James Clear
Author · Atomic Habits
Author of Atomic Habits and the 3-2-1 newsletter, and one of the most widely read writers on habit formation. His work is a small set of reusable mechanics: make it obvious, attractive, easy and satisfying. Personally he keeps a plain routine built on lifting, reading and writing.
- Entries
- 17
- Does
- 5
- Recommends
- 12
- Discusses
- 0
Books
2 books in this stack
- BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Atomic Habits
Four laws of behavior change, and the argument for aiming at identity rather than outcomes: his own book.
Source: jamesclear.com: Atomic HabitsVisit jamesclear.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Deep Work
One of the books he recommends on deliberate practice and getting better at hard skills.
Source: jamesclear.com: deliberate practiceView item: Deep WorkOn record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 recommend it, 1 has discussed it
Protocols
10 entriesStructured routines and practices with a defined method.
141 workouts logged in a year of regular lifting, and training runs as the example throughout his work on how small habits compound.
Source: jamesclear.com: 2018 annual reviewDesigns a fixed bedtime like any other habit, with cues and an environment that support it.
Source: jamesclear.com: how to sleep betterPeople with good habits mostly have well-arranged environments, he argues, and redesigning the room beats relying on self-control.
Source: jamesclear.com: the power of environmentScheduling the work beats listing it, he suggests, because a task without a slot rarely happens.
Source: 3-2-1 newsletterEvery action is a vote for the type of person you want to be, in his framing, because identities outlast outcome goals.
Source: jamesclear.com: identity-based habitsNew habits get anchored to an existing automatic one, with an explicit after-I-do-X-I-will-do-Y sentence.
Source: jamesclear.com: habit stackingMissing one day is an accident, missing two is the start of a new habit, and his recovery rule is to restart immediately.
Source: jamesclear.com: habit trackingSuggests pairing something you want with something you avoid: Premack's Principle, an idea he credits to Katy Milkman.
Source: jamesclear.com: temptation bundlingAdvises scaling any new habit down to under two minutes, so you are practicing showing up rather than performing.
Source: jamesclear.com: how to stop procrastinatingWriting down the specific time and place for a habit in advance consistently beats relying on motivation, he says.
Source: jamesclear.com: implementation intentions
Habits
5 entriesRecurring behaviors recorded in public statements.
Twenty pages every morning whatever else the day does, roughly 36 books a year, and he publishes book notes.
Source: jamesclear.com: how to read moreThree things he is grateful for, written down each morning before he reads, as part of a wake-up routine he keeps regardless of the rest of the day.
Source: jamesclear.com: how to read moreThe weekly review is on his published schedule. He has also written about an annual review, which he presents as the longer-cycle version of the same thing.
Source: jamesclear.com: the myth of multitaskingShades in the cells on his own habit tracker and keeps it to three or four habits, because marking it is satisfying and a streak is something you protect.
Source: jamesclear.com: habit trackingLists a daily walk among the habits he says have the highest rate of return in life.
Source: jamesclear.com: 2018 annual review
In their own words
Checked word for word against the linked source
“One of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top. This is called habit stacking.”
jamesclear.com: How to Build New Habits by Taking Advantage of Old Ones (opens in a new tab) “Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity. It is not always obvious when and where to take action.”
jamesclear.com: Achieve Your Goals: Research Reveals a Simple Trick That Doubles Your Chances for Success (opens in a new tab) “Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.”
jamesclear.com: Identity-Based Habits: How to Actually Stick to Your Goals This Year (opens in a new tab)
Stack notes are paraphrased. Anything in quotation marks is a short excerpt copied from the transcript it links to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.