: Tempt yourself to follow through with that habit by making it appealing and intrinsically motivating. For example, humans are often motivated by praise or approval from others, so why not join a book club and share your post-reading thoughts with likeminded friends? Similarly, you don’t have to go out of your way and start with a book that’s arcane or difficult to digest, it’s best to start off with a genre which you like, whether that be poetry or a fantasy novel.
Easy: We all want to choose the easiest option. You don’t have to fundamentally change your lifestyle to reading one whole book a day. Instead, you can simply read for 5 or 10 minutes or do 1 chapter, whether in the morning or before you sleep. This costs us less time and effort, and makes us more likely to stick through with the plan.
Satisfying: Allow yourself to feel successful after establishing the habit, which also increases the odds that you want to do it again. Rewarding yourself with a hearty breakfast or a cup of hot chocolate after reading triggers a positive response from our brain, and helps us associate the practice of reading with enjoyment.
Following these laws enables us to make our habits an integral part of our identity, helping us achieve the outcomes we want to see. Hopefully that has provided you with some food for thought on establishing positive atomic habits. Remember that success doesn’t come in a day, and is the product of repeated atomic habits. Let us know if you found these tips helpful!
