Atomic Habits – James Clear

It’s been four and a half years since I reviewed a book that would support readers on their personal growth journey. But Atomic Habits by James Clear felt like it was the right one to share with you. 

My first impression was how much this book takes a coach approach to creating and changing habits. I’ll elaborate on this throughout the review. 

WHAT IS THE BOOK FOR?

The author calls the book an “operating manual”. A manual to help the reader understand that there is a way, steps one can take to actually creating a new habit and sticking to it.

What James Clear states is new about his approach to building and keeping better habits is that he takes both a cognitive AND a behavioural approach to the work. Only in recent decades, he states, has science begun to take both of these aspects into consideration when writing about how to create better habits. Thoughts and feelings play an important role in the behaviours we either do or do not create.  They cannot be ignored.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

His first concept of how to have better habits or become better at something is not a new one. You’re familiar with the phrase “practice makes perfect?” Along with practice it’s about taking tiny steps closer and closer to the outcome we desire, or in this case the habit. As he states, transformation can be slow, hence why it’s a practice.

This concept has much in common with the art of coaching. Clients transform who they are being when they choose to work with a coach. That transformation is a slow, step by step process. For those who stick with it and do the work, even though they may stumble and fall occasionally, they often get to the place they were reaching for. As Clear states,
“Habits are the compound interest of self improvement.” In coaching the client is looking at their habits and seeking a way to change them and that practice compounds on itself.

THE GOAL MAY BE THE PROBLEM

The key insight to Clear’s book is that the reason we aren’t succeeding at creating new good habits isn’t that we haven’t set a clear goal, or that the goal isn’t valuable to us. Instead it’s that we aren’t using the right system to help us be successful. 

As a coach I have always struggled with my industry’s focus on goal setting. Once you achieve the goal, what’s next? So much time is spent on the end result, the ticking of a box. What resonated for me in Atomic Habits was his focus on the system. “Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.” In coaching it is through the process and journey that transformation and change begins to happen. If you commit to the process you will begin to show progress. 

A second common ground between Clear’s process and coaching is the focus he puts on identity based habits, who do we wish to become. The core of coaching is having client’s work towards who it is they want to be in their lives. Clear is making the same statement through his book, if your habits are identity based your chances of success become far greater, ie: who are you being when you do or don’t practice.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability is a huge part of the coaching partnership,  and often why people reach out to work with a coach. It is also another commonality between Atomic Habits and a coaching relationship. Clear states that accountability is a key piece in creating a new or changing an old habit we no longer want.

The goal of coaching is to help clients learn how to be accountable to themselves. Clear uses this in his formula when he speaks about “an implementation intention.” 

His formula for an implementation intention is: “When situation X arises, I will perform response Y.” 

Examples:

• After I eat breakfast everyday, I will take my vitamins
• When I start the workday I will always get a glass of water
• When I get into bed each night I will jot down my thoughts on my book idea/concept
• Whenever I hear someone ask me a question, I will pause and repeat it in my head before answering

The key here is that if you make a specific plan you increase the level of success you will encounter. In coaching we ask clients to create goals, and they often look like this:

• eat healthier
• lose weight
• write a book
• improve communication 

What we ask clients, as Clear is suggesting, is what are the basic details to doing these tasks? They never say where, when or how. With an implementation intention you create more clarity on how you are going to make your new habit a reality. The first 4 points above are the implementation strategy. The second 4 points are the habits that the individual wants to work towards doing. By only thinking about what you want to change, the end goal, we don’t have the clarity needed to actually begin to create that habit or goal. 

IT TAKES 21 DAYS TO CREATE A NEW HABIT

You’ve heard this statement before, it takes 21 days to create a new habit. The concept, or belief, gives us a time frame for when we can expect this new thing we want to become a habit.  What too many focus on is the number of days.  Atomic Habits helps us to understand it’s not the number of days that go by that creates the new habit, it’s the number to times you’ve practiced and repeated the new behaviour.  Ie: taken photos, practiced your guitar, filled your water bottle in a day, gone for a walk. 

“This means that simply putting in your reps is one of the most critical steps you can take to encoding a new habit. Habits form based on frequency, not time” A habit becomes a habit when it is constantly and consistently repeated. 

USING THE BOOK VS READING IT

If you’re like me you may have books full of yellow stickies marking pages to remind yourself of an important concept. 

The author helps this concept by providing cheat sheets that summarize everything you’ve been reading previously about how to create a good habit as well as how to break a bad one. What’s also great is that he has made it available on his website for download. 

With real life examples to back up his theories along with his step by step cheat sheets and chapter summaries that highlight key learnings, Atomic Habits is an easy to read and easy to integrate strategy book for those looking to create better habits in their lives.

By helping you to:

•  understand where you can sometimes struggle
•  how to better motivate yourself towards success
• how to remove roadblocks and obstacles we can often create for ourselves, before we create them

NEW YEARS PLANS

If you’re heading off to the bookstore to spend the gift card you recently received for Christmas,  consider picking up Atomic Habits by James Clear. 

I will recommending it to clients who may be looking for extra support on their coaching journey between calls. If you’re reading this and not yet ready to say yes to working with a coach then consider picking up Atomic Habits. It’s a good place to start creating greater self awareness of how your current habits aren’t supporting you. As well as showing how you can work towards creating better ones that stand a much greater chance of success.