A lesson of Time

Atomic Habits is a book written by James Clear that has helped shape the way I view and understand my habits. If you have not read the book, I highly recommend it. If you have, the following is merely my take on the book and the main takeaways that stood out to me.

It’s so easy to get inspired by an Olympic gold medalist, a basketball Hall Of Famer, CEO’s in the tech world, or even my hard-working dad. It is very human of me to think about their accomplishments and pretend I can be like them overnight. As fun as it may seem to daydream and map out what my future accomplishments would look like, I am reminded that without a framework to think through or implement, the chances of making my goals a reality quickly diminish. I, for one, am guilty of not valuing time as much as it deserves. Clear does a great job showing the importance of time through everyday habits. He made me realize each habit I implement is ultimately working towards the future me. How so? Simply put, we make micro-decisions every day such as, "What time do I wake up?", "What time should I sleep?", or "When should I work out?" These small decisions are what lead to either a bucket-list check or regret-filled life.

In order to help me better understand Clear, I divided the book into three major questions: How do I start a habit? How do I maintain those habits? How do I become more efficient with my time? He attempts to answer all three of these questions through practical mediums that I will briefly break down. It’s important to note that every strategy or creative solution he writes revolves around an individual’s hyper-awareness.

How to start a habit. Or inversely, get rid of a habit.

Clear describes the process of a habit by describing the four stages, Cue (trigger), Craving (desire), Response (performed habit), Reward (positive reinforcement). To successfully create a habit, you must find a way to make the four stages as easy as you can. In the same manner, if you plan on changing a habit, you must create as much friction or obstacles that will delay the cycle.

How do I maintain those habits

Identity. Taking ownership of the identity you are working towards, (becoming a runner) is far more powerful than reaching a goal, (the act of running a marathon) assuming you implement problem #1. For example, I take on the identity of a healthy person instead of wanting to workout to reach a certain weight.

Maximizing your time and habit efficiency.

Tracking your habits may seem like a lot of work upfront. However, the repetitiveness of logging your habits not only helps gauge your habit status but also helps what Clear refers to as “habit stacking”. "After I [Current Habit], I will [New Habit]". This approach is significantly useful when you're wanting to maximize your efficiency. For example, laundry takes about 2-4 hours on the weekends. It's much harder to carve out time to wash, dry, or fold laundry. Since one of my current habits is taking water breaks, I can wash, dry, or fold clothes every time I get up to for a refill.

We all have personal goals and dreams we work towards. Without the intentionality or awareness of habits, these dreams/desires may not come to fruition.This book allows for an individual to be more aware and therefore intentional with their time, and provides a highly actionable plan. Pass or fail is not the goal, progression is.

Just to be clear :), this is not intended to portray the entire scope of the book. It is intended to showcase what I found the most useful.