4 Steps to Understanding and Applying Atomic Habits

Whether it's personal, business, or relationships, improvement is the ideal that drives us forward. James Clear’s Atomic Habits breaks down improvement to a science. Introducing readers to profound insights and useful formulas to help you spot your issues and systematically reverse them. With over a million copies sold it's got to have some value, so let's break it down.

Atomic Habits can be divided into four steps. The book teaches the basics of improvement, breaking down habit forming, how to manipulate that process, and how to apply it for yourself.

The rest of this article will summarize these topics and provide actionable ways to apply the knowledge as you see fit.

1. Know the Basics

The Truth About Progress

We tend to think progress is a linear scale. It's easier to think if we make big actions then naturally we will see a big change. However, true progress is tracked by how many times you show up and not just how grand the gesture is.

Start small so you know you can show up every day and watch how those little moments grow into the foundations of the new you.

Goals vs Systems

Setting goals is a natural part of life. They help us get inspired and find direction but it's easy to get too focused on the goal itself and not the change you want to see. Goals are all about results while systems build processes. Building systems allow us to focus on who we have to become to achieve our goals.

With a clear system in place, even if you succeed, fail, or pick up a new goal along the way you can build something tangible that facilitates self-growth.

What Are Atomic Habits?

Atomic habits refer to consistent small-scale changes and behaviors that accumulate into positive outcomes. It takes all the theory we just learned and forms it into something more concrete.

These changes can be broken down into 3 types.

Outcomes: The results or what you get

Processes: What you do.

Identity: What you believe.

Changing any one of these pieces will help you on the road to progression but changing your identity has the strongest and most lasting effects.

2. Breakdown Habit Loops

A habit refers to something we’ve done so much that it becomes automatic. The entire cycle or “Habit Loop” can be broken down from beginning to end into four parts.

Cue

A cue signals the brain to perform a behavior.

Craving

A craving is the motivation behind a habit.

Response

A response Is the physical behavior that is taking place

Reward

The reward is what satisfies the craving and validates the entire process.

3. Use the 4 Laws To Influence Your Habit Loops

With the habit loop identified, we can tackle how to use it for our benefit.

Law 1: “Make It Obvious”

If you want to change you have to make your habits clear both good and bad. The more you make your behaviors visible the easier they are to pinpoint how to change them. Creating a habit scorecard, using implementation intention, habit stacking, and controlling cues are all great ways to give yourself more awareness.

Habit Scorecards list your daily habits graded positive, neutral, or negative. We are not quite pulling up the bootstraps yet but you can't make a change if you don't know what you're changing.

Implementation intention is picking a time and place for the specific activity you want to do. The trick is to be as detailed as possible leaving yourself no wiggle room to cheat. The book breaks it down into a formula, I will [Behavior] at [Time] in [Location].

Habit Stacking is when you match an existing habit with a new desired one. The trick here is as long as we're doing it consistently our brains will make it a habit. When you stack a new habit with one you’ve always done, you guarantee you get those reps in.

Controlling cues refers to designing your environment to make desired cues obvious and undesired ones invisible. If you want to read more leave books visible in places you frequent. Want to stop being distracted by social media, don't bring your phone to your workspaces.

Law 2: “Make It Attractive”

The next step is to make the habits you want to keep or start more appealing. Typically we find things appealing that stimulate dopamine. Our biggest spikes for dopamine are when we anticipate a behavior we like and while we are experiencing it. James suggests temptation bundling and using social groups to make your desired habits more attractive.

Temptation Bundling is when you pair an activity you enjoy doing with something you need to do. This lets you channel that rush of enjoyment of things you like to knock out tasks that you normally have issues doing. You can think of it as a more emotionally charged version of habit stacking.

Using social groups refers to finding like-minded individuals who represent behaviors you wish to possess. As social creatures, it's hard to let down people we respect. Joining the right groups can help you learn useful behaviors and knowledge you lack both actively and subconsciously. You also might find a mentor who truly fast-tracks your growth.

Law 3: “Make It Easy”

As humans, we do things that come easy that’s why it’s so hard to break old cycles. The more we repeat something the easier it is to do it again. Your goal here is to eliminate as much friction as possible. With fewer steps between you and your desired habit success becomes inevitable. Using the 2-minute rule is probably the best way to accomplish this.

2-minute rule describes taking a habit you wish to perform and breaking it down into a version that can be done in only 2 minutes. This tactic greatly reduces friction and allows you to build up frequency so you can make real progress. For example, if you want to eat out less and cook more, spend that 2 minutes chopping vegetables for your recipes.

Law 4: “Make It Satisfying”

The last law highlights the fact that we are more likely to do things that satisfy us. Are brains want to keep things simple, if you do something and are rewarded it sticks, if you're punished that behavior is avoided. By rewarding desired behavior and habit tracking, you can recognize desired behaviors so you are more likely to repeat them.

Rewarding desired behavior means attaching a physical or emotional ritual to every successful desired habit you follow. It can be as small or grandiose as you want to make it the most important factor is that it encourages you.

Habit tracking is tallying every time you repeat a behavior. It's similar to habit scorecards but instead of grading your behavior, we're looking for frequency. This tactic lets you be completely honest with yourself making it easier to adjust a wrong course or provide peace of mind that you’re doing the right things.

The best thing about each law and principle is that if you want to eliminate a bad habit instead of building a new one, you apply the principles in reverse. Simply make them invisible, unattractive, hard and unsatisfying.

4. Apply What You Learned

Now let’s put the lessons into practice. For this example, we will say you want to establish more quality family time.

Start by making your habit scorecard. This will give you a clear look at who you are now and create a list of habits that you can stack or bundle later. Maybe hectic schedules make implementation intention difficult so use photos and or gifts of loved ones to prime your ques.

To make this habit more attractive try finding mutual activities you all enjoy and do them together or rotate sharing personal interests.

To make the response easier your 2 minute rule can include carving out time to send quick messages to loved ones during the day or making sure you hug them or tell them you love them.

For this example, your reward can be taking photos or videos of successful family nights and marking the dates in a special journal.