Atomic Habits James Clear

9 /10

This was the second time I read this book this year. The first time, I actually listened to it as an audio book. This was my first time reading it in print, and it changed my life the first time. During this second round, it has had a similar impact. I decided to read it again because I hoped to gain more insights and have the lessons stick better. It worked.

James Clear wrote this book. He began writing blog posts on his website in 2012, and in 2018, he published Atomic Habits. The introduction shares a story about his challenges in high school and college, which is a great way to kick off the book. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it was inspiring to hear how he developed the skills he teaches in this book.

Overall, this book has significantly helped me in my life, and it continues to do so. I will summarize what the book covers and explain how I apply its concepts in my everyday life.

James breaks down what habits are and discusses how to create good habits while eliminating bad ones. I can attest that his approach works because I use it daily, and it has been effective for me. Like anything else, especially with me, I have added my own flavor to it.

The main concepts in this book revolve around the laws for creating and quitting habits, which also structure the book. Each chapter includes a summary with bullet points, which I find helpful. I write down each summary and read them every morning to ensure that everything I’ve learned from the book sticks. I still practice this along with habit stacking and habit tracking.

I would love to explain what habit stacking and habit tracking entail, but I have a feeling some readers may learn about them from this article instead of reading the book. Additionally, I suspect that some readers might want to develop reading as a habit. Personally, I wasn’t an avid reader until I listened to this book; then I created the habit of reading many other books before finally reading this one instead of just listening to it.

I hope the same happens for you. You can start with the audio book; if that works well for you, great! However, for the sake of the book and James Clear, I won’t break down all of the tactics from it. All you need to know is that they work; they have worked for me, and I use them every day.

To conclude, once you learn about habit stacking, you will understand this statement better: I do my habit stacking every morning to start my day. I write it down on paper to limit distractions; if I use my phone, I would never get it done. It might seem like a lot, but I time myself, and most days it takes me less than ten minutes. Anyway, go buy the book or check it out from your library—libraries are free and one of my favorite places to be!