Atomic Habits

Question 1

What is it best to focus on instead of, or more importantly than goals? Why?

Answer 1

Focus on systems!

Winners and losers have same goals
Goal achievement is momentary, systems bring deep daily satisfaction

Question 2

What is the most powerful intrinsic motivation?

Answer 2

When habit becomes part of identity

Question 3

What are the four laws of behavioral change to make or break a habit?

Answer 3

Make habit;
Cue - make it obvious
Craving - make it attractive
Response - make it easy
Reward - make it satisfying

Break a habit;
Cue - make it invisible
Craving - make it unattractive
Response - make it hard
Reward- make it unsatisfying

Question 4

What is a habits score card?

Answer 4

Makes the unconscious conscious.

Write down daily habits, put a plus or minus next to them to determine what you want to keep and remove.

Question 5

Why is it important to write down habit intentions, what form should it take?

Answer 5

Writing it down makes it clear and removes uncertainty.

When situation x arises, I will perform y response.

Question 6

What are the 5 steps to implementing the first law of new habits (cue- make it obvious)

Answer 6

1-full out habit scorecard to increase awareness
2-write down implementation intentions “I will x when y”
3-design environment to make good habits obvious and visible
4-make bad habits less visible

5-make bad habits invisible, remove cues!

Question 7

What is the best way to use group culture to change habits?

Answer 7

Join a group where desired behavior is the behavior of the group.

Question 8

What are the 4 key steps in second law of creating habits? (Craving, making it attractive)

Answer 8

1- use temptation bundling - pair something you need to do before something you want to do
2-join group where habit you want is the normal of the group
3-create a motivation ritual, something enjoyable before a difficult habit

4-highlight benefits of eliminating bad habit

Question 9

What is the best length of time to commit to when starting a new habit?

Answer 9

Less than 2 minutes. Make it super easy, let it grow over time.

Question 10

What are examples of “one time changes” you can make that can promote good habits and stop bad ones.

Answer 10

Lock apps and phone
Hide phone
Hide CC’s
Stop auto-fill on CC’s in chrome

Question 11

What are the 7 key steps in the 3rd law of creating habits? (Response, making it easy)

Answer 11

1- Reduce friction. Reduce number of steps between you and good habits.
2-Prime environment to make activities easier
3-Master decisive moments using meditation
4- Two minute rule - start new habit for 2 min only
5- Automate habits through tech and one time actions

6- Increase friction for bad habits
7- Use commitment device - restrict future choices to good ones

Question 12

What is the golden rule of incentives?

Answer 12

What is immediately rewarded is repeated, what is immediately punished is avoided.

Question 13

What is the intent of the first 3 laws vs. the last law of creating good habits?

Answer 13

First three are to make sure a habit happens this time, last is to make sure it happens every time.

Question 14

What is habit tracking, how do you implement?

Answer 14

Create visual cue reminder to act
Inherently motivates as you can see progress
Feels satisfying to record good habit

Limit manual tracking to only the most important habits, automate all others

Question 15

What differentiates winners from losers after a habit is missed?

Answer 15

Winners never miss twice.

Losers miss, and keep missing.

Question 16

What makes a consequence that will impact a habit?

Answer 16

More local, tangible, concrete and immediate the consequence, the higher the probability of impacting chnage.

Question 17

What are the 5 key steps in the 4th law of creating habits? (Reward, make it satisfying)

Answer 17

1- Use reinforcement, immediate reward for completing a habit
2- Use a habit tracker
3- Never miss twice (winners never miss twice)

4- Get an accountability partner
5- Create a habit contract, with punishment for violation and signed by others

Question 18

What questions should you ask yourself to narrow down what habits/activities will be the most satisfying?

Answer 18

What feels fun to me, but work to others?
What makes me lose track of time?
Where do I get greater returns than the average person?
What comes naturally to me?

Question 19

How difficult should the daily work or habit be when working toward a goal? Why?

Answer 19

“Just manageable”. Tasks too easy get boring, tasks too hard lead to giving up.

Question 20

What is the formula for mastery? What is the key component and why?

Answer 20

Mastery = habits + deliberate practice

“Deliberate” is the key. Just going through the motions in a habit, or failing to seek incremental improvement each day does not lead to mastery.

Question 21

What was special about the ‘86 Lakers? What was the result?

Answer 21

Pat Riley asked each player to become 1% better than their best in the past, leading to a “Career Best” season across important metrics that fed into one number.

The result was 2 consecutive NBA titles, the first time that had happened in 20 years.

Question 22

What is a good reflection and review process and why is it important?

Answer 22

Ask yourself once per quarter or 6 months or annually -

What is going well?
What could use improvement?
What did I learn?

What are the core values that drive my life and work?
What identities do I have that need changed?
How can I set a higher standard for integrity in the future?