Author James Clear
Genres Self Help
Rating 💖💖💖💖💖
Date Finished ~2022

🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences

  1. Habits compound over time and decay if not maintained.
  2. Focus on creating a system not a goal.
  3. The best way to change habits is to change identity.

🎨 Impressions

I love this book. I actually read this book two years ago so this review is not very accurate. What is accurate is the result I achieved after reading this book (like going to the gym regularly, reading more, going outside more, working on my side projects and more…). This book literally changed my approach to improving my habits. It’s also the only one for which I have both the digital and hardcopy versions.

How I Discovered It

I was looking for a book to help me read more. The fact that I finished it is all the proof of its effectiveness you need.

Who Should Read It?

Everyone:

  • If you set goal at the start of every year;
  • if you have a particular habit you want to get rid of;
  • if you wan’t to add a new habit or improve an existing one.

🍀 How the Book Changed Me

The first thing that changed is that I now track my habits with an app and have an approximate idea of my “ideal” week. When I go on vacation or have a period where I don’t follow my habits I just have to look at the list of habits I track to get back on track.

I’m not a perfectionist. Some of my habits have less than 30% completion rate. But it doesn’t matter. After all, reading only 30% of the days means I still finish a few books a year.

I am more aware of how to create a new goal. Instead of saying “I want to do that” I break down the goal into a habit that I can track and that can be done with certainy daily or weekly.

I am also more aware of my environment and I try to improve it every chance I get. For example I hide/don’t buy snacks to avoid snacking or leave my phone far away when I’m working.

📒 Summary + Notes

Habits compound over time and decay if not maintained.

If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

There are three levels of change:

  • outcome
  • process
  • identity

The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.

Your habits shape your identity. Change starts from your identity.