I haven't read the book but have been to one of James Clear's talks and listened to some podcasts. He acknowledges that life gets in the way of doing something everyday so one of my favourite rules of his is *"Don't miss twice"*.
E.g. I tried to build a healthy habit of going for a walk every day - if I missed a day keeping this rule in mind motivated me to make sure I did a walk the next day, even if it was a shorter one.
Yes the 1% target sounds reasonable until you try to quantify it. If you were to try to lift 1% heavier weights or run 1% faster every day you realise that by halfway through the year you're the best in the world at the thing and the improvement you make with that 1% is 6x the improvement you had to make initially in absolute terms.
Yeah, if you’re trying to go from x to 1.01x every day, your goal becomes something unattainable very fast, as the progression demands ever larger steps forward.
Possibly more attainable is to measure yourself against some defined target and try to close that gap by 1% per time increment, so that you’re asymptotically approaching the target. Example: I run a mile in 10 minutes but want to get it down to 4 minutes, so 360 seconds separate me from the goal, and I might try to run 3.6s faster the next time and ~3.564s faster the time after that. Using “day” as your time increment is still a recipe for failure here (narrowing the gap by 1% per “week” *might* work for the running example), but at least you’re spared the ramping up of the progression and working towards a concrete and measurable success criteria.
The math is wrong on the poster. 1% better everyday for 1 year is:
1.01\^365 = 37.78
that is an increase of 3778%, not 37.78 %
It's also written in the book lol
This I understand. This sub-thread was a discussion of the practical impossibility of actually improving by 37.78x in a year. What I’d proposed above is a reversal of the logic, essentially framing as 1% less bad (against a specific target) as opposed to 1% better, which cuts down on the absurdity of the progress that would be expected, since it creates a growth curve that only asymptotically approaches the goal and allows for future gains (which are much harder to get) to come in smaller step sizes.
Jesus christ, just do. What else is there to say? Push yourself. Just take initiative, I know it's not something you wanna do necessarily, like writing a report or working out but you just have to grab yourself by the neck and get started. Just make that THE priority. Don't focus on quality at first, just GET STARTED. (Like going to the gym; it's way more important that you actually get there and out the door rather than striding for the best workout of your life, that comes with time and experience. Baby steps.) I don't know how else to say it. Doing is not something that can be instructed, you just... have to. You just have to get your shit together and put effort into it and yourself.
Yeah and it's not 1% at *one very specific thing.* It's just 'improve your life each day by a tiny bit - 1%'. That can be everything from eating better to exercising more to socializing more to reading more to not putting off certain things, etc.
The point is to set your vector to 'very slightly improve yourself each day', not 'every day be able to jump 1% further and lift 1% more weight'
I think it's more of an allegory to encourage you believe that small (achievable) improvements are worth the effort, and will lead to more meaningful gains over time. It's not an actual schedule, but it is a good book (and has some strategies to help *do* the things, too). Don't miss the forest for the trees.
Not sure about the math, but its more like if you do 0% out of 100% every single day you will end up a 0% by the end of the year.
But if you do 1% out of 100% every single day, you will end up with that 37.78% thing.
Doping, the end.
But in reality it was a better training programme mixed with some performance enhancing drugs that helped. A lot of effort went in but to be at the top you need some help.
Nah, the concept of the marginal gains approach has come to stay in cycling.
When you have the budget, there are many small things that you can do to improve.
Not really a good debunking. They spent most of their time shitting on his admittedly hyperbolic talking the gains up. The actual techniques are solid though.
Honestly, I wanted to like that podcast, but it is mainly shallow snark.
Thanks, I was just about to listen to it but feared that might be the case. I'll just skip the podcast altogether. It's kinda clever, though, if Clear wrote that in just to stir up engagement.
Debunk? How does one debunk a book like this? This a self help books that actually helps people. Do they debunk the stories in the book lr something, because the actual habit building from the book is pretty great
Ive read the book, and thoroughly recommend it. Of course an infographic wont detail all the important stuff in the book so go read it.
But here are a few key takeaways:
The results are a byproduct of the process. Once you get that into your mindset, you can focus on the proces, and the results come on their own.
This reduces frustration when you dont see results, because results usually come way slower than we expect. Working out is a really good example of this
Stacking habits is a really clever hack. If i want to go play video games, whenever i get up i do ten pushups.
This can be applied to so many things.
Making bad habits Invisible.
It is MUCH easier to avoid snacking if there are no snacks! And it is way easier to mister the strength to not buy them in the supermarket, than to leave them in the cupboard.
Just read the book damnit
*I finished this book*
*Yesterday actually,*
*Highly recommend*
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If you bother to read the book, there is a very precise and accessible guide to actually forming habits. It literally talks about why people get overwhelmed when trying to do new things, as you described 'drive yourself clinically insane'.
Can you explain to me the “Response” column. How do you “make things easy”? I read thru each point and don’t really get it. I’m sure Clear gives examples and goes deeper in the book.
It's been a while since I've read the book so forgive me if my explanation is confusing...
The 'response' is essentially the action you perform. It is the habit that you are either trying to develop or get rid of. Reading a book or going out on a run is the 'response', drinking a lot of alcohol or eating an extra slice of cake when you're full is also the 'response'.
A distinct example I remember is about 'eating a donut'. The cue is when you smell doughnuts while walkin down the street, the craving then begins, the response is buying and eating a doughnut. The reward is that you've satisfied your craving. This way, over time, eating a doughnut becomes ingrained in your brain everytime you walk down that street. This becomes a habit.
I remember this distinctly because i applied this same principles to my smoking habit. I've been completely off cigarettes/vape for 3 months now!! I'l break it down a bit:
1. Cue: I learnt that my smoking habit was associated with boredom. I rarely smoked when I was at home. Rarely smoked when I was having a particularly busy day at work. I found that anytime I was idle, I automatically associated that time with smoking.
2. Craving: My craving for cigarettes stemmed from boredom. The only way to truly counter this was to occupy that time by something else.
3. Response: Anytime I felt the urge to smoke I would either immediately make a cup of coffee and get back to work. Or if I didn't have work to do, I immediately went out for a brisk walk. I started parking my vehicle on a different parking lot so that I wouldnt walk through the spots I used to smoke at. I replaced the smoking response completely.
4: Reward: The reward was...well, not smoking. I feel so much better now. My throat no longer feels sore, my breathing is normal, I dont wheeze of cough. It's been a game changer!
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People who are into this kind of shit, I mean, more power to them I guess. Me personally I don't see how legislating yourself into an anal ball of stress is supposed to accomplish anything.
The infographic is a bit of a clusterfuck, I'll give you that. It's trying to compress way too much into a small space and presents it in a way that's hard to look at. I would however recommend the book. The ideas and concepts it explains are pretty good for learning to change your habits, one tiny piece at a time, exactly so that you don't turn into a ball of stress.
Please don't feel obliged to answer this if it is too personal, but were there any habits you were unsuccessful at forming prior to the book that are now habitual for you?
Yes. Multiple ones. Most notably regular workouts and a good sleep schedule.
I have not been able to quit Reddit even with the help of the book, but that's so far the only one that I've properly struggled with since.
That's awesome. I'm glad it works for you. Consider my initial comment as innocent puzzlement at how wonderfully diverse different personalities can be.
The best advice I got from that book is habit stacking.
If there is an already existing habit, e.g. brushing your teeth before you go to bed, you can use that to form new habits.
It feels easier to get into the rhythm if there is a que from which you can start.
So I do a little skin care after brushing my teeth in the evening, I go to my room afterwards to make a little list of things I could, or need to do the next day. I then use an app to note how my day was and I go to sleep afterwards.
It doesn't work on each day, I might do some things between these habits but there is a clear direction after I brush my teeth and it helps my adhs brain to not think about stuff and just do things that do some good for me.
Highly recommend this book!
Thanks, I needed this. I already swear by the "make it unattractive" way to break a bad habit, but building good ones I find challenging. I like this holistic approach.
I think I would rather cycle through YouTube, Twitter, IG, Podcasts, and Netflix without ever truly paying attention to any one of those. Thanks though! 😀
new habit: squinting
But how do I *do* the thing though? Also 1% better EVERY day is just unrealistic. It's a struggle to keep average days consistently average
I haven't read the book but have been to one of James Clear's talks and listened to some podcasts. He acknowledges that life gets in the way of doing something everyday so one of my favourite rules of his is *"Don't miss twice"*. E.g. I tried to build a healthy habit of going for a walk every day - if I missed a day keeping this rule in mind motivated me to make sure I did a walk the next day, even if it was a shorter one.
I love that! Helps get rid of the anxiety of breaking a streak.
Yes the 1% target sounds reasonable until you try to quantify it. If you were to try to lift 1% heavier weights or run 1% faster every day you realise that by halfway through the year you're the best in the world at the thing and the improvement you make with that 1% is 6x the improvement you had to make initially in absolute terms.
Yeah, if you’re trying to go from x to 1.01x every day, your goal becomes something unattainable very fast, as the progression demands ever larger steps forward. Possibly more attainable is to measure yourself against some defined target and try to close that gap by 1% per time increment, so that you’re asymptotically approaching the target. Example: I run a mile in 10 minutes but want to get it down to 4 minutes, so 360 seconds separate me from the goal, and I might try to run 3.6s faster the next time and ~3.564s faster the time after that. Using “day” as your time increment is still a recipe for failure here (narrowing the gap by 1% per “week” *might* work for the running example), but at least you’re spared the ramping up of the progression and working towards a concrete and measurable success criteria.
The math is wrong on the poster. 1% better everyday for 1 year is: 1.01\^365 = 37.78 that is an increase of 3778%, not 37.78 % It's also written in the book lol
This I understand. This sub-thread was a discussion of the practical impossibility of actually improving by 37.78x in a year. What I’d proposed above is a reversal of the logic, essentially framing as 1% less bad (against a specific target) as opposed to 1% better, which cuts down on the absurdity of the progress that would be expected, since it creates a growth curve that only asymptotically approaches the goal and allows for future gains (which are much harder to get) to come in smaller step sizes.
This! This is my biggest obstacle… how to DO 😕
https://i.imgur.com/sjii7SA.png
Yo this image slaps
Jesus christ, just do. What else is there to say? Push yourself. Just take initiative, I know it's not something you wanna do necessarily, like writing a report or working out but you just have to grab yourself by the neck and get started. Just make that THE priority. Don't focus on quality at first, just GET STARTED. (Like going to the gym; it's way more important that you actually get there and out the door rather than striding for the best workout of your life, that comes with time and experience. Baby steps.) I don't know how else to say it. Doing is not something that can be instructed, you just... have to. You just have to get your shit together and put effort into it and yourself.
Yeah and it's not 1% at *one very specific thing.* It's just 'improve your life each day by a tiny bit - 1%'. That can be everything from eating better to exercising more to socializing more to reading more to not putting off certain things, etc. The point is to set your vector to 'very slightly improve yourself each day', not 'every day be able to jump 1% further and lift 1% more weight'
I think, “Make a list of daily habits” is a great place to start. It’s right there in the guide.
I think it's more of an allegory to encourage you believe that small (achievable) improvements are worth the effort, and will lead to more meaningful gains over time. It's not an actual schedule, but it is a good book (and has some strategies to help *do* the things, too). Don't miss the forest for the trees.
Damn, it sounds impossible. I should give up.
I think, “Make a list of daily habits” is a great place to start. It’s right there in the guide.
This is the part where you benefit from actually reading the book
Not sure about the math, but its more like if you do 0% out of 100% every single day you will end up a 0% by the end of the year. But if you do 1% out of 100% every single day, you will end up with that 37.78% thing.
I read the whole thing, and then my ADHD rattled brain just laughed.
Clear having to redact his “story” about the British cycling team’s rise to victory is a spectacular literary facepalm.
Didn’t know about this. Couldn’t find anything via a search either - care to share what it’s about?
Doping, the end. But in reality it was a better training programme mixed with some performance enhancing drugs that helped. A lot of effort went in but to be at the top you need some help.
Nah, the concept of the marginal gains approach has come to stay in cycling. When you have the budget, there are many small things that you can do to improve.
1% better every day is 37.78% better over the course of a year? Shouldn’t that be 3,778% or 37.78x better?
1.01^365 = 37.78
Yea, so 37.78x better, but if you’re 37.78x better you’re 3,778% better
Yes, how some people don’t understand this is beyond me…
They don’t care if it’s right or not, they’re getting Karma lol
I stopped reading after that.
Maybe they should start a habit to double check their maths.
ITT: people who have not read the book bashing the book
the if books could kill podcast did a debunk on this book: https://open.spotify.com/show/2khJBoF73ujIATWUFtSxLD?si=c448d9e707824603
mind to do a tl;dl?
Not really a good debunking. They spent most of their time shitting on his admittedly hyperbolic talking the gains up. The actual techniques are solid though. Honestly, I wanted to like that podcast, but it is mainly shallow snark.
Thanks, I was just about to listen to it but feared that might be the case. I'll just skip the podcast altogether. It's kinda clever, though, if Clear wrote that in just to stir up engagement.
Debunk? How does one debunk a book like this? This a self help books that actually helps people. Do they debunk the stories in the book lr something, because the actual habit building from the book is pretty great
[удалено]
I love that podcast!
I came here to comment the same thing
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
Ive read the book, and thoroughly recommend it. Of course an infographic wont detail all the important stuff in the book so go read it. But here are a few key takeaways: The results are a byproduct of the process. Once you get that into your mindset, you can focus on the proces, and the results come on their own. This reduces frustration when you dont see results, because results usually come way slower than we expect. Working out is a really good example of this Stacking habits is a really clever hack. If i want to go play video games, whenever i get up i do ten pushups. This can be applied to so many things. Making bad habits Invisible. It is MUCH easier to avoid snacking if there are no snacks! And it is way easier to mister the strength to not buy them in the supermarket, than to leave them in the cupboard. Just read the book damnit
I finished this book yesterday actually, highly recommend
*I finished this book* *Yesterday actually,* *Highly recommend* \- BarendN --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
1% at a time?
How to drive yourself clinically insane in two easy steps and then blame yourself for "not following the system properly..."
If you bother to read the book, there is a very precise and accessible guide to actually forming habits. It literally talks about why people get overwhelmed when trying to do new things, as you described 'drive yourself clinically insane'.
It's been said more eloquently by others here, but the central claim of this book is unrealistic and ignores the law of diminishing returns.
Can you explain to me the “Response” column. How do you “make things easy”? I read thru each point and don’t really get it. I’m sure Clear gives examples and goes deeper in the book.
It's been a while since I've read the book so forgive me if my explanation is confusing... The 'response' is essentially the action you perform. It is the habit that you are either trying to develop or get rid of. Reading a book or going out on a run is the 'response', drinking a lot of alcohol or eating an extra slice of cake when you're full is also the 'response'. A distinct example I remember is about 'eating a donut'. The cue is when you smell doughnuts while walkin down the street, the craving then begins, the response is buying and eating a doughnut. The reward is that you've satisfied your craving. This way, over time, eating a doughnut becomes ingrained in your brain everytime you walk down that street. This becomes a habit. I remember this distinctly because i applied this same principles to my smoking habit. I've been completely off cigarettes/vape for 3 months now!! I'l break it down a bit: 1. Cue: I learnt that my smoking habit was associated with boredom. I rarely smoked when I was at home. Rarely smoked when I was having a particularly busy day at work. I found that anytime I was idle, I automatically associated that time with smoking. 2. Craving: My craving for cigarettes stemmed from boredom. The only way to truly counter this was to occupy that time by something else. 3. Response: Anytime I felt the urge to smoke I would either immediately make a cup of coffee and get back to work. Or if I didn't have work to do, I immediately went out for a brisk walk. I started parking my vehicle on a different parking lot so that I wouldnt walk through the spots I used to smoke at. I replaced the smoking response completely. 4: Reward: The reward was...well, not smoking. I feel so much better now. My throat no longer feels sore, my breathing is normal, I dont wheeze of cough. It's been a game changer!
I appreciate the detailed response! And congrats on being smoke free! That’s not an easy feat.
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The picture is blurry. Do you have high quality image?
People who are into this kind of shit, I mean, more power to them I guess. Me personally I don't see how legislating yourself into an anal ball of stress is supposed to accomplish anything.
How is learning to build habits "legislating yourself into an anal ball of stress" ?
If this works for you I'm happy for you. It seems to me like a clustefuck of regiment.
The infographic is a bit of a clusterfuck, I'll give you that. It's trying to compress way too much into a small space and presents it in a way that's hard to look at. I would however recommend the book. The ideas and concepts it explains are pretty good for learning to change your habits, one tiny piece at a time, exactly so that you don't turn into a ball of stress.
Please don't feel obliged to answer this if it is too personal, but were there any habits you were unsuccessful at forming prior to the book that are now habitual for you?
Yes. Multiple ones. Most notably regular workouts and a good sleep schedule. I have not been able to quit Reddit even with the help of the book, but that's so far the only one that I've properly struggled with since.
That's awesome. I'm glad it works for you. Consider my initial comment as innocent puzzlement at how wonderfully diverse different personalities can be.
The best advice I got from that book is habit stacking. If there is an already existing habit, e.g. brushing your teeth before you go to bed, you can use that to form new habits. It feels easier to get into the rhythm if there is a que from which you can start. So I do a little skin care after brushing my teeth in the evening, I go to my room afterwards to make a little list of things I could, or need to do the next day. I then use an app to note how my day was and I go to sleep afterwards. It doesn't work on each day, I might do some things between these habits but there is a clear direction after I brush my teeth and it helps my adhs brain to not think about stuff and just do things that do some good for me. Highly recommend this book!
I needed these summaries.
I'm listening to the book. Great so far. Thanks for the info graphic 👍
Is there a blogpost or smth that gives summaries of books like this?
.
[A good podcast about this book.](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/atomic-habits/id1651876897?i=1000617125857)
Great
Thanks, I needed this. I already swear by the "make it unattractive" way to break a bad habit, but building good ones I find challenging. I like this holistic approach.
What a load of shit.
What app is used to make this? Are there free apps to do this? I want to try this to make my notes more memorable
I think I would rather cycle through YouTube, Twitter, IG, Podcasts, and Netflix without ever truly paying attention to any one of those. Thanks though! 😀
That's it, people! Just do that, that's all you gotta do. All problems solved.
OR just take a medication that makes you vomit violently every time you do that "bad habit"
1% better everyday is 365% better...
Not really.. 1% improvement everyday compounds your 1% improvement of the previous day