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Atomic Habits: 4 needle moving shortcuts to build good habits

Writer's picture: Valerio TomassoValerio Tomasso

Updated: Aug 21, 2023

Today's article is a little different.

Instead of the standard book summary, I have broken down the article in my favorite four actionable items from the book. I am calling these actionable items "shortcuts". I still recommend you read the book - but if you haven't got a chance, here is all you need to know in a nutshell!

Why read this?

I first read Atomic Habits two years ago. I was going through a rough patch and, in my journey, I picked up some really poor habits: using social media as soon as I woke up in the morning, very limited exercise, unhealthy work hours - the list continues, but I won't bore you!

I was aware of this pattern, but my immediate response when I wanted to make a change was "I will start tomorrow - at 7AM I will head to the gym". I didn't. In fact, I snoozed the alarm and stayed in bed (in my defense, it was cold outside and the bed was nice and warm!)

This is one of the fallacies of motivation - it may be a strong feeling that can get you started in a new activity; however, it is not long lasting. In the case of my exercise journey, it only took a bit of frost on my car to think "yeah, maybe I'll do it tomorrow".

This book taught me that building systems to achieve goals is the needle mover - so here are the four shortcuts that can change your life for the better!

Shortcut 1: Review your habits

To make a change to your life, you will need to understand where you are and where you want to be. This shortcut is about understanding where you are.

  1. Write up your routine: yes that's right, break your day down in 15 min to 30 min slots and identify the activities you do from day to night. Ensure to write down the time and where you do the activity.

  2. Review the list and classify your habits as (G) good habit (B) bad habit (N) neutral

  3. Identify the habits you want to remove and work towards removing them (Shortcut 2).

  4. Identify new good habits you want to form (Shortcut 3)

  5. Identify new habits you can stack onto existing habits (Shortcut 4)

Example of a Morning Routine

06:00 Wake up (N) 06:05 Read emails in bed (B) 06:15 Drink Coffee in kitchen (N) 06:20 Social Media in kitchen (B) 06:45 Shower (G) 07:00 News on TV in Living Room (B) 07:15 Social media in Living Room (B) 07:30 Leave for work (N)


Shortcut 2: Remove bad habits

Interrupting a bad habit means understanding the loop and knowing how to disrupt it. It's a simple 4-step loop:

  1. Cue

  2. Craving

  3. Response

  4. Reward.

Let's go through an example of a bad habit - a gambler walks into a casino and hears the sound of a slot machine - the cue. The sounds could act as a potential trigger that leads into a craving - in our case, the gambler wants to play on the slots. It's the anticipation of a reward that fuels us to take action. The next step to the loop is the response - this is when the actual habit is performed. Performing the action leads to a reward, the part that satisfies us.

If you wanted to eliminate the habit of gambling, then you need to eliminate the cue and the habit will never start. In our case, the best way to eliminate the habit would be to not enter a casino in the first place. If you were looking to lose weight, eliminating unhealthy foods in the house would eliminate the cue that triggers the habit of unhealthy eating.

If we look back to our routine above, if we wanted to eliminate the habit of reading your emails as soon as you woke up, the solution would be to leave your phone in a different room over night. Remove the cue, curb the habit.

Yes, I hear you asking, how are you supposed to wake up? An old school alarm clock. Here is your actions for Shortcut 2:

  1. Determine the habit you want to change

  2. Identify the cue and make it invisible

  3. Identify the craving and make it unattractive

  4. Identify the response and make it difficult

  5. Identify the reward and make it unsatisfying

  6. Put an action plan to remove or limit the cue

Shortcut 3: Launch good habits

Creating a new habit uses the habit loop too. Whenever a behavior needs changing, the habit loop should be used.

Let's say you were building a new habit - you want to take up running in the morning. Here is a breakdown of how you could use the habit loop to start the new habit.

  1. Cue: making your running kit and shoes readily available as soon as you wake up in the morning. Check the weather for the next day to ensure your kit is adequate!

  2. Craving: you see your running equipment, you put it on as soon as you get out of bed

  3. Response: make your goal realistic - don't set out to run a marathon on your first day, set up stepping stones. Your first day you might walk, your second day you might run for 1 min, walk 5 min, and run another 1 min. The important part is that you set a goal which you can stick too. If it's impossible to attain, you will give up.

  4. Reward: you have finished your run, endorphins are rushing through your body - you feel good!

Not part of the habit loop - but also very important to know!

  1. Keep going - yes I have added this in here. It takes 66 days to build a new habit and for the neuropathway to be cemented in your brain. That means that as you start, it will be hard. As you keep going, it will be easier and easier for your mind and body to keep repeating the habit.

  2. Don't miss out a new habit twice. If you miss your habit once, that's ok, twice it isn't. To help you with this, you can draw Xs on your calendar to form a chain. the longer the chain, the more you are compelled to not miss a day!

Shortcut 4: Tricks & tips to your new habit

There are some shortcuts to building new habits. It's called habit stacking. Habit stacking means stacking a new habit onto an existing one. Here is the science:

"There is a phenomenon that happens as we age called synaptic pruning. Synapses are connections between the neurons in your brain. The basic idea is that your brain prunes away connections between neurons that don't get used and builds up connections that get used more frequently. For example, if you practice playing the piano for 10 years, then your brain will strengthen the connections between those musical neurons. The more you play, the stronger the connections become. Not only that, the connections become faster and more efficient each time you practice. As your brain builds stronger and faster connections between neurons, you can express your skills with more ease and expertise. It is a biological change that leads to skill development" - James Clear.

Synaptic pruning occurs with all habits you develop. Your habit of showering every morning, drinking a coffee, or waking up at 6AM has a pre-existing path. You can use your pre-existing habits to launch the development of a new one.

It's easier to associate "waking up -> drinking coffee -> going for a run", than it is keeping up "going for a run at 7:30AM around the house block".

The reason why the first is stronger is because you are associating the habit of running to your pre-existing habit of waking up and drinking coffee: a strong neuron connection already exists here. Whereas, associating the run with a specific time or place will not be as strong as it doesn't have a pre-existing path in your brain.

It's your turn now. Go back to Shortcut 1, review your existing routine. Identify where you can use pre-existing habits to stack and develop a new habit. This is the easiest yet most impactful change you can make to your life. *** Additional Articles and References

  • Atomic Habits, James Clear

  • How to make a running habit: https://runkeeper.com/cms/start-running/how-to-make-running-a-habit/

  • Three Steps Habit Change: https://jamesclear.com/three-steps-habit-change

  • Create better habits and stick to them: https://wearebrightful.com/how-to/create-better-habits-and-stick-to-them/



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