Atomic Habits (Book Review with Notes)

Atomic Habits has been on my to-be-read list for a very long time, and I’ve finally read it, starting in the New Year, to help with my new goals. I’d like to say I’m trouncing my new goals, but I am making baby steps, which this book advocates. It promises that changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into something amazing if you keep them up for years. I already know that’s true; this blog has become huge over one little daily post at a time, consistently over 18 years. Now I want to apply that magic in other areas as well.

You can see my handwritten notes in photos below, since I don’t want to type them all out. They can be a little shortcut for you, if you want to take the time to peruse them. Having said that, here are my concise take-aways:

• You get what you repeat.
• Habits are about becoming someone.
• Changing your beliefs will change what you do, which in turn change your outcome.
• Focus on who you want to become, because behavior which is incongruent with your identity will not last.
• Your behaviors are how you embody your identity. True behavior change is identity change.
• (Who is the type of person that could lose 40 pounds? Then be that person.)
• Create a good habit by making it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.
• Break a bad habit by making it invisible, unattractive, difficult, and unsatisfying.
• Have a plan beforehand about how you will act.
• Have very specific intentions.
• Shift from seeing things as burdens to seeing things as opportunities.
• Take action. Lots of it. Repetition not perfection.
• First increase frequency, then get consistency.
• Make your habits convenient. Make the first two minutes of it easy.
• Master the habit of showing up.
• What is rewarded is repeated.  Favor things with delayed rewards.
• Find ways to make it enjoyable.
• Track your habits. Focus on never missing your habit twice; get back at it quickly. Try to make and keep a streak.
• If you are having trouble with any habit, it is just too big. Chunk it down.
• Stick to it in any mood.
• Never stop making 1% improvements. They compound to awesomeness!

This is a worthwhile book about managing your behavior. I liked his little stories at the beginning of each chapter, and they will help me remember these ideas. It has been such a pivotal book in world thought, a lot of these ideas have now gone mainstream. I give this book a mild five stars; there is a reason it is a classic.

If you actually put any of this into practice, this information can be incredible. I hope you leverage it to be who you want to be.