Is 1% too small
Tags: Self Improvement, Habits, Change, Improvement, Resolutions

Sometimes I really don’t care about small things. Waking up late and don’t have enough time for a complete workout, I’ll then do a lighter workout. Feels bored and doesn’t want to write or read, I’ll skip and play video games instead. There are always easier things to do than the things I should do. Meanwhile, I feel stressful when I see my growing to-do lists. I also seek for all the different books and techniques that tell you how to do things more productive and more efficient. Deep down, I know that the being more productive is just an excuse for wasting more time. Didn’t read today? I’ll learn how to be a faster reader and catch up later. The “later” never comes. The slightly increase of speed can easily be suppressed by the decrease of time. Does it matter though? Is it that necessary to be slightly better every day?

Before I read Atomic Habit by James Clear, I thought The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg is THE best and only book I ever need to read about habits. It shows scientifically that habits are composed by cue, action and rewards. To replace an old habit or build up a new habit, we can make cue and rewards the same, and change our actions. For example, if I want to change my habit of eating cookie everyday at 3pm, I can start to figure out the cue, such as being bored, and the reward, such as feeling more energetic. While keeping cue and reward the same, I can try different activities. For example, taking a walk while feeling bored and see if I can get the same reward after it. Once I find a good activity to replace the old one; in this example, taking a walk instead of eating a cookie, I will have a healthier habit.

Because of the good understanding of habit, I never feel the need to read Atomic Habit even when I saw it under the “Lucky Wall” in my local library. “Lucky Wall” in my library is for popular books with waiting time > 2 months. You can borrow anything immediately from “Lucky Wall”, but you cannot renew. Until recently, I chatted with my friend, and she recommended me this book. I asked her what’s so special about this one. She said the core idea in this book is small changes. The author James Clear was hit in the face by a baseball in his sophomore year in high school. He got seizures, could not remember who his mother is and could not smell. He didn’t lose his faith, he tried small things one at a time, rebuilt his confidence and got full recovered. 6 years after getting hit, he was selected as the top male athlete at Denison University. I got curious and searched for this book immediately on Amazon. In my mind, on Amazon, a good book normally has a few hundreds reviews with 4 to 4.5 stars. A great book normally thousands of views with 4 to 4.5 stars. This one, to my surprise has more than 20,000 reviews with 5 starts. This is rare, and it could mean it worth reading, so I grabbed a copy and started to read.

I have to say, I was completely wrong. After finishing reading, The Power of Habit is still a great book in my mind, but not the only one anymore. Atomic Habit is worth the reviews and every penny. It leverages the theory from The Power of Habit and provides more practical ways to us to use on a daily basis.

Before jumping to any specific tactics and examples, the book first talks about the fundamentals. It shows why tiny changes can make huge impacts, and every small thing matters. It gives an example of British Cycling team. The team hasn’t won any event for 110 years by 2003. In 2003, a man named Dave Brailford was hired as the performance director of the team. He starts to make 1% improvement on every possible areas, common area like the angle of seat and better racing suit. He didn’t stop there, and focused on a lot of unexpected areas as well. They hired a surgeon to teach the team how to wash their hands better so they are less likely to get a cold. They determine the best pillow and mattress so players can have a better sleep and recovery. When the hundreds of small improvements accumulates, magic happens. Just after 5 years, British Cycling team won more than 60% of gold medals in Beijing Olympics. 4 years later in London Olympics, the team set 9 Olympics records and 7 world records.

How can this happen? You might have heard of compound interest. Albert Einstein referred to it as the “most powerful force in the universe”. We all adopt this term as a financing term. If we save a little money right now, with certain growth rate, 30 years from now, we will have thousands of money. The same concept applies to growth as well.

If we only improve 1% each day, in a year, we will be more than 37 times better than we started. On the other hand, if we are 1% worse each day, we will only be 3% of what we were a year ago. Does the 1% matter? Absolutely. We often neglect small things. If I save a little each day, I won’t be a millionaire a month later. If I workout everyday, I still won’t get my 6-packs 1 month later. Oh the flip side, if I eat junk food everyday, I won’t see huge weight increase the next day. Small things don’t seem to matter. However, as the examples show, one day or one small decision don’t seem to matter, when all the tiny things accumulate, they will change the destination of life.

Doing some seemingly small things over and over can be boring. Boredom is also the biggest threat to success. This is probably why we need to find our passion to be success since we won’t be bored. This is not true. We all have moments to feel like quitting. Professionals stick to schedule and work hard toward it with purposes; amateurs let life get in the way and get pulled off course by the urgency of life. This reminds me of story I read before. Cannot remember the details, but basically a mathematician solved a problem that has puzzled people for many years, when people asked the mathematicians how long did it take for him to solve it, he said “every Sunday afternoon for the past 5 years”.

The process sounds hard, but it is not. How we see ourselves decides which habits we want to adopt. Reversely, the habits we are performing can shape our identities. For example, I used to not read much. One day, I decided to read more since book are good way to learn from the best. Initially it was hard, I got distracted all the time. Overtime, however, since I read more, I started to think myself as a reader. Due to the identity changes, reading becomes easier, and it is no longer a task for me; it became a hobby.

Creating a habit is not hard either. It only takes 4 steps:

Cue — make it obvious

Craving — make it attractive

Action — make it easy

Rewards — make it satisfying

Cue — make it obvious

Cue is the initial step for a habit. I often wake up and check my phone. Waking up is the cue for me. To form a new habit or change an old one, we need to make the cue obvious. It is hard sometimes because a habit means we do thing automatically without noticing it. A good way is to create a timesheet, and assign + or — or =next to it. + means habits that are aligned with your desired identities and — means the opposite. = mean neutral. For example, I normally

wake up =

turn of alarm clocks =

check emails/messages -

weight myself +

brush my teeth =

drink water +

check my phone again -

After writing them down clearly, it is very easy to see which habits I want to keep and which I want to change/improve.

Another good way is to write the habits down in a specific way. The formula goes like this I will do BEHAVIOR in LOCATION at TIME. For example, I will workout at home right after drinking water in the morning. Research shows that by writing the specifics down, people are much more likely to behave this way.

Similar to writing it done, another strategy is call “habit stacking”. It simply means to put a new habit right after an existing habit. Formula is After OLD HABIT, I will NEW HABIT. For example, after drinking my morning coffee, I will do 5 min meditation.

Environment design, in my mind, might be the most powerful way when forming a habit. It is also mentioned later in “Action — make it easy” section. We may all know some people who seem to have unlimited self-control and willpower. They workout regularly, get things done without procrastination and read a lot. If you have read the Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal, you may have known the willpower is a limited resources. Although this is still a controversial theory, it still shows only relying on willpower is not sufficiency and sustainable.

A good environment design is a better solution. The research shows that by simply swapping the drink option from soda to bottled water in cafeteria, the sales of soda dropped by more than 10%, and the sales of water increased by 20% in 3 months. Environment is the invisible hands that shapes our behavior. If there’s cookie next to you, you may start to eat without realizing. To form a new behavior like taking a walk after waking up, you can have the workout clothes next to bed to remind you.

Reverse this rule can help eliminate the old habits. For example, to eat less deserts, rather than forcing yourself not eating it, it is easier to not buy. Without any sweets in home, you are less likely to eat.

Craving — make it attractive

After getting the cue, and before acting on it, you will have a craving in your mind that makes you to act. The craving motivates us since it can release the famous dopamine to our brain. Therefore, to leverage it, we can make the craving more attractive so it is irresistible to not act.

A simple way is to bundle the things you like to do with the things you need to do. It is very similar to habit stacking mentioned above. Formula is After HABIT I NEED, I will do HABIT I WANT. For example, After writing for 1 hour, I will take a break and walk outside. It can be reversed as well, and then the things I enjoy doing can be a cue for a habit I need to do. For example, after watch 10min youtube, I will go for a run.

Another way is to join a culture or environment where your desired behavior or habit is normal. We are social animals, and we all need the social bonds with others. We want to make connections with other. If everyone else is behaving in a certain way, you will do, too. It is easier to start to read after joining a book club.

Reverse this rule can help us eliminate bad habits. A good book to help people quit smoke is called Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. He systematically reframes each thought associated with smoking and gives it a new meaning. For example, “you think smoking is about relieving stree, but it’s not. Smoking does not relieve your nerves, it destroys them”. Hundreds of people quick smoking because of the book. We can apply a similar idea as well. We can talk to ourselves by highlighting the drawbacks of bad habits and emphasis the benefits of good habits. When the crave becomes less attractive, we can eliminate an old habit more easily.

Action — make it easy

Time to take an action after seeing a cue and having a crave. However, most of the time, we still fail to do so. Planning to go to the gym, but the gym is 30min away? You probably won’t go even after seeing your workout clothes and deciding to give yourself a gift after exercising. It is because we tend to follow the law of least efforts. The easier we can do something, we tend to do it.

To apply this rule, we can eliminate steps for us to act to make it easy. Instead of going to the gym, you can use some basic equipment or just body weight to do some simple exercise at home. Without packing and driving to the gym, it is easier to start. Environment designs can kick in here. For example, I found it is very hard to not look at my phone when I work or relax. The phone is a cue itself. By hiding my phone in a drawer, I both make the cue invisible and harder to check it. I stop look at my phone by significant amount due to this one change.

Another way to make it easy is to apply a 2-min rule. The idea behind this rule is that It is harder for people to start a new activity than keep doing the current one. Also, the more you act, the easier it becomes. To make it easy to act, you can just start for 2 min and then stop. Once you get more comfortable starting a specific action, it is easier going forward to do it longer. Here is an example. A man decides to workout regularly. In the first week, he just tied his workout shoes. After a week, he went to the gym after tying his shoes, and stayed there for 1 min. After a few times, he started to workout for 5min and then left. By the time he noticed, he has been working out everyday and lost a lot of weights. I applied the same rule to write this article. I have been trying to writing about the books I have read. Writing, in my mind, is the best way to learn from a book. I have been procrastinating since I thought it was hard. After reading this book, I decided to follow a similar approach. At the first few days, I simply open my text editor for a min. After a few days, I thought I could write a sentence. Slowly a sentence became a paragraph, and then became an article.

For certain habits, the ultimate way to lock in future behaviors is to automate the habits. You can set it for one time, and don’t need to worry about it. For example, the best way to save is to setup an automatic saving plans. The plan will save for you without doing anything.

Through out the day, there are certain decisions can determine whether you have a wonderful day or a terrible day. For me, waking up early can help me setup a tone for a productive day. Waking up early can trigger a series of good habits. On the other hand, waking up later makes me feel sloppy and lazy, it is likely that I will not have the most enjoyable day. We need to be more careful for these moments. Having these decisions right can lead to a good day.

Rewards — make it satisfying

Above three sections are ways to make you act, this final section is to let you come back to the same behavior in the future. We are more likely to repeat a behavior when the experience is satisfying. Our brain prefers immediate satisfaction, which is why many people eat desserts when they want to lose weight. Eating desserts can have an immediate satisfaction while the longer-term benefits of maintaining a healthy weight is no very rewarding for the brain.

A good way to make the desired habits more satisfying is to use habit tracker. It can be as simple as a calendar. Everyday, when you finish a task, you can put a big check mark in the calendar. The visual cue is very strong and obvious, and having a calendar full of check marks is also satisfying. Don’t get too upset and worried when you miss one. Things can happen, but don’t miss twice in a row. Getting back on track as quickly as possible is good way to keep a habit.

Another way is to create a habit contract with an accountability partner. For example, you can let your partner holds $100, and only return it back to you when you can get up early for 30 days.

Advanced Tactics

In the final chapter of the book, James talks about the talent, Goldilocks Rule and the downside of creating good habits.

Our talent is defined by our genes. Michael Phelps has the talent to be a great swimmer. He won’t be as successful as he is now if he chose to be a runner. It is not saying genes can determine everything. Genes can predispose but not predetermine. You will find the predisposed areas more satisfying; hence you are more likely to be successful in these areas. You should build habits that work for your personalities. Here are some questions you can ask yourself when exploring all possibilities.

What feels fun to me, but work for others

What makes me lose track of times

Where do I get greater returns than the average person

What comes naturally to me

Once we found our areas, we need to continually work on it to improve and grow. The Goldilocks Rule mentioned in this book is like the term “flow”. It means the tasks are at the right level. It is not too hard and not too easy. It is only slightly over your comfortable zone, and you will lose time working on it. Research shows that, a task is roughly 4% beyond your current ability. Even following these rules and working in our favorite areas, we can still feel bored. It is very common. Even the most successful people can feel bored and lack of motivations. The only difference is that they keep working on it regardless of how they feels. The ability to keep going when work isn’t exciting can make a true difference.

The downside of forming a habits is that the behavior becomes automatic, and we stop paying attention to small errors. Deliberate practice is the basics for mastery. Therefore, even after forming a habit, we need to have regular reflections and reviews to be conscious of our performance overtime.

What went well this week/month/year

What didn’t go well this week/month/year

What did I learn

How can I do better

Questions & Actions

Which kind of person do you want to be

What habits can you build to be that person

How can you make the cue of the habits more obvious

Write down your daily routines that you stop paying attention to

I will [NEW HABIT] in [LOCATION] at [TIME]

I will [NEW HABIT] after [OLD HABIT]

Environment design

How can you make the cue of the bad habits invisible

Environment design

How can I make the craving more attractive for desired habits

I will [THINGS I NEED] after [THINGS I WANT] or vise versa

Join a culture where my desired habits is normal

Do something you enjoy immediately before a difficult habit

How can I make the craving less attractive for undesired habits

Highlight the benefits of avoiding bad habits to reshape the mind

How to make the action easier

Decrease the number of steps needed

Use 2-min rules

Focus on getting the critical decision moments

Prime the environment to make the next action easier

Automate habits

How to make the action harder

Increase the number of steps

Book/prepare things now to restrict future choices

How to make the rewards satisfying

Give yourself an immediate rewards after finishing a task

Design a way to see the benefits of avoiding a bad habits

Track your habits

Never miss twice

How to make the rewards unsatisfying

Let someone to watch your behavior

Create a habit contract

What comes natural to me? Which areas should I focus on?

Do routinely review of my performance