The book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, published in 2018, is a guide for anyone looking to improve their daily life using small habits.
My Thoughts
With this non-fiction book, Clear gives an overview of how to implement a new habit and ensure it sticks. The author explains how small, but consistent behaviours can lead to significant results by using cues, cravings, and responses.
As an example, imagine feeling thirsty and having a dry mouth (cue), so you’re reaching for a glass of water (craving) and thus stopping your thirst (response). By repeating this action every time the cue arises, the behaviour becomes a habit.
Here, you create the long-term benefit of drinking enough water during a working day, which can prevent dehydration and headaches. To facilitate the habit-forming process, place a big bottle of water beside yourself at the beginning of each working day. This way, the cue and the response become more closely associated, making it easier to form a habit.
The author makes it easy to understand how to form and change habits by breaking down the process into small steps.
The book also emphasises the importance of focusing on little changes over time rather than trying to make significant changes all at once. This approach is much more sustainable and can lead to long-lasting results.
However, while the book is undoubtedly insightful and practical, it’s very detailed as well. It feels like the author could have excluded some parts and still conveyed the message effectively. Moreover, Clear repeats his methods very often, which makes the book feel repetitive after reading half of it.
Despite these minor flaws, I believe anyone wishing to improve their behaviour should read this book. The strategies presented in “Atomic Habits” are scientifically backed and have proven to be effective. The author provides extra resources and a habit tracker to assist readers in using the strategies.
The book “Atomic Habits” provides practical and insightful advice to improve your daily life by adopting small routines. The way it approaches everyday routines may feel overly elaborate, but I think it is still an interesting approach. Anyone interested in transforming their lives should read this book.
My rating for ‘Atomic Habits’
I really enjoyed reading this book. Although it didn’t give me the same excitement as a 5-star book, I can totally recommend it.
About the author
A speaker and author on habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement, James Clear specializes in habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement.
In addition to selling more than 5 million copies worldwide, “Atomic Habits” has been translated into dozens of languages worldwide. Every week, more than 1 million subscribers read his popular email newsletter, “3-2-1.”
