GDT Book Club: Atomic Habits

[peacemama]

All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. -James Clear

Hi all!  We are launching 2023 with a month-long discussion of Atomic Habits.  Here's a breakdown of the reading/discussion schedule:

Week of January 2: Intro, Chapters 1-5

Week of January 9: Chapters 6-10

Week of January 16: Chapters 11-15

Week of January 24: Chapters 16-20, Conclusion

[bernelli]

Awesome -- I like this plan! Thanks for leading us through it, peacemama!

I read this earlier this year, but going through it with a group and going slower is going to be really great. Very much looking forward to it.

[suby]

I'm on his mailing list and got these if anyone is interested: jamesclear.com/atomic-habits/resources

[peacemama]

“And I knew if things were going to improve, I was the one responsible for making it happen.” – page 5

Monday, January 2: Introductions

Welcome, new and seasoned members of the GDT Book Club! I’m so thankful that you have chosen to join us to discuss Atomic Habits this month. The start of a new year seems an ideal time to explore it with a group.

No need to read the entire book in advance; we’ll follow the reading/discussion schedule posted above. Not certain yet if I will pose a new question each weekday or if I will chunk the chapters and post a couple questions throughout each week. Since this is a different format than usual for book group, I’ll see what seems to work best as we go along.

A timing hiccup… I’m scheduled for surgery on Jan 9. My gyn oncologist says it’s a minimally invasive procedure. I am optimistic that all will go smoothly, and I’ll be back online within a day or so. moosishun will take over facilitation, if needed; but I hope to continue to lead the discussion during my recovery.

We will dive into the opening chapters tomorrow. For today, please share what brings you here. Why are you interested in Atomic Habits?

[hikergirl]

So, I used to get his emails in the past but unsubscribed to them when I wasn't ready to do the work. I tried signing back up for them on the website but they are not coming through. Any savvy folks out there have any ideas on how to reactivate this?

Looking forward to this.

[moosishun]

I think what brought me here was the untapped potential lying right in my own soul to embrace the tiny incremental work I need to get back to where I have been pianistically, and also the tiny incremental work it would take to keep this damn house clean.

I have done this before and your opening statement was exactly how I felt when I woke up to the fact that if I wanted to be who I wanted to be, I would have to get crackin'. I honestly could care less about my weight because I have clothes that fit right now but I know that tiny incremental changes to that would make a difference as well and this would help my overall flow of embracing the little 1% of work needed to get back into a good place in more areas of my life.

But here is the thing: I have gotten lazy and embrace this habit of sitting in my recliner and watching the world go by and as one of my teachers used to say: "You never stay still - you either get better or you get worse." All this is true.

It takes a change in our inner metrics.

Thanks for leading this discussion, peacemama, and I hope your procedure proves to be the cure and a momentary tiny rock in the pond thing.

[moosishun]

I just saw this quote Katie Couric wrote about Barbara Walters:

"Barbara created her own good fortune."

[Deleted]

I, honestly, tried to avoid reading this book. Being retired and being an overly organized person by nature, I just felt like I did not want or need anymore freaking structure in my life. That’s not a brag. My tidiness drives my DH nuts. He can’t set anything down and walk away to go to the bathroom, without coming back to find out, I’ve put his stuff away. It’s a curse. LOL

That said, I have this project that I’m working on. It’s a research paper on the ownership of our friends ranch land from the first issuance of the Texas land grant. The connections to this land include many prominent people in Texas history. I was going gung ho on it and loving it. Then, my laptop developed issues and I could not trust it to save data. I have an ipad but all my research was on the other computer. I put it away over a year ago and never went back. My DH bought me a new computer several months ago and I just couldn’t fathom the work it would take just to refresh my mind on what I’d already done. And the research is in boxes that were stored in a closet. UGh.

So, that was my driving force. There is no reason that i can’t’ assign a day a week to working on that paper. I mean, once I get into it, I love doing it.

Additionally, I will be 70 in July. I would like to get myself to a healthier weight by then. 20-25 pounds is all I need. It’s just so doable! But, cookies call my name.

So, I’ve read the book . I got it on audio and I will say that It was not an easy read for me. I felt like it was: C1 - Here’s the two most important things. C2- Here’s five more most important things. C3 here’s two that go between 1 and 3. Did anyone else feel that way? And, since it’s audio I couldn’t just look back. I did get some print offs from his site that helped.I’m afraid to sign up for emails because I think I have my head wrapped around it now and don’t want to get thrown off track again.

[fitin14]

good morning and happy new year! First off peacemama, thank you for leading this and all the best for your surgery that is coming up!  For the last couple of years I had been in a place of feeling overwhelmed by a lot of things in my life.  We downsized, moved and retired and I now really feel like I have accomplished a lot of things that simplified life and need to really focus on my health and wellbeing both physical and mental and avoid that sense of being overwhelmed again. Creating good habits and stopping procrastination are my main goals from this book and discussion. 

[ermabom]

I am here because I am a work in progress. I've been a long-time subscriber to his methods although I hadn't read the book until recently. There is a lot of repeat info in the book, which is fine, but did reinforce why I hadn't read it before.

I've successfully used some of his techniques to build an exercise habit as well as other habits. However, I am struggling with some other habits that I need to get rid of. That's why I'm here.

[catservant]

I am here because I need to make my life easier. I spend too much time thinking about what I should do or want to do, but I don't get up and do them. So then I add negative self talk to the mix and start the cycle over.

[honeybzzzs]

I’m here because of Book Club. I read most of this book several months ago. I didn’t finish it because of the writing style. I did pick up some tips while reading it, and I’m here hoping that Book Club will enlighten me on the stuff I just couldn’t plough through.

[Deleted]

Jan 2, 2023 11:13:31 GMT -5 honeybzzzs said:

I’m here because of Book Club. I read most of this book several months ago. I didn’t finish it because of the writing style. I did pick up some tips while reading it, and I’m here hoping that Book Club will enlighten me on the stuff I just couldn’t plough through.

Thankful I wasn’t alone in this regard.

[sal]

I can't imagine this one going well on audio (and I say that as someone that has made it through chapter 1).

I'm hear to get better at the incremental changes in a lot of areas. And because I've heard too many people tell me I need to read this and so just want to get done already.

[Viognier]

The most driving reason for me to join in here-- I have had the book for 6 months or so and never even cracked it open. This is motivating me to read the book. As a side benefit, I might actually learn something and a bonus would be if I could actually find some benefit in my life.

My friend had been listening to the book on her weekly drives to the marina. She suggested we may be able to encourage each other as we work through the book, but she finished and moved on before I got around to getting a copy of the book. So, here I am.

[Tina]

Hello!

I’m here because I have read the book, love the book but am not putting the ideas into practice. We had a book club discussion on this book at work, but I missed it, so I’m ready to re-read and start again.

[corgi]

I bought this book several months ago and dutifully got through where we'll be at the end of this week, and no further. Put it down, never picked it back up. So, I was excited to see it nominated for our group.

Around the same time I joined Noom, and found it dovetailed nicely to their "baby steps" and slow changing of habits approach. I even relayed the ice cube story to a fellow Noomer online one day. But, lost the Noom drive as well as the drive to read this book. Hoping I'll be able to pick up both threads again soon.

[zoomingzebra]

I have a few things I want to work on this year. Lose some weight, consistently exercise, just started a new sales job and I want to have a great sales year.

I have read the book before, but did absolutely nothing with the information. This time, I want to really put the information into actual practice. I’m hoping an in-depth study like this will help me really do the work.

Thanks for leading the discussion and good luck with your surgery!

[canajun]

I'm here because I'm a dreamer but need to work on implementing. I too spend so much time thinking about the whats and hows, wanting everything to be perfect, buying all the things I think will help, etc. instead of just DOING. And yes, breaking it down into the incremental changes is something I need to work on too.

[peacemama]

I'm going to park this here, for reference.

Atomic
1. An extremely small amount of a thing; the single irreducible unit of a larger system.
2. The source of immense energy or power.

Habit
1. A routine or practice performed regularly; an automatic response to a specific situation.

[peacemama]

Thanks for sharing your reasons for reading Atomic Habits and your hopes for what you can gain from the book group discussion.

Like many of you, the book has been lingering on my to-be-read list. I was curious about it, after seeing the book week-after-week on the NYT Bestseller list. I finally picked up a copy at our local brick and mortar bookstore over a year ago... and then never read a single page. Sal's comment about "just wanting to get done already," spoke to me.

I am also interested in forming some new habits. I really enjoy Clear's 3-2-1 weekly newsletter and I am hoping the book and our discussion will offer some new ideas for ways I can implement change.

[peacemama]

“Improving by 1% isn’t particularly notable—sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run.”

January 3: Chapter 1 – The Surprising Power of Atomic Habits

In the opening chapter, Clear makes the case for 1% level ups—the value of compound atomic changes, decisions, and habits. What are your initial thoughts of some small changes that could move you closer to your desired goal(s)?

A few additional resources related to Chapter 1 that may be of interest to you:
James Clear interview: How You Can Improve 1% Per Day
James Clear blog: Forget About Setting Goals. Focus on This Instead

Tomorrow we'll discuss Chapters 2 and 3.

[cdjhorn]

Why I’m here? Due to circumstances at home and work, my life is too chaotic for a single person with no kids or parents to care for. I function better with routines and habits that have fallen off the wagon, not just from a diet perspective but self care, house chores, projects, etc. My WOTY and Ny resolutions aim to get those back. I’ve had the book for years but never finished it and I have subscribed to his 3 2 1 email for several years but typically just delete without reading these days. I’m also following along with his challenge that was emailed to his subscribers last week.

I believe in the power of 1% better but I have the personality of not starting something unless I can finish it along with being a perfectionist. I hope that the structure of his book will help me move to living 1% better rather than what I have been doing to improve my habits and routines which is nothing.

[Deleted]

I struggle with the 1% efforts. Not that I disbelieve that 1% continues to build improvement, but that, I think, it doesn’t always pertain to a regular person trying to lose weight or improve discipline in any specific area of life.

The example he gives of the cycling team, is based on a very long term team investment. Money to change their beds and do research on how to decrease the number of times they catch a cold. If I’m a senior on that team, I wouldn’t necessarily benefit and reach my goal of winning. But, if I’m a freshman, then I might because of the long term effect of resources and time.If I’m a concert pianist, I have the dedicated time to study a piece and add it to my concert, when I’m happy with the result. If I’m a volunteer musician, in a local group, I have a time limit until the show. I can’t rely on tiny improvements and still succeed. I get that he’s saying 1% is better than 0%, so just keep going. It just feels like I need faster gratification. So, I struggle with embracing the system, as he suggests.

I do agree that you can build on those improvements, I just have difficulty applying them to my own goals, because mine have a time and resource limit.

If I’m wrong, tell me. I’m trying to look at it, like “just keep building”. But, when I see that I planned to walk 15k each week and I see that I did only 3k once, I just want to quit instead of celebrating the once.

[ermabom]

I don't like his example although that was the example that resonated with me when I first read it in his newsletters.

What has worked for me w.r.t. exercise is first, his example of putting on your exercise clothes; second, telling yourself that you'll just do 5 mins of whatever. I find that if I do either of those things, I end up exercising. I'm not sure that days of putting on exercise clothes would really work for me but getting in some exercise after that works.