To successfully build a good habit you need to use the four laws of habit building:<ol><li>Make it obvious (Don't give your head time to reconsider. Make it obvious for yourself that the action is the right thing to do)</li><li>Make it attractive (Make ot clear for yourself why you want to do it. Understanding makes it far more attractive)</li><li>Make it easy (Just make it as easy as you can. Break your habit down in little and easy parts)</li><li>Make it satisfying (Give yourself a reward when you've done it)</li></ol>

The four laws of building a habit

If a behavior is appreciated by the prople around us, it feels better and much easier to adopt.

Goldlock's Rule says that a habit should not be too easy, because otherwise you get bored, and not too hard, because then you get frustrated.The trick is to hit the middle. This center is called Goldlock's Zone.

Goldlock's Rule

According to the four laws of habit building you can do the exact opposite to break a bad habit. This results in the four laws of breaking a habit:<ol><li>Make it invisible</li><li>Make it unattractive</li><li>Make it difficult</li><li>Make it less rewarding</li></ol>

The four laws of breaking a habit

We don't want other people to think that we failed. This technique works very well if you have friends who can check your progress.Tell a friend that you want to build a habit. That friend then asks you

Use an Accountability Partner

Sometimes you simply can not do yout habit. Maybe you're sick or just not have time on that day. If so, never miss twice.

Never Miss Twice

Your character and personality is formed by every single action you take during the day. To improve your habits means that you in fact improve your character.Your entire identity is the result of all your habits together.

Habits form your character

Not sure what habits to change? Use a Habit Scoreboard.Simply note down every action you take during the day. At the end of the day look through all your habits and assess whether you want to keep them in your life or of you want to do something else instead.

Habit Scoreboard

Instead of trying to improve everything in your life in one day, try becoming 1% better every day. 1% better every single day results in 37x improvement over a year.

1% better every day

Your progress is not linear. But people often expect it to be. If you expect progress that comes instantly, you will be disappointed.But if you manage to stay motivated and get 1% better every day, you will be much better someday than you had expected before. Keep going!

Don't fall into the Valley of Disappointment

If something seems hard and unappealing to do, try setting a timer for two minutes and just do it for two minutes.If you still don't want to do it after two minutes, stop. If you want to continue, go on!That helps to to get started with your tasks and also to make a habit out of it.

Two Minute Rule

An implication-intention is a phrase that determines exactly what you want to do.F or example: "I am going brush my teeth in the bathroom after taking a shower."This helps you to make it clear to yourself what exactly you want to do.

Implication-Intention

Every habit consists of four parts:<ol><li>The cue (what triggers your desire to do something)</li><li>The craving (the desire for an action)</li><li>The response (the action)</li><li>The reward (the satisfaction you get from doing it)</li></ol>

The Habit Loop

Habit stacking means that you take a habit you already have (like eating breakfast) and stack another habit on top of it. This may look like:"I am going to read one chapter of my new book after eating breakfast"

Habit Stacking

Atomic Habits teaches the fundamental techniques of building habits and becoming a better person every day

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 4 million copies sold! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: • make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy); • overcome a lack of motivation and willpower; • design your environment to make success easier; • get back on track when you fall off course; ...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

productivity

Productivity

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

habits

Habits

books

Books

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 10 million copies sold! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: <ul><li>make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);</li></ul><ul><li>overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;</li></ul><ul><li>design your environment to make success easier;</li></ul><ul><li>get back on track when you fall off course;</li></ul>...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

James Clear is the author of "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones" He writes about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement at jamesclear.com. His website receives millions of visitors each month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his popular email newsletter.His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Morning. He is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work is used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Learn more at jamesclear.com

The Habit Loop

Similar ideas to The Habit Loop

The Habit Loop

Chapter 3: How to build better habits in four simple steps

The Habit Loop