Have you read Atomic Habits by James Clear?
I recommend this book and workbook to most of my clients. This information is a summary from both books. Towards the end of the article, there are actionable steps that you can take. My clients and I like to walk through the actionable steps together and discuss what needs to change, how, and priorities.
In Atomic Habits, James Clear reveals secrets to results that last. The book is packed with evidence-based self-improvement strategies, Atomic Habits will teach you how to design habits that work for you rather than against you.
An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones.
Mediocre to Olympic winning cycling team
In chapter 1, James Clear starts with a look at how British cycling performance director Dave Brailsford turned the British cycling team from mediocre to an Olympic winning team in the early 2000s.
He did this by employing a strategy he called “the aggregation of marginal gains.”
Marginal gains
The coaching team decided to make tiny changes (1% improvements) to everything that goes into riding a bike.
For example, they redesigned the bike seats to make them more comfortable.
They improved the bikes’ tire grip and even the fabric of the athletes’ riding suits.
They also hired a surgeon to train the cyclists on the proper methods of hand washing to avoid catching a cold.
These changes, which at first may seem small and inconsequential, added up (aggregation) to make a huge difference (marginal gains).
Five years after Brailsford started working with them, British cyclists conquered the world of cycling as they brought home 66 Olympic or Paralympic gold medals, won 178 world championships, and 5 Tour de France races.
How did they do it?
By targeting small, but useful improvements, Brailsford changed a losing team into a winning team.
This shows that tiny changes can indeed lead to remarkable results. Brailsford did not introduce radical changes, but he looked for small areas to improve.
- This is what I call the 1% rule.
What 1% change can you make? Look to do this every single day.
The power of 1% change
James Clear says that we often “underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis” because we tend to rather think that “massive success requires massive action”.
Atoms are so tiny that we cannot see them with our naked eyes. Yet, they are the basic building blocks of everything.
When these tiny atoms stack up, they make a huge difference. Clear refers to these tiny (atomic) changes as a 1% improvement.
In the book, he uses a graph to show us how making that 1% improvement daily can add up 37 times better results by the end of the year.
On the opposite end of the scale, if you get 1% worse everyday for one year, then you go back down to zero.
What we need to understand is that even a 1% improvement is better than no improvement at all.
But the changes we make need to be consistent in order for us to create new good habits. Over time and as you repeat them, small habits compound.
In other words, like compound interest that accumulates on your savings, good habits stack up to produce bigger results.
Small daily change may not be immediately noticeable, but in the long run, they have an accumulated effect. This compounding effect can apply to both good habits and bad habits.
I teach my clients how “thinking smaller” can help, so that we feel less overwhelmed when it comes to making changes. “The 1% better rule.” What are some things in your life that you can make just 1% better? Get started now.
Examples
If you eat a bag of chips for dinner, you are not going to notice a change immediately or even the next day, just as you won’t be toned after one gym session.
Over time, however, habits add up. The eating junk for dinner habit gradually makes an appearance in the form of extra pounds in the wrong areas and your workouts at the gym as toned muscles.
Clear’s 1% important theory aims to show us that we don’t always need to make big changes to see results or to achieve our goals.
For example, some people try to quit smoking or quit sugary drinks cold turkey and often give up after a few days.
However, if you reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke or reduce the number of soft drinks you consume on a daily basis, you can eventually accomplish your goal of quitting altogether.
It may take longer, but it will produce longer-lasting results.
About outcomes, goals, and systems
Most people see success as being driven by the outcome/goal.
The problem with goal-driven behavior is that often it ignores the process of getting to the goal and concentrates on the final outcome.
Success >—-process—-> outcome
Why is it that both winners and losers both have the same goals, but don’t achieve the same results?
The answer lies in the process and systems they have in place.
Winners focus more on improving daily habits, for example in saving to buy a new car, the focus is on improving financial habits in the long run and not just on buying a dream car.
Doing this will most likely lead to you achieving that goal much sooner than you think.
Instead of obsessing about fitting into smaller-sized pants, concentrate on changing your dietary habits and you will lose weight much faster.
As James Clear puts it, “you do not rise to the level of your goals, but fall to the level of your systems.”
It is better to focus on adapting better systems rather than focusing only on results.
For example, your goal may be to write a book, but your system is how much you write each week and the schedule you follow.
Your system is what drives the process (your process towards the goal). Being system-oriented gets you the results you are trying to achieve.
While goals (outcomes) help you to set a direction, it is the systems you put in place that help you make progress towards these goals.
Clear identifies 4 problems with spending more time focusing on goals and not enough time planning your systems
Here’s what problems James Clear has identified in his studies:
- Winners and losers both share the same goal
It is therefore not the goal that differentiates people. Having a goal does not guarantee success. The winners are the ones that achieve success because they have good systems in place.
Remember the example of the British cyclists?
Like the other competing cyclists, they aimed to win the Tour de France every year. All the competitors had the same goal, but each used different approaches to winning.
When the cyclists introduced continuous improvements to their system, they started to win and dominate the competition.
- Goal achievement is a temporary change
Achieving a goal is a momentary change. Take the example of wanting to tidy up your workspace;
you put in that burst of effort one fine day and achieve the goal of a tidy workspace, but if you don’t change the habits or methods that led to an untidy workspace in the first place, you will once again end up with a messy room.
Change the systems that cause the result.
- Goals limit your happiness
Many of us think that once we reach our goal, we will be happy (this topic comes up somewhat often when I work with clients) and we end up continuously putting off happiness until we reach that goal or the next one.
With a systems-first attitude, you enjoy the process, the steps to reaching that goal. You don’t wait to reach that goal to be happy. There are many steps in your system that you can be happy with.
- Goals do not support long-term progress
You’ve hit your target, now what?
Once you hit your goal, what happens then?
Do you find yourself reverting to your old habits?
(again, another topic that comes up when I work with people)
Having a system in place will ensure you continue playing the game long after the goal has been achieved.
For instance, once you have achieved your ideal weight in your weight loss aim, what happens then?
If you have the correct systems in place, they will ensure you maintain that ideal weight and prevent you from falling back into old habits.
Things to remember
- Atomic habits compound i.e., tiny changes add up over time similar to how compound interest builds up.
- By making small tweaks to our daily routines, we can make impressive changes that can last a lifetime.
- Making small 1% improvements repeatedly over a longer period of time can be more successful than big single actions.
- Focusing on your systems can bring you better results than being solely goal focused.
- You can have goals, but don’t be so goal focused that you forget about how you are actually going to go about achieving those goals.
Identify related issues (get a pen and paper!)
- Do you set goals for yourself? Are you always clear about how to go about achieving them?
- Do you initiate a goal, but lose momentum after not seeing results?
- Have you ever found yourself in the valley of disappointment? How did you manage to get out of it?
- Do you track your progress while working towards your goal?
- Do you find it more difficult to form good habits than to break bad habits? Why do you think this is the case?
- What challenges have you experienced while trying to build a new habit?
- Do you have a clear process in place for building a new habit and sticking to it?
Take what you know now and put it into action (grab a pen and paper!)
Goals You Want to Achieve
1. I want to assess my current habit behavior.
2. I want to identify which habits I need to change or improve on.
Your Plan of Action
1. Start the process of breaking the bad habit and adopting the good one by:
A. Identifying a bad habit which I want to get rid of.
B. Identifying a good habit that I want to start.
2. Think about the things you need to do in order to get started on adopting a good habit or breaking a bad one.
3. Highlight any potential obstacles and see if you are able to have a plan in place to work around them.
4. Affirm to yourself that you can do it and succeed. Change always starts with a single step forward. You just need to make that first step.
Action Checklist
1. Think about your current habits. Which ones are productive and which ones are unproductive?
2. Fill in the habit inventory below.
Habit Inventory: Assessing my habits
– What are some of the good habits I already have?
E.g.: Saving for my kid’s college fund.
– What are some of my bad habits?
E.g.: Eating dessert almost every day.
– What are some good habits I would like to develop?
E.g.: Drink water every morning.
– What are some bad habits I would like to get rid of?
E.g.: Cut down on the amount of refined sugar I take in.
Examples of habits
To help you formulate your thoughts, here are some examples of habits that other people have…
Examples of good habits:
Healthy eating; exercising regularly; drinking enough water; going to bed early; waking up early; cutting down on social media; saving money; decluttering; meditating; practicing a skill; making sure to keep in regular contact with the people they care about.
Examples of bad habits:
Overthinking; stressing; eating junk; smoking; watching too much TV; spending too much on one’s phone; procrastinating; overworking; negative thinking; overspending.
Give me a thumbs up at the bottom of this article if you found this information helpful!
References:
Atomic Habits Workbook by Robin Reads
If you are interested in working with me, watch this video below
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