It’s probably one of the fastest reads of a nonfiction book I have ever done. Just because this book leaves an impact on you. Finished reading it in just 4 hours with the help of an audiobook, while making notes for this review. This book, if used and followed well, will do magic! I subscribed to James Clear’s newsletters after listening to one of the rooms in the clubhouse (the app) and was intrigued by his writing after reading just a couple of emails. His books are listed as highly recommended by most of my reader friends and I was thrilled to have finally bought my copy and boy were all these people right!
In the very first chapter we are introduced to the word “atomic” and why was the book so named and how just little changes if followed consistently can bring about a drastic change in our lives. The author provides multiple insights as to why bad habits stick and good habits take effort and it was refreshing to be educated about the one thing every human being struggles with- Habits. Not only that, but the author cleverly puts the image of a ‘cheat sheet’ after a couple of chapters for the reader to register the important points that he wants us to remember about
A. how to stick to good habits and
B. how to let go of the bad ones.
One can get quite a decent understanding of all the facts the book mentions with interesting anecdotes which I found to be quite relatable. I have been doing the exercises mentioned in the book and it works! Not that I was ever doubting James Clear. Mere attention to detail about my surroundings and my systems when I go about my day made me realize how I was doing things in a completely wrong way and how I can improve. Writing this review is a part of the exercise and I do believe that one can bring a beautiful change in their lives by minimal effort done consistently and the reward that one gets after following good habits hits differently.
Take away from the book:
- One of the things that most made an impact on me is the ‘use implementation
intentions’, meaning that instead of jotting down play ukulele on my to-do list, I now write I will play Ukulele at 4pm at the corner sofa in my room. This helps me visualise me doing the said habit and stick to doing it. Also, the intention is not to learn to play a couple of songs, it’s to become a musician, that helps to form a clear mindset . - I ended up changing multiple things in my environment after reading the book because I realized that being a creature of habit, I am up to the brim in my comfort zone. James Clear made it clear that I need to assign a specific place for every task and design my environment in a way that makes cues of good habits obvious and visible. For e.g. What I have observed is that whenever I eat, I sit at a specific place with a television right in front of me and lose sight of how much I am eating or when I should be stopping after I am full. The past couple of weeks after having read the book I have changed the place where I would eat and I am glad that I am much more aware of the food now.
- In the section of how to break bad habits the first law is to ‘make it invisible’ meaning reduce the exposure and remove the cues of your bad habits from your environment. How I have implemented it is when I am sitting at my desk for 3 hours straight and want to take a short walk before I continue, I used to go and walk around the kitchen and to entertain myself would open the refrigerator and yes, you guessed it write, eat anything that would tempt me. Now I walk in the basement instead to avoid any such temptation.
- I have downloaded a habit forming app and am now able to track my habits as soon as I am done with it.
- One of the most important quotes that will stay with me forever from the book ( I am sure ) is the “NEVER MISS TWICE” . In the last 3 weeks I have tried to follow most of the suggestions from the book and still fell short . Life happens and bad habits take some time to break but if you make sure that the mistake you did yesterday is not done today,it won’t turn into a habit. If I ordered take out food yesterday ,I am going to make sure that I eat good ,healthy home-made food today.
- Make good habits stick and let go off the bad ones, one day at a time. Staying consistent with the process and MAKE IT EASY, do it for 2 minutes and change your life.
Go ahead and buy your copy today !