Atomic Habits
Lifehack #5 Build Systems, not habits. This advice was given by james Clear in Atomic habits. I love the idea. I used to try building a habit to write 1000 words every day. It didn't work. It annoyed me . And it was very easy to give up. A habit is the thing you do. A system is the setup that makes you do it. Most of us obsess over habits. We say we’re going to wake up early, write every day, exercise more, save money. Those are all behaviors. They sound concrete, but they rely heavily on motivation, and motivation is fickle. Some days you have it. Most days you don’t. Clear’s argument is that focusing on the habit alone is backwards. Instead of trying to force yourself to behave better, you redesign the environment around you so the behavior becomes the path of least resistance. If you want to write, the habit is “write 500 words.” The system is having a fixed time, a clear desk, your document already open, and your phone out of reach. If you want to work out, the habit is exerc...