Atomic Habits

Creating
Atomic Habits
The Power of Incremental change
“You do not rise to the level of your goals.
You fall to the level of your systems.”
Small changes often appear to make

no difference until you cross a critical
threshold.
The most powerful outcomes of any
compounding process are delayed.
.
You need to be patient.

What does it take?
There are three layers of behavior
change: OUTCOMES
1. change in your outcomes
(What you get) ACTIONS
2. change in your processes
(What you do)
3. change in your identity IDENTITY
(What you believe)
Your Identity
Outcome-based habits = focus is Identity-based habits = focus is
on what you want to achieve. on who you wish to become.
“The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of

your identity.”
.
Simple two-step process:

1. Decide the type of person you want to be.
“Who is the type of person that could get the outcome I want?”
Perhaps think of people you admire, real or fictional.
What are their qualities, values, or characteristics?
2. Prove it to yourself with small wins.

Knowledge
is Power
Create awareness
Developing Awareness
Habits Scorecard
1. List all your habits
wake up, turn off alarm, check my phone, go to bathroom, brush teeth, get
dressed etc.
2. Then rate: Is this an effective (+), not effective (-), or neutral habit (=)?
Just observe, no need for judgement, just notice
Is this a good habit?
Rate a particular habit by asking:
.
Does this behavior help me become the type of person I wish to be?
Does this habit cast a vote for or against my desired identity?
With enough practice, your brain will pick up on the cues that predict
certain outcomes without consciously thinking about it.
What NEW Habits do you want to add to become that person?

Add to your list
Awareness - Habit Feedback Loop
Any habit can be broken down into a feedback loop that involves four steps:
Cue! response
craving Reward!
Pick a particular habit that is not serving you, then break down:
- What are the cues that trigger the habit?
- What does the craving feel, sound, or look like in my body and mind?
- How do I react to that craving?
- What is my reward to that behavior?
Ch 7: The Secret to Self-Control
"Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one"
People with high self-control tend to spend less time in tempting

situations. It’s easier to avoid temptation than resist it.
What are the cues to your old habits?

How could you reduce the amount of exposure you have to them?
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC
BY-NC-ND.
Ch 3: Build Better Habits in 4 Simple Steps
Whenever you want to change your behavior, ask yourself:

• How can I make it obvious? Increasing odds it will
• How can I make it attractive? be DONE this time
• How can I make it easy?
Increasing odds it will
• How can I make it satisfying? be REPEATED
Ch 8: How to Make a Habit Irresistible
2nd Law of Behavior Change is make it attractive.
It is the anticipation of a reward—not the fulfillment of it—that gets us to take
action. The greater the anticipation, the greater the dopamine spike.
Temptation bundling is one way to make your habits more attractive. The strategy
is to pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do.
- List several activities that you enjoy, find rewarding, and are
constructive (i.e. do not include habits you are trying to change)
.
Which of these could you add as a reward to your new habit?

Ch 9: Family and Friends Shape Your Habits
If a behavior can get us approval, respect, and praise, we find it attractive.
We tend to imitate the habits of three social groups:
1. the close (family and friends)
2. the many (the tribe)
3. the powerful (those with status and prestige).
.
One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a
culture where
(1) your desired behavior is the normal behavior and
(2) you already have something in common with the group.
What group or people do you know that fit this description?
Ch 12: The Law of Least Effort
Create an environment where doing the right thing is as easy as possible.

.
Reduce the friction associated with good behaviors.

.
What could get in the way of your new habit?

How could you reduce the chance of that happening?
.
Increase the friction associated with bad behaviors.

.
How could you make your bad habits harder?

Ch 6: Motivation is Overrated; Environment
Often Matters More
Every habit is initiated by a cue.
Gradually, your habits become associated not with a single trigger but with
the entire context surrounding the behavior. The context becomes the cue.
It is easier to build new habits in a new environment because you are not
fighting against old cues.
What could be the cues to your new habits?

Make them obvious, stand out!
Solidifying your habits

BY-ND.
Ch 15: Satisfaction!
The Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change:
What is immediately rewarded is repeated.
What is immediately punished is avoided.
Make it satisfying!!
The human brain evolved to prioritize immediate rewards over delayed

rewards. To get a habit to stick you need to feel immediately successful—
even if it’s in a small way.
How could you immediately REWARD your new habit?

How could you immediately PUNISH your old habit?
Ch 17: Accountability Partners
“An accountability partner can create an immediate cost to inaction. We care
deeply about what others think of us, and we do not want others to have a lesser
opinion of us.”
.
A habit contract can be used to add a social cost to any behavior. It makes the costs
of violating your promises public and painful.
Your Habit Contract

.
A. Write down a goal you want to achieve and break down the habits that will be
required to achieve it.
B. Then write the punishment you will incur if you don't do that habit.
C. Find an accountability partner and signing both your names on the paper.
D. Place paper somewhere you can see it every day.
Ch13: How to Stop Procrastinating by Using
the Two-Minute Rule
Many habits occur at decisive moment and
either send you in the direction of a
productive day or an unproductive one.
Two-Minute Rule = ‘When you start a new habit,

it should take less than two minutes to do.’
The more you ritualize the beginning of a process, the more likely it becomes
that you can slip into the state of deep focus that is required to do great things.
ACTION
Planning

BY-NC-ND.
Ch 5: The Best Way to Start a New Habit
The 1st Law of Behavior Change is make it obvious
.
Many people think they lack motivation when

what they really lack is clarity.
Habit Stacking: Identify a current habit

you already do each day and then stack your
new behavior on top.
.
Habit stacking formula is:
.
After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]

Setting and INTENTION
The two most common cues are time and location.
An implementation intention is a strategy you can use to pair a new habit
with a specific time and location.
The implementation intention formula is:

.
I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]
Write down a few implementation intentions for the next 2 weeks
BY.
Ch 16: Stick with Good Habits Every Day
One of the most satisfying feelings is the feeling of making progress.
A habit tracker is a simple way to measure whether you did a habit—like marking
an X on a calendar.
.
TIPS:
1. Don’t break the chain. Try to keep your habit streak alive.
2. Never miss twice. If you miss one day, try to get back on track as quickly as possible.
.
Pointing-and-calling
Say out loud the action that you are thinking of taking and what the outcome will
be.
i.e."I'm about to eat this cookie, but I don't need it. Eating it will cause me to gain
weight and hurt my health."
Ch10: How to Find and Fix The Cause of Your
Bad Habits
At a deep level, you simply want to:
What is your brain trying to
1. Reduce uncertainty and relieve anxiety achieve by creating your
2. Win social acceptance and approval current 'bad' craving/cue?
3. Achieve status.
Reframe the associations you have with those cues, i.e.

Exercise 'I have to go running' 'It's time to build endurance and get fast'
Finances 'saving is a sacrifice' 'saving increases my future freedom'
Meditation 'Its frustrating to get distracted' 'each distraction is the chance to
practice returning to my breath'
Create a motivation ritual by doing something
you enjoy immediately before a difficult habit.
BY-SA-NC.
Now the real work begins!

• Chapter 11: Walk Slowly, But Never Backward
The amount of time you have been performing a habit is not as
important as the number of times you have performed it. Reapeat
reapeat repeat!
Chapter 14: How to Make Good Habits
Inevitable and Bad Habits Impossible
• “Onetime choices—like buying a better mattress or enrolling in an
automatic savings plan—are single actions that automate your future
habits and deliver increasing returns over time.”
• “Using technology to automate your habits is the most reliable and
effective way to guarantee the right behavior.”
Chapter 18: The Truth About Talent (When
Genes Matter and When They Don’t)
• “Habits are easier when they align with your natural abilities. Choose
the habits that best suit you.”
• “Play a game that favors your strengths. If you can’t find a game that
favors you, create one.”
Chapter 19: The Goldilocks Rule—How to Stay
Motivated in Life and Work
• “The Goldilocks Rule states
that humans experience peak
motivation when working on tasks
that are right on the edge of their
current abilities.”
• “Professionals stick to the schedule;
amateurs let life get in the way.”

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Creating

Small changes often appear to make

You need to be patient.

“The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of

Simple two-step process:

2. Prove it to yourself with small wins.

What NEW Habits do you want to add to become that person?

"Self-control is a short-term strategy, not a long-term one"

People with high self-control tend to spend less time in tempting

What are the cues to your old habits?

Whenever you want to change your behavior, ask yourself:

Which of these could you add as a reward to your new habit?

Create an environment where doing the right thing is as easy as possible.

Reduce the friction associated with good behaviors.

What could get in the way of your new habit?

Increase the friction associated with bad behaviors.

How could you make your bad habits harder?

What could be the cues to your new habits?

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC

The human brain evolved to prioritize immediate rewards over delayed

How could you immediately REWARD your new habit?

Your Habit Contract

Two-Minute Rule = ‘When you start a new habit,

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC

Many people think they lack motivation when

Habit Stacking: Identify a current habit

After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]

The implementation intention formula is:

Reframe the associations you have with those cues, i.e.

Now the real work begins!

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