Atomic Habits is a self-help book by James Clear that aims to help readers develop good habits and break bad ones. The book is based on the idea that small, incremental changes to your habits can lead to significant improvements in your life. I bought this book during lockdown and it really was a catalyst to a mindset change that led to significant growth in my business.

As someone who can easily get overwhelmed when a lot is going on at once, I loved the idea that I could address changes one small step at a time.

Clear argues that the key to success is not talent or intelligence, but rather the ability to consistently execute good habits and avoid bad ones. He emphasizes the importance of making small, incremental changes to your habits, as these can compound over time to produce significant results.

The book covers a range of topics related to habits, including how to create new habits, how to break bad habits, and how to maintain good habits. Clear also discusses the role of motivation and willpower in habit formation, and offers strategies for overcoming common obstacles to habit change.

Overall, Atomic Habits is a practical and well-written guide to improving your habits and achieving your goals. It is suitable for anyone looking to make positive changes in their life, and is particularly well-suited for those who are seeking to develop new habits or break old ones.

Some key action points from Atomic Habits by James Clear include:

Make small changes to your habits: Clear argues that small, incremental changes to your habits can lead to significant improvements in your life. Rather than trying to overhaul your entire life at once, focus on making small changes that are easy to sustain.
“The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long term thinking is goal-less thinking. It’s not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Ultimately it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.”(James Clear, Atomic Habits)
Create a system for tracking your habits: Clear recommends setting up a system for tracking your habits, such as using a habit tracker app or keeping a journal. This can help you identify patterns in your behaviour and make it easier to identify which habits are most important to focus on.
Use triggers to create new habits: Clear advises using existing triggers in your life to help establish new habits. For example, if you want to start exercising every morning, you could set a trigger by placing your workout clothes next to your bed so that you are reminded to exercise as soon as you wake up.
Invert your thinking: Instead of trying to build new habits, Clear suggests that it may be more effective to focus on breaking bad habits. This involves inverting your thinking and identifying the triggers and rewards that keep you stuck in a bad habit, and then working to break that habit by removing the trigger or changing the reward.
Celebrate small wins: Clear recommends celebrating small wins as a way to reinforce good habits and stay motivated. This can involve setting small goals and rewarding yourself when you achieve them, or simply taking a moment to appreciate your progress.

So let’s look at some practical ways that we can apply the key points from the book. Clear suggests that there are three layers of behaviour change.

Outcomes - this is what you will get and relates to your goals
Processes - what you do, relates to your systems
Identity - what you believe this relates to your beliefs, assumptions and biases

The most important layer is to change identity.

Start by thinking about the type of person you wish to become. A great way to do this is to complete the sentence “ I am the type of person who is…”

Once you start thinking about yourself in a certain way you are more likely to engage in habits that enable you to become that person.