Productivity Strategies from the Experts: James Clear
It’s March and we are back with Productivity Strategies from the Experts. Today we are sharing our top takeaways from Atomic Habits by James Clear. We’ve been SO excited to share these renowned concepts with you and can’t wait to dive in.
A Little Background…
James Clear’s young life is an inspiring success story in and of itself. In late high school, he obtained a life-threatening head injury during a school baseball practice, and he had to relearn basic skills (like walking and driving) from the ground up. Over an extended period of time he slowly started to gain his life back. Starting with basic daily habits like tidying his dorm, studying, and gym-going, his progress was unimaginable. He states:
“Six years after I had been hit in the face with a baseball bat, flown to the hospital, and placed into a coma, I was selected as the top male athlete at Denison University and named to the ESPN Academic All-America Team... By the time I graduated, I was listed in the school record books in eight different categories. That same year, I was awarded the university’s highest academic honor, the President’s Medal.”
So how did he do it? What’s the secret here?
Ambitious individuals often get caught up with making goals. Goals box us into an “either-or” mindset (you hit the goal and are a success, or you don’t and you’ve failed), which can be deflating and discouraging. Alternatively, Clear advocates to forget about your goals, and focus on your systems. The most meaningful life we can create is one with a continual commitment to the process of refinement and improvement. It’s all about creating your identity, becoming the person you want to be. Here’s where Atomic Habits come in!
The Four Laws of Behavior Change
Make it OBVIOUS
“Strategies like implementation intentions and habit stacking are among the most practical ways to create obvious cues for your habits and design a clear plan for when and where to take action.”
Implementation intentions look like this: I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]. Getting specific will keep you accountable and make the action more likely to occur. Habit stacking is creating a chain of positive actions built around habits you already perform each day. For example, after I [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]. After I wake up, I will make my bed; After I pour my morning coffee, I will say 1 thing I am grateful for; After I eat dinner, I will put the dishes directly in the dishwasher. With practice, once you perform an action, you will know exactly what to do next. It will eventually become automatic!
Make it ATTRACTIVE
“We need to make our habits attractive because it is the expectation of a rewarding experience that motivates us to act in the first place.”
Temptation bundling is a great way to make your desired habit attractive - pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do. Watch Netflix while on your stationary bike. Mop while listening to your leisure audiobook. Check Instagram after you’ve cleared your inbox for the day. As we bundle enjoyable activities with desired actions, we start to associate them and crave the experience.
Clear also suggests reprogramming your brain to enjoy hard habits with a simple mindset shift that could look something like the following:
“I have to go run” → “It’s time to build my endurance and speed”
“I shouldn’t buy that” → “What I save this month increases my purchasing power next month”
“I have to cook dinner for my family” → “I get to spend time with my kids and build healthy habits”
“I am so nervous” → “This adrenaline rush is helping me to focus and perform”
Make it EASY
“When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do. The idea is to make your habits as easy as possible to start…The secret is to always stay below the point where it feels like work”
Clear suggests creating a “gateway habit” that naturally leads to your desired outcome. Start simple with something like putting on your running shoes, laying out your yoga mat, or opening up your study notes. Consistency in showing up day after day is the foundation upon which we can build. Consider making a scale for your desired outcome from very easy to very hard. For example, if you want to become an early riser, you will work your way through a progression like so:
Be home by 10 p.m. every night
Have all devices (phone, tv) turned off by 10 p.m. every night
Be in bed by 10 p.m. every night (reading or talking with your partner)
Lights off by 10 p.m. every night
Wake up at 6 a.m. every day
Make it SATISFYING
“You learn what to do in the future based on what you were rewarded for doing in the past. Positive emotions cultivate habits.”
The human brain is wired for immediate gratification. Oftentimes, however, positive habits we want to create don’t show results for an extended period of time. For that reason, Clear advocates finding ways to make good habits rewarding right away. For example, if you pass on eating out, transfer the money you would have spent into a savings account for a vacation. If you tidied the house in the evening, reward yourself with a bubble bath. Another way to make positive actions satisfying is by habit tracking. According to Clear, “habit tracking provides visual proof that you are casting votes for the type of person you wish to become.”
We hope you enjoyed this quick overview of Atomic Habits! We’d love to hear what you’re taking away to apply to your week ahead. Share in the comments below!