26 - Atomic Habits Chapter 6: Motivation Is Overrated; Environment Often Matters More

What's on Your Bookshelf?

On this episode, Denise and Sam discuss Chapter 6: Motivation Is Overrated; Environment Often Matters More of Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Making small changes in your environment can lead to significant changes in behavior over time. Habits are context-dependent, and the cues of good habits should be obvious in your surroundings. For example, if you want to practice guitar more frequently, you can place it in the middle of the living room. Similarly, if you want to drink more water, you can fill up a few water bottles each morning and place them around the house. The most persistent behaviors usually have multiple cues, and habits become associated not with a single trigger but with the entire context surrounding the behavior. Building new habits in a new environment is easier because you won't fight old cues. You can create new routines in new places, like a different coffee shop or a bench in the park. If you can't change your environment, rearrange your current space by creating separate zones for work, study, exercise, and entertainment. Even if your space is limited, you can divide your room into activity zones, like a chair for reading, a desk for writing, and a table for eating. The same can be done in your digital spaces.

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