Atomic Habits Review – Why every programmer should read it

The book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear is full of tips and advice on improving your life by developing better habits and routines. In this article, I will review this book from a programmer’s point of view. And will try to elaborate on how the concept in this book could help you to become a better programmer. And Why every programmer should read it.

Why tiny changes make a big difference

Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.

Our small efforts matter a lot. The book explains with very simple math how improving 1% every day can give us significant results in a long run. For example, practicing coding every day for just one hour can make you master coding more than just practicing four-five hours only on weekends.

1% BETTER EVERY DAY
1% worse every day for one year 0.99³⁶⁵ = 0.03 1% better every day for one year 1.01³⁶⁵ = 37.78

If we want to develop a habit, then we need to focus on the system instead of a goal.

A habit is made of four elements cue, craving, response, and reward. These elements are derived from four behavioral changes which are termed the four laws for making or breaking a habit in this book.

Four Laws

James Clear in Atomic Habits describes habit-forming principles with these four laws:

Make it obvious

Designing your environment can help reduce exposure to unhealthy habits by making healthy cues/decisions obvious and visible. Remove unhealthy cues from your environment to help make better choices easier.

As a developer, be definite with you your work. Plan your tasks with specific details like “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].” Specifications trigger your mind to take action. This will make you more accountable for your actions. Design your environment in such a way that makes your habits visible.

Make it attractive

If you want to make a change in your life, start by temptation bundling. This is when you pair an action you want to do with an action you need to do. For example, if you want to start learning a new programming language but are not motivated about it, Join a club or culture where that language is talked about. This could mean finding a group of friends who are all into that language or joining a club or organization that has the same interests as you. You can also create a motivation ritual. This is when you do something you enjoy immediately before a difficult habit.

Finally, reframe your mindset. Highlight the benefits of avoiding your bad habits. For example, if you’re trying to quit smoking, focus on the fact that you’ll save some money.

Make it Easy

If you want to do something frequently, it should be easier for you to do it. Similarly, make your daily tiny tasks look easier, to do them frequently. A simple way of making a task easier is to reduce the complexity behind that task.

We can achieve this by automating our workflow. Stack one task with another like I will do x project after completing y coding challenge. Less complexity more productivity. Invest in things that make it easier for you to take action and reduce steps between you and your habits. On the contrary, do the opposite for your bad habits, to break them.

Make it satisfying

We, humans, love rewards! Whenever you complete your habit give a small reward to yourself. Make your habit pleasant. Develop a framework of milestones and track your habits. Give rewards to yourself when you complete a milestone and try to never miss a habit twice in a row. Be accountable for your actions.

For example, as a developer when I complete a project I give myself a pizza treat. This gives me a sense of accomplishment and motivates me to work on my next project. If we don’t feel accomplished for doing a task it becomes boring over time and doesn’t enjoy it.

Why programmers should read this book?

Every developer is new to programming at some point in time. But what makes some of the most knowledgeable all over the world? Do you think they had the same level of expertise when they would have written their first line of code? Obviously NO! But writing code every day over time makes them someone your knowledge today. This is the power of tiny actions you take every day.

If you are someone who loves coding but is not consistent with it. I recommend you give this book “Atomic Habits” a shot. The lessons in this book could be the difference between the developer you are and the one you want to become.

Conclusion

Coming to end, in this article, I reviewed the book “Atomic Habits by James Clear“. We saw how tiny changes in our daily life have a significant impact on our life. We discussed the four laws that can help you make or break a habit. Also, I tried to elaborate on how important this book is for programmers and why they should consider giving it a shot.

That’s it for today guys. Thank You for reading!