⭐ Key Notes

⚛ Power of Atomic Habits

• Tiny changes in our habits can change the trajectory of our lives.
• It is the tiny improvements that create incredible change.
• Success is the product of daily habits – not once in a lifetime transformations.

The valley of disappointment

• Progress is compounding, not linear.
• At the start, progress is extremely slow and small.
• Patience is required.
• The most powerful outcomes of any process are delayed.

Focus on systems

• A goal is a result that you wish to accomplish.
• Systems are the processes that lead to results.
• Goals are good for setting direction, but systems are best for making progress.

Layers of behaviour change

1. Outcomes – what you get.
2. Processes – what you do.
3. Identity – what you believe.

• Make it part of your identity and your behaviours will change.
• Do not say – I want to run a marathon. Say – I will become a runner.
• When you workout, you are an athelete.
• When you write code, you are a programmer.

➰ Habit Loop

• A habit is something that is repeated so many times that it becomes automatic.
• Over time, rewards become associated with cues.
• The key to habits, it to create a feedback loop that is continuosly improved.

1. Cue – phone buzz.
2. Craving – want to know who messaged.
3. Response – pick up the phone.
4. Reward – know who messaged.

📝 Law 1: Make it Obvious

Habit scorecard

• Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.
• Most habits are so automatic, that we do not even notice them.
• Create a habit scorecard to observe daily life.

1. Write down all your daily behaviours – from waking up to bedtime.
2. Categorise each habit as positive, neutral, or negative.
3. Observe your daily life.

Habit stacking

• Tie desired habits to existing habits.
• After [current habit], I will [new habit]
• After brushing my teeth, I will do 50 push-ups.
• A chain of habits is more likely to be sustained when practiced consistently.
• Choosing the correct trigger is essential. The trigger should be automatic.

Define a time and place

• Define a time and a place.
• Clearly state your intention to act.
• I will [behaviour] at [time] in [location]
• I will read a book for 15 minutes, at 7pm in the bedroom.

Design your environment

• The environment shapes human behaviour.
• Make the cues visible and obvious.
• To drink more water – place water bottles everywhere.
• The same environment may create different cues for different people. For some, it may be a queue to read, whereas for others it may be a queue to watch TV.
• Make seperate zones in the hose for different activities.
• One space = one use.
• Make it invisible – to get off your phone, put it in another room.

😍 Law 2: Make it Attractive

Dopamine

• When we expect to be rewarded, we take action.
• The more rewarding an action, the more likely we are to repeat it until it becomes a habit.
• Our motivation levels are affected by dopamine.
• Dopamine is released when we expect pleasure.
• Gambling addicts experience a dopaine spike when they place the bet, not when they win.
• The anticipation of a vacation can be better than the vacation itself.
• It is the craving that causes us to take action.

Temptation bundling

• Make a habit more attractive by combining a habit that we need to do, with habit that we want to do.
• Bundle watching TV with working out.
• Premack Principle – more probable behaviours will reinforce less probable behaviours.

Group influence

• Become part of a culture where that habit is the norm.
• To get in better shape – surround yourself with fit people.
• To read more – join a book club.

Understand your underlying motives

• Obtaining food and water.
• Conserving energy.
• Finding love and reproducing.
• Connecting and bonding with others.
• Winning social acceptance and approval.
• Reducing uncertainty.
• Achieving status and prestige.

Enjoy hard habits

• Associate your habits with positvie experience.
• Fitness = health and wellbeing, not fatigue.
• Cleaning house = environment conducive to peace and mind, not waste of time.
• Saving money = financial freedom, not sacrifice.

🌴 Law 3: Make it Easy

Law of least effort

• The more energy required, the less likely it is to happen.
• Eliminate any friction that makes the habit more difficult.
• Make your good habits convenient.

Prime the environment

• Automate your environment to reduce friction for later action.
• For the gym – lay out the clothes the night before.
• For breakfast – place pan and ingredients on the stove ahead of time.

2 minute rule

• Find a two minute version of your desired outcome.
• To run a marathon – put on running shoes and stretch.
• To read a book – read just one page.

⛓ Law 4: Make it Satisfying

Associate pleasure

• Pleasure encourages the brain to repeat the action.
• What is immediately rewarded is repeated.
• Add a little immediate pleasure to help sustain long-term habits.

Feel successful

• Use little wins.
• For each sales call – move a paperclip or marble from one jar to another.
• Visual measurements – logs, progress bars, habit trackers.

Habit tracking

• Make tracking a reward within itself.

Don’t break the chain

• Lost days hurt you more than successful days help.
• Create a daily chain and do everything to keep it going.
• If you normally do 50 pushups, just do 10 to keep the chain going.
• Use accountability partners – tell others about your habits, or give something away each time you break the chain.

🦸‍♂️ Action Plan

• Identify the positive habits that you want to develop.
• Identify the negative habits that you want to eliminate.
• Observe your current situation by using a habit scorecard to assess your daily routine.
• Create commitment – specify an action, time, and place.
• Prime your environment – remove friction and make the habit easily accessible.
• Increase dopaine during habit – eg listening to music whilst working out.
• Reframe your perspective – eg working out is energising, not fatiguing.
• Start easy by performing the habit for only 2 minutes initially.
• Focus on small, 1% improvements.
• Do not break the chain – consistency is king.

📹 Video Summary