Multitasking is often a myth that improves productivity, but research shows that the brain can only concentrate on one activity at a time. To make new habits stick, it’s important to start small and adopt them gradually. The goal is for the most desirable behavior to become automatic.
To turn a behavior into a habit, it first needs to become a routine. To do this, set your intentions and be realistic. Remember that some routines can become habits. Being productive is not about doing more, but about doing things efficiently. Americans have long viewed productivity as a virtue on par with other virtues.
Habits can enhance productivity by reducing the cognitive load associated with decision-making and task-switching. Focusing on time management makes us more aware of our limited number of hours in the day. When we have a fire hose of requests and commitments, even those who claim they are just as productive may feel lonelier, less fulfilled, and less engaged.
Cross-procrastination has not only productivity costs but also destructive effects on mental and physical health. Stacking habits, particularly activities you like with ones you don’t, can give your brain more positive reinforcement than monotasking alone. A simulation will show aspects of what it’s like to be tracked by productivity software.
People are tired of being sick and tired, and they want to work and live in a way that doesn’t lead to chronic procrastination. Stacking habits, particularly activities you like with ones you don’t, can give your brain more positive reinforcement than monotasking alone.
Time constraints can also get in the way of new healthy habits. If you don’t have much free time, it’s harder to start meditating or working. By making microsteps too small to fail, you can make these first, small changes on which you can begin building a healthier way of living and working.
📹 How Dopamine Shapes Your Habits and Productivity – Tj Power
In today’s episode, I sit down with TJ Power to explore the roles of dopamine and oxytocin in motivation, satisfaction, and …
📹 ATOMIC HABITS – Tiny Changes that Create Remarkable Results – James Clear
James Clear is a writer and speaker focused on habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. He is the author of the #1 …
Only halfway through this episode and I can safely say that this is the best self-help podcast episode I’ve listened to! TJ is such a great explainer, the way he breaks down the science behind the chemicals and how they work is simply brilliant. The actionable tips he gave for each section is the cherry on top. Thank you for this episode!
Most of us who have been through the Performing Arts world, or are still there, access this part of our brain daily. Music, painting, sculpting, singing, acting, dance etc takes us fast into the Dopamine pathways. Orgasmic, check out the research globally.. It is a natural normal world to live in, only challenged when our careers finish. But at least we have access to streaming services for further immersion.
Start reading books. I suggest Unveiling Your Hidden Potential by Bruce Thornwood. I read it like two months ago and it has already completely changed my life. I mean, I still play article games but I started my own business in the mean time, and other people notice the change in my behaviour. Especially women, and I was able to go dates with different girls.
Really interesting! But can I just add on the cold water emersion point and any form of increasing dopamine isn’t good for everyone. Many people with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia are on dopamine inhibitors because too much dopamine can induce mania. The trend towards ice baths assumes having loads more dopamine is a good thing.
hi. thank you Tj and Ali for today’s episode, i’m still taking notes as i type this. when you say phone fast do you mean the entire device or dopamine depleting activities on the phone? thank you. i happen to work out following a youtuber (body for days by Jerrika, she’s amazing) as soon as i wake up and say a short prayer, does this affect my dopamine?
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Atomic Habits had a tremendous impact on my life. I picked up the book randomly when I was going through a hard point in my life and became hooked. I started implementing small habits into my daily routine. Now about a year, my life transformed for the better. Here are the daily habits I established: 1. Morning routine: consists of hygiene, reading, exercise, vitamins, and a healthy breakfast. 2. After work routine: Shower, 15 min power nap, Journaling. 3. Other Habit: Post consistent YT shorts 3 times a week, and still learning what else I should add. Takeaways: 1. Start small and work your way up. 2. Turn OFF your phone. Get that thing away from you!!! 3. Keep going even if you missed a day. Eventually, it will become part of you.
This is so true. I’ve gone through a huge change from when I was 18 to now being 28. The biggest thing I’ve learned is that progress is like a tree, you can plant the seed but you can’t make it a tree over night. Any progress in life takes time and where we fail is not that we don’t see progress right away but that we EXPECT results right away. The biggest thing I wished I learned when I was younger would be that if you want something, start working on it now and understand that thing will come later.
My life has changed in a way i can’t explain, and all because of a tiny habit. And my day is constructed around this one little thing. I am currently using a beard growing solution wich i have to apply twice a day. So before the first application i already walked in the sun, ate breakfast and took a shower. And by the night before i apply the solution i already trained and worked. I was literally a fat frustrated guy, and now i am changing more and more everyday. Feeling great and filled with purpose. My advice for you: just start right now!
Couple things I have found helpful. When it comes time do my weight lifting, an important part of the habit is simply changing into my sneakers and shorts. The second thing is while I am putting on my sneakers and shorts, I tell myself in my head a couple of times (or hell, even out loud), “I’m not committing to a workout, but I’ll do a set.” I even kind of say in a way that is kind of casual (kind of like if you were at a restaurant “yeah, sure I’ll try the daily soup.”) (I realize on a conscious level, that in reality I am going to do a workout, but for some reason, I just tell myself it’s a set, and it is really, really effective to get the ball rolling. Then I just do another set, and another set, and pretty soon, I am half way through the workout. Tip 3: Sometimes if I really am not feeling it, I will do my first set in my regular clothes, and then change out to sneakers and shorts while my resting muscles from first set. Also, make sure you don’t make it an overly time consuming or big workout. I do a quick 25-30 minute weight lifting routine. Typically just do three different weight lift sets, chest, back, biceps, and do situps while resting muscles in between sets. On other days you can do different muscle groups, i.e. legs. I think it’s more important to be consistent than to do big workouts, and small workouts require less willpower. Make it easier to do.
The biggest mystery to me is how this website can exist without the dark powers that may be, interfering with it. Either way, glad it does. I feel like I’ve learned a ton of things that would make anyone a better person should they so choose to enact them in/on/upon all three planes of human existence (mental, physical, spiritual). Keep waking em up frens 🙂
Key Moments 01:35 Your bank account is a lagging measure of your financial habits your knowledge is a l- measure of your learning habits 02:20 Meditating for 1 min does not give you a sense of calm. But it does cast a vote for you telling yourself you are a meditator Example can be Making 1 youtube article does not make you an editor. But it does cast a vote telling you that you are a youtuber, a creator Goal is not to write a book. It is to become a writer. 4:25 Wow. Cost of your good habits is the present moment. ( It feels hard now to work out now, to learn now). The cost of your bad habits is the future. (Eat bad food often. And later you will suffer) We prioritise the present over the future ends up making a lot of habit change difficult. Connect this to other article they released = Optimum morning routine by Andrew Huberman = 2 key points at 13;09 and 13;48 in that article
I purchased this book twice. Best damn book I’ve ever listened to/read. Quite literally my number one recommendation. It applies to literally everyone (because everyone has habits). Disagree with me? Too bad. You’re a human being, just like the rest of us; therefore it does apply to you. Welcome to Atomic Habits. A slow methodical grind at improving your life- one tiny step at a time. If you’re as short on attention as I am? Do yourself a favour and buy the audiobook first. If you want a visual reference you can always pick up the book later– or just follow the web addresses James Clear references throughout the book.
Awesome article. My advice for anyone wishing to change their lives and develop atomic habits is to develop a strong morning routine…that sets the template for your whole day! I start my day with breathwork and meditation. In meditation I become so present I lose self-identity and blend with God, Spirit or Source. I do heart-brain coherence which is an amazing simple practice to unlock dormant human potential and vibrate at the frequency of what I desire in my life so that it may manifest….this is how I healed lifelong disease doctors said was “incurable”…I also do cold therapy, Yoga and other things but if you take my advice and adopt a strong morning routine that is compatible with your goals and belief system you will be well on your way of tweaking your habits to produce outrageous success!!!
thank you – good stuff. One thing that I would like to add – some people find it very difficult to start a new (healthy) habit, sometimes this is because of some past trauma or current psychological issue. Some people would benefit from going for counselling to break through that trauma/issue, as a first step. Counselling also helps break out of the idea that I am a victim of my circumstances mindset.
I went extreme on my self with not starting small and it was really hard on me but now that I’m through it I know I can do anything I put my mind to don’t recommend tho, what he says in the article is amazing advice to start small. Since the start of 2023 I quit vaping quit weed starting drinking only water quit junk food sodas and anything artificial and started doing a daily work out. I was messed up for 2 weeks and being an asshole to everyone but managed to get through and now it’s becoming normal and not a challenge I feel way better!
Ugh… His book could be condensed into 10 pages… and most of that is other peoples work, I didn’t hear anything original at all.. the rest is just a huge waste of time! For example he references some other persons book on habits, and his 4 rules.. then James re-defines those rules into his own 4 laws… WTF!!! seriously.. if an Author has to re-define anything into his own words THAT’S A RED FLAG that he is full of it. Yes, his content has some merit, but it’s not HIS!
I’ve noticed the same about the idea that if we can just get ourself there or started then the rest is easy. Like I procrastinate a lot when I need to go for a walk…once I get out the door I really enjoy the walk but for some reason it’s a battle to get up and get shoes on and get out the door….it’s not the walk that I don’t like, it’s the initial moments of getting up and accepting that I’m going for a walk that seems to be the problem. Strange how that works
Sounds just like a modern explanation of karma: our actions shape our environment and visa versa. I really love this explanation of how to get to the root of the karma: it all starts with our current actions. It all started, starts, and will start in the here and now. It’s funny and sad how many people want to get away from whatever moment they are experiencing. This moment is precious… the ultimate “my precious”. We are more precious than any material thing ❤🙏🏼
One habit I’ve had throughout my whole life and this is just referring to weight, is getting up early. Whether I’m fat or whether I’m in shape and more than not I’m in shape and I have been in shape for roughly 85% of my entire adult life is because I’ve developed the habit of getting up early. If you get up early enough you will be healthier you will find time to go to the gym, run, walk or whatever else but waking up early is by far the best habit a person can have.
This article is going to trigger alot of people. Most people don’t want to hear the truth. They don’t want to be told that ‘Yes, life sucks. But it sucks mostly because you are stupid and lazy and make bad desicions.’ People love to blame their misfortune on other causes beyond their control. ‘I’m fat because those evil corporations put so much cheap sugar and fat in the food. No! You don’t have to eat it. It’s a personal choice. Your lack of self control and moderation is the only reason you are fat. Everybody gets the great sense of taste and dopamin and serotonin response, but we control ourselves and make the right and hard choices every day. We eat vegetables and work out. Everybody gets tired and sore when they work out, yet we do it regularly because we take responsibility for our own health.
In Fight Club, Tyler said that self-improvement was masturbation whilst praising self-destruction. This makes more sense now, as the real method for improving is by destroying the bad habits–to destroy the votes toward the destructive behavior. Self-improvement can feel like a short-term pleasure. If you do one pushup then it’s a good vote, but if you don’t destroy the bad habits then you get nowhere. I may be reading into it too much. Fight Club’s a great movie though
My take away : So the outcomes that you have today in your life are a result of the habits you have. Habits are the small entry points to a larger routine. They are the first decisive moments that if you take lead you down doing activity that will lead to the positive outcome. So we need to build a string of these decisive moments through habit stacking. Make it more easier to do these gateway habits by shaping your environment and by tracking the progress through a habit score card and bring the future reward for repeating the action consistently without breaking the chain. By doing this you will consistently repeat the behavior and it casts a vote for the type of person you want to change into a become. Then you will start to identify and become the new person. To further improve you repeat this process again and it’s a constant micro evolution. So its always centered around doing the smallest version on the larger route that you cant skip. In most cases consistently doing something will produce massive results even though not perfect every day rather than spurts of massive action based on motivation.
It I might add, changing habits is not only a physical change but also a mental change change help immensely. Changing the way you react or your perception of the habit can change the way your brain reacts to it over time. Dreading the corrosive feel of soda and the thought of a stomachache when eating the sugary or greasy foods you want to avoid gives the brain a signal of hey this might no longer be a reward, but instead a punishment. And doing the opposite with good habits you want to make. This salad is so refreshing or the fresh air on a walk feels so good. After a while the way your brain reacts to bad habits is changed to a negative response and visa versa to good habits
I like the book, the content, but this article is so inclined towards the idea that success menas money, pleasure and being skinny/jacked, and success is so much more than that. Failing doesnt mean being fat and poor, its more complex. This article its so simplistic in interpreting this concepts its even sad and disgusting.
Creating Effective Habits: Insights from “Atomic Habits” by James Clear . Starting Small Making It Obvious Using Habit Stacking Immediate Rewards Making It Attractive Accountability Tracking Progress Staying Consistent Avoiding Negative Cues Planning for Setbacks Embracing Continuous Improvement . Remember that creating lasting habits takes time and patience. Implementing these principles from “Atomic Habits” can help you build and maintain the best habits for personal growth and positive change.
The book Atomic Habits is worth reading – especially the introduction and the author’s story as to how he came up with the idea. This subject of habits and addictive behaviour has been discussed over the years but there is no paradigmatic consensus as to how it should be framed – Atomic Habits provides the framework and Clear was not a behavioural psychologist or a PhD prof. with an axe to grind or a rapier wit that needed public honing.
-> > 🤔 Maybe We’re The 1st Spiritist* Pop-Metal Or Rock Band In This World… But Don’t Pay Much Attention To Our Neanderthal English, HaHa ❤ HaHa *NOTE: -> Spiritist is who professes Spiritism, the Gospel continuation It has began with the books by Allan Kardec and continued in the books by Francisco C. Xavier, the greatest and more important medium/prophet of spirits of the last centuries… /
This is great advice, but the illustrations are sadly very body-shaming and non-inclusive. I’m not advocating for obesity (it does lead to health issues for many), but the illustrations on here reinforce an image of overweight people as lazy, ugly and slovenly, and that is just not true. It also equates fitness, health and beauty with thinness and muscles — and there are many sizes and shapes that can be fit before you reach the image of skinny muscular Barbie/Ken types, not to mention all White. It’s a biased and insulting approach if the goal is to motivate, inspire and educate (I suppose it’s fine for those happy to demean). I’d keep the audio and reconsider the art (which is great from an artistic standpoint, terrible from a messaging standpoint)
I am your constant companion. So I am your greatest help or heaviest burden. I will push you onwards or drag you down to failure. And I am completely at your command. Half the things you do you might just as well turn over to me and I will do them quickly and correctly. I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically. I am the servant of all great men and women and, alas, of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures. I am not a machine, though I work with the precision and repetition of a machine, plus the intelligence of a human. You may run me for profit or run me for ruin, it makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you. Who am I? I am a Habit.
Practical Take-aways: 1. Optimise your environment – Make drivers to bad habits hard to access and good habits easy to access. 2. 2 minute rule – Scale habits down (are you able to do an iterative piece of work 98 times out of 100) 3. Master the entry point – Eg. Travel to gym everyday irrespective of how much you work-out
However this smacks of typical New Age victim blaming. If you follow this reasoning than the struggles of the poor are ignored, they are only poor because of their habits. Yes good habits are great, but offsets externalities only to a point. Here is a statement that confounds most so-called Buddhists” You can deny suffering and others actions only to a point, if someone shoots you with an AK, you will feel pain and possibly die which will probably cause you suffering and the shooter is responsible for your suffering”
The first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is the first domino that will determine the rest of your day. Creating “won’t until” rules will go a long way e.g. I won’t turn on my phone until I complete my morning yoga, meditation, and breakfast. “Discipline then reward” as the Dog Whisperer says. “Don’t take the alcoholic to the bar” as they say – so you remove the temptation completely. Other environmental hacks are important too. I challenged one of my clients to remove the TV from his bedroom. Instant results. Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by the Heath Bros is another great book on this topic.
In fact, Will Durant’s phrase is not inspired by Aristotle, but by Heraclitus “Ethos anthropoi daimon ” Which means that “man’s character is (his) fate”. Ethos besides the meaning of character has also the meaning of habit. In Greek language, when someone is addicted to something we say ”Ethismenos” using the root word ”ethos”
This great teaching is exactly what the true meaning of Karma is in Hinduism/Buddhism, the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Not the western version of karma in which ex.: you say something back and something bad and a tree falls on your car. And, Twyla Tharp was born in 1941! 🙂
I ran a marathon in 2017. from 230 pounds to 180. From hating my job to self employed. From perusal porn every day and hiring prostitutes to being loyal and faithful. From drinking and smoking to stop completely. I went to AA and my Catholic church. It took 5 years of hard work to achieve all this. I never could on my own. But my lord can. Viva Cristo Rey !! 👊💥🇲🇽 July 2024 will be 10 years!! Thank you Lord! ✝️🙏
One incorrect piece of info was when mentioned the immediate affect of working out. The immediate effects of working out are feelings of bliss, confidence, strength clear sharp mind.. Then long term incredible increase in benefits in and for every last aspect of every part of ones life are more happiness more intelligence and more ability to do and choose only progress and unlimited growth in any direction .. its a superior existence the lucky humans whom practice are blessed to be experiencing ..
its good that james is sharing good information and amazing starting points and not gatekeeping his book very good for marketing at the end of the day if your hating yourself more than 51% of the day then that should give you enough motivation to change for the better. Sweating is a good starting point when you satart feeling lost. It will reajust you back into what matters for sure the death vally is extream take but thats when you want to get ripped you can eat healty and feel satisfied without cutting callories youll look big but you will feel strong. Great article and i hope this information helps.
One of the best books I’ve ever read & this has made me want to re-visit it. My favorite nugget from the book was when he talked about how the best way to change your habits is to change your systems. As a result of that a by product of that will result in your habits changing over time. Very simple but extremely powerful when put into practice. Thanks for sharing!
Ive been a skater since i was 14. Im not sure what to do with it. Ive skated in a bunch of contests and am pretty talented. I dont like teaching for money but i enjoy being creative. I can draw and create things, write and make music pretty decently. On the other side ive always been intrigued with animals and academics like biology, geology, and psychology and mechanics and physics. Ive done so much yet so little compared to everyone else. It truly is a strange life at 27
love your articles. but i keep thinking about someone who’s fat (not because of their eating habits, but genetics) and watches your website, always seeing themselves in the ‘wrong’ spectrum of the illustrations. is it not possible for someone with more weight to be reference for achievement and happiness?
This advice is so true. All you have to do to follow through a habit is to take the first step. Just don’t make the whole routine too difficult. You naturally start to ramp it up, as long as you actually engage in the habit. In the article, there was this analogy of drawing the future consequence of bad habits into the present, as well as drawing the future reward of good habits into the present to offset its cost. But the latter doesn’t have to be in terms of cost. Good habits can be enjoyable. For example, for fitness, find something you like doing and don’t ramp it up so much that you dread doing it. If you find yourself in that territory, scale back. Why pervert a good habit from joy to dread?
My new habit started two weeks ago: Go for a walk around the yard every morning while I drink my morning coffee, even if it’s cold out. It gets sunlight in my eyes (sets sleep clock), gets my legs moving, the coffee keeps me warm, and it ties a reward (coffee) to a new habit (getting outside). I’m already at the stage where I crave my morning walk because I associate it with the reward!
I can not take anyone seriously when they start out stating that “luck” is a real thing. It is not and it does not exist. Choices and work with skill and practice will determine an outcome not some esoteric notion of luck. There is not something doling out measured doses of luck. A person is not fortunate. A person is not lucky because they won the lottery they won the lottery because they bought a lottery ticket. If you did not intend to make a luck a thing then please rephrase it.