Pen{g}sieve Vol. 2: Atomic Habits
In the “how to engineer changes” series, I feel that habit design has to be on top of the list. It is such a powerful tool to reshape one’s system. But more importantly, it is so actionable that anyone can start right away.
Compounding effects of atomic habits
Last summer, a major disruption happened to the company that I worked for. Overnight, existing projects were put on pause, emails stopped coming in, and most meetings got canceled. There was a lot of confusion and uncertainty. And it was in that context that I read the book "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. This was my very first book on habits.
While all of us have had habits throughout our lives, “Atomic Habits” opened my eyes to viewing habit design as a tool to build a system of changes. Well, actually I lied. When I first read “Atomic Habits”, I did not fully grasp the power of habits. What stuck with me was the following graph: just 1% improvement compounding over a year can lead to game-changing 37x improvements.
Not knowing what to aim for? start with an atomic habit
The “1% improvement” graph was a life-line for me. Without knowing exactly what the future would hold, I decided to start some good atomic habits, hoping to see a noticeable change down the road (as opposed to waiting for something to happen).
In a three-month period, noticeable changes did start to happen: I became a Yogi, an avid reader, and a lot more thoughtful. Not only did the new habits fill the time, but they also generated tiny wins that made each day more fulfilling. I did not know at the time that what started out as a few nice-to-have small habits began a year-long journey of changes. The power of atomic habits is that, even at a time of confusion, one can still start with a good habit or two. Over time, changes will happen and these tiny steps will keep us moving until we find our directions.
Here are the three atomic habits that I started during that time period:
I started a habit of reading at least 30 minutes a day. On top of that, I listened to audiobooks whenever possible (e.g. doing house chore, walking dogs, driving, etc). With that, I read 40 books in 2019 mostly during the second half of the year.
I started to practice yoga a couple of times a week. It rejuvenated my body, but more importantly, it helped me to regain attention and notice my state of mind better.
I doubled down on journaling, made it a daily habit, and used it to explore big life questions as well as to appreciate small moments (see my journaling system).
Deliberate habit design
Most of us acquire habits without paying much attention to them, such as by forced repetition or following conventions. Deliberately applying habit design to build good habits, on the other hand, is a totally different game.
Here, I want to touch upon the concept of design. Design is a deliberate process. It requires having clarity on goals, fundamental understandings of the tools at hand, and then applying the tools to reach the goals. Habit design is similar. Nowadays I apply habit design in all aspects of my life. For example, identifying a1% improvement per day in my journal is one such designed habit (see my journaling system).
A more recent example is this newsletter. Since I am intimidated by the prospect of publishing a newsletter regularly, I started an atomic habit of writing X-min a day first thing in the morning. Since I cannot imagine writing the newsletter forever, I set a goal of sticking to it for a year. As a year still feels too long, I break it down to 26 newsletters, that is, one every two weeks. Right now I am on No 2. and counting :).
As I am starting a new job next week, this morning I designed a new atomic habit called “A day of good work”. This habit was created to implement a tip I learned from someone who recently joined the company. Here is his advice:
Every new hire to this competitive company, no matter how senior he is, will feel the imposter syndrome. There will be times where you feel you are way out of your comfort zone.
My way to cope is to focus on one day at a time. At the end of each day, I ask myself, did I do my very best for today, and did I achieve the goals I set out for today? If I answer “Yes” everyday, I will be fine.
Use tools to build atomic habits
To understand how habit design works, I recommend reading books on this topic, such as, “Atomic Habits”, “Tiny habits”, and “the Power of Habits”. Since habit design is such a fundamental tool, you are better served to learn from the best sources (i.e., books) to gain a deeper understanding of it as a system tool, instead of getting a few hacks here and there.
Here I just want to show you a tool, an App called “Streak”, that I used to help me track the new habits I am building. The following screenshot captures some of my habits on Streak.
The UI is extremely simple: simply tap the circle representing a specific habit once you finish your task for that day. As part of the working of habit design, this simple tap (that turns the circle solid and maintains the streaks) creates a small reward for an atomic habit, which nudges us to keep on doing the tasks day after day.
How do big changes happen? Keystone Habits
Not all habits are created equal. Some habits are so powerful that they can generate a domino effect that leads to bigger changes. Such habits are called keystone habits. As defined by Charles Duhigg in “The power of habits”,
Keystone habits are small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives.
Among the many habits I created in the past 16 months, three of them stand out as keystone habits. They helped me un-stuck and changed me in profound ways.
Reading books: This habit injects new (and better) information into my mind. Once you build a habit of reading, the books you read will do its magic. And with a good selection of books, positive changes will happen naturally, first in your mind, then in your actions.
Investing in friends: This habit is designed to build up my “friend capital” by counting the number of meaningful (instead of transactional) interactions, such as having a real conversation, sharing a true moment, or feeling a real connection. This habit allows me to re-connect with many old friends, share my thoughts, and be a rock for the people that I care about.
Journaling: This habit is a powerful tool to explore one’s internal states. True changes must happen from within: reflection and self-awareness is a prerequisite for such internal changes.
Looking back, I now realized that all three habits trigger changes by altering my non-physical surroundings, either the information feeding to my mind, social connections touching my heart, or my internal mental states. As such, these changes do not depend on money, physical locations, or professions, all it takes is the willingness to start and the will-power to stick to it.
Next time when you think about habits, please keep this quote from “Atomic Habits” in mind:
A habit is a lifestyle to be lived, not a finish line to be crossed. Make small, sustainable changes you can stick with.
PS. If you are new to the newsletter and wonder why I started it, what’s the story behind the name Pen{g}sieve, or what topics will be covered, please check out the 1st issue of Pen{g}sieve.
To me, habit is still a beast 😢 ...