This is the tagline that helped James Clear sell more than one million copies of his book, Atomic Habits. But the question remains – does this book do what it claims to do? Having read the book twice during the Covid-19 lockdown, AND having ordered James Clear’s $25 habit tracking notebook from Amazon, I feel like I’m in the position to answer this question.
What’s the deal?
The premise of the book is that “Tiny changes lead to remarkable results” similar to the Greek story known as the Sorites Paradox mentioned in the book. The paradox asks: Can one coin make a person rich? (Of course not.) What if you add another one? (Still, no.) How about another one? (OK, I see where you’re going.)
In the end, at some point, you have to admit that no one can be rich unless one coin can make him or her rich.
James Clear says the same is true for atomic habits. Instead of the coin, you are repeating the action everyday which becomes a habit.
Mind-blowing, isn’t it?
Who is James Clear, anyway?
I consider myself an internet-savvy young man, yet I could find almost nothing about James Clear online. There is no Wikipedia page about him, nor a wiki about the book. From a Google search you can ‘clearly’ see this guy has a marketing team scrubbing and polishing the internet to a mirror-shine whenever his name comes up. All we know about him is what he tells us in his book and various blog posts. Allow me to summarize:
- Former elite-level baseball player
- Really good weightlifter
- “Travel photographer” who has visited 30+ countries
- Crazy-successful blogger (over 2M readers per month)
- Best-selling author (of course)
It seems like Mr. Clear is another blogger-turned-author who has successfully built a mailing list and successfully managed to sell them his book. Oh, and he works out and enjoys snapping photos on vacation (which he gets to do a lot).
OK, so how does Atomic Habits work?
James first lays out a scientific process called ‘the Habit Loop’ which he explains in simple, easy-to-understand terms. ‘Cue’ and ‘Craving’ make up the ‘Problem Phase’ while ‘Response’ and ‘Reward’ make up the ‘Solution Phase.’ These are the components of any habit – good or bad.
Then comes the Three Laws – Make it Obvious, Make it Attractive, and Make it Easy. Using these laws, we can break old habits and create new ones.
This leads us to the fourth and final law, the ‘Golden Rule’ of Habits: Make It Satisfying. This means give yourself a reward for completing the behavior and you will repeat the behavior.
Not exactly rocket science, right?
So, that’s it?
Almost. Sprinkle in a few examples that show habits lead to change and a few quotes from famous people and that is basically the book in a nutshell.
Each chapter has a story. The stories are well-told. From the author’s unfortunate baseball career-ending personal injury story to the story of the British Cycling Team who sucked so bad some bike companies refused to sell to them, you will be entertained for sure. But perhaps my favorite story is about Hungarians. The amazing story of Laszlo Polgar and his wife Klara who raised not one, not two, but THREE daughters who ALL became chess prodigies. Does the name Judit Polgar ring a bell?
Clear also sites some research that backs up his theories – especially when it comes to tracking, and writing down your intention. The research cited does a good job of convincing you that if you write it down the probability that you will get it done goes up exponentially.
Did this book change your life, Alex?
Yes, it did. Using the techniques in the book, I redesigned my day – packing it full of positive habits like reading, meditation, exercise and healthy eating. I got myself to become a morning person, getting up at 5am – something I thought was impossible. My flat became clean and neat. I started to keep track of everything – workouts, food, finances and even my moods. I ordered the fancy habit-tracker notebook from the US and began recommending Atomic Habits to all my friends. I quit drinking alcohol. I was living my best life. Then, something unexpected happened.
My life started creeping back into my life. Slowly, the good daily habits were reduced to three-times-a-week habits, then once-a-week, then nons-a-week. I started to sleep-in more, started forgetting to take my vitamins and my flat became a pig-pen all over again.
So, this book isn’t worth it?
I wouldn’t say that. It is worth reading. Some of my new habits did stick. The book helped remove the mental friction I had and empowered me to get started. I still track my workouts and my finances. I’m still alcohol-free. I make it to the gym at 6am two or three times a week. My flat is messy only half the time.
Atomic Habits by James Clear will help you get excited about the possibilities of living your best life. It will help you get started in the transformation – but that’s it. Without solid and consistent goal-setting, reflection and adjustment, you WILL fall back into your old ways much like I did.
What are your key takeaways?
- Understand that you can change your life, but only a little bit at a time.
- Write down what you want yourself to do, and then write down what you did. Repeat.
- Start a blog, build a big following and then write a book.
Free download of resources at: atomichabits.com/cheatsheet
