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Atomic Habits
has
a couple
of useful ideas but it is a mess of a book, and long-term it has not transformed my life!
I read
Atomic Habits
at the end of last year and Iāve been meaning to talk about it for a while. Itās lived at the back of my mind since I did read it and not necessarily in a good way, itās more of
an irritation
I canāt shake. The podcast
If Books Could Kill
just dropped an episode on it, which has prompted me to finally write out my thoughts on this.
I had a general awareness that this books exists from seeing it in Waterstoneās displays. I think I had picked it up to read its back cover, and then put it down and forgot all about it. Then last year I started watching video tutorials on note-taking using Obsidian.mb, it seemed like
everybody
had read this thing, and my curiosity was piqued! [
1
]
At the time I really wanted to make more time in my day to work on writing and blogging. As an adult person with a full-time job it is very hard to find time in the day for maintaining a clean house, garden, relationships, eating healthy, exercise, and sleep; never mind for anything else. I thought maybe if I could get a bit more structured routine into my week I can carve out some more āfreeā time for creativity.
The
Good Habit
I need is to do my workouts in the morning before work. After work just does not work for me ā Iām too tired and hungry, and I just want to do something I enjoy. I also find (once I get going) that I have more energy for cardio first thing, and it makes me feel a lot better during the day.
Iāve been getting stuck in the
Bad Habit
of not getting out of bed when my alarm wakes me up, and staying there either scrolling on my phone or ā honestly
just daydreaming
ā until about 5 minutes before Iām to log on for work! Iād still go for a walk at lunchtime and after work (weather permitting) but not doing strength and cardio workouts leaves me feeling grotty and stiff (and also see:
Reasons Why I Should Get Up & Do Some Exercise
).
I have struggled with this since I started working from home in 2020, and this got worse after I bought my own place and moving house really blew my routine apart. (And Iāve since moved house a second time!).
With that in mind, I thought Iād give
Atomic Habits
a try to see if it held up to the hype, and whether it might actually help motivate me to get the fuck up out of bed and work on my fitness.
Click here to just skip to my notes on everything you could learn from this book!
What are Atomic Habits?
It is a bit of a confusing title. āAtomicā here means lots of small parts that add up to a powerful whole. James Clearās thesis is that building lots of small positive habits into your day will over time transform your life. There seems to be an internet trend in the productivity sphere of describing things as āAtomicā ā e.g. ā
Atomic Essays
ā etc. So I guess it would make sense to you if youāre already in that space (or are better at science than me!).
Who is James Clear?
James Clear is not actually an expert qualified in anything. He is just an American man on the internet. He has
a blog and a newsletter
, which became very popular (this is his big brag). He has styled himself as āan expert on habits and decision makingā
1
ā¦but
what does that actually mean
? Definitely not that he knows how to write a decent book!
In the opener of the book he describes himself as a hyper-organised, disciplined person who finds it easy to build good habits. This blew my mind because how would someone
whoās brain just works like
ā who
hasnāt had to
try
ā be able to help someone like me, who has never been able to long-term stick to a routine of good habits?
While my peers stayed up late and played video games, I built good sleep habits and went to bed early each night. In the messy world of a college dorm, I made a point to keep my room neat and tidy.
The fact that he thinks
this
qualifies him to dispense advice on the topic set off some alarm bells right away that this man was about to tell me to
just do what he does
and not understand why I find that difficult.
Iām more interested to hear from a naturally disorganised person
[
2
] that has found a way to keep a good routine for at least a year! I feel that would be a more qualified person to give me advice.
He also opens the book with an anecdote about getting hit in the face with a baseball, which is completely irrelevant to anything to do with habits or his qualifications as an expert. It was confusing. I guess it is just the one sort of interesting thing about him?
Why is this a book?
It reads like a blog post ā or a newsletter ā which is exactly what it started out as.
This is so clearly written by a male person (more on this) who, as weāve read
by his own admission
, has never struggled with building good habits. The writing is cold, robotic, and insanely repetitive. It is full of meaningless charts, and the entire contents of it could be summed up in half a page. But then thatās my beef with almost all self-help books!
He also
repeatedly
ā
relentlessly
ā tries to direct you to his damn website to give him your email address to download more pointless materials (16 times he directs you to atomichabits.com). I found this very off-putting and gave me the vague feeling that Iām being treated like an idiot, and that this is a scam.
u003cemu003eJust think about this chart for a minute and youāll realise how stupid it is. u003cstrongu003eWhat skill gets 37 better over a year?u003c/strongu003e How the hell would you quantify that?u003c/emu003e
Are Atomic Habits useful?
There are
some useful ideas
here, but again ā
this does not need to be a full book
. Itās a blog post at most. There are not a whole bookās worth of useful ideas, so the rest is padded with nonsense or at best, pseudoscience.
The examples he uses to support his theories are often misrepresented to fit his narrative or based on nothing but anecdotes (and in one case an anecdote of an anecdote). He also frequently cites Twitter and Reddit threads as sources! Reading Reddit posts is not research in my book, certainly not in a published book I find prominently featured in every bookshop Iāve been in in the last few years. [
3
]
Another problem with this book is that it conflates many things that are very different as equal habits with the same simple solutions. Examples he uses include binge eating junk food, looking at social media, weight training, voting, reading, learning a language, praising your employees, making your bed, chewing fingernails etc as being on the same level. Some of these are lifestyle choices, some are down to personality, some are compulsive habits, and some are psychological disorders. They do not all have the same solution.
He has some worthy observations about building good routines and habits, but in trying to stretch that idea out into a book and apply it to all areas of life, he loses clarity, and everything gets really muddled. Again, this is because he hasnāt really done hard research to test his theories, he is not an expert in psychology ā he is just a guy dispensing advice based on some articles, social media posts and a couple of books heās read.
James Clearās Four Laws
The whole book centres on James Clearās 4 Laws.
That is the sum total of this book
, it is all you need to know.
Make itĀ
obvious
(
cue
)
Stack your habits to be triggered by time/location/action and stack to follow each other
Make itĀ
attractive
Ā (
craving
)
bundle good habits with things you want to do (rewards)
Make itĀ
easy
Ā (
response
)
Build an environment where it is easy to do good habits and difficult to do bad ones
Habits should be small, less than 2 minutes
Make itĀ
satisfying
Ā (
reward
)
Habit trackers to give yourself evidence of progress
Here is an infographic I made after I first read this book. It takes a bit of scrolling, so you can
click here to skip past it!
Infographic I made for fun after I first read the book.
Build a routine by chaining good habits
The main useful idea I got from this book was to
cue habits
, or what he called ā
Habit Stacking
.ā That is stringing together actions in your routine so that
one good habit follows another
. I also find it helpful to think about each step in this string and its own small, individual and
easy-to-do
habit.
For example ā
My alarm clock on the other side of the room goes off at 7am.
This triggers me to have to get up out of bed to turn it off.
That is then my cue to go to the bathroom for my morning pee.
After peeing and washing my hands at the sink I immediately brush my teeth.
Then I put some music on my phone while I put on my gym clothes because that helps me get in the mood to exercise.
Gym clothes on are my cue to go to and get out my exercise mat.
Once Iām on my exercise mat I then do a workout.
I did find this
framework
to be a useful way to think about my routine, and it helped me, for a time ā at least up to number four and getting my teeth brushed! I have consistently been brushing my teeth every morning now I trained myself to automatically do it first thing after peeing instead of having to remember to do it after eating breakfast. Before, because now working from home, I eat breakfast at my desk, Iād sometimes forget to brush them until much later in the day ā
gross, I know
! [
4
]
Numbers 5-7, require more effort and motivation, also worked
but for only a few weeks
and this is where I start to have some issues with his advice.
The hormone rollercoaster
I say that it is clear this book was written by a male (or, more accurately,
someone who doesnāt experience a menstrual cycle
) because so many of his examples for habits centre on food and exercise and emphasise that these must be
daily and consistent
.
His big tip for āMake it satisfyingā is to keep habit trackers and ādonāt break the chainā of success. Thatās fine for simple actions things like brushing your teeth in the morning, but this is less useful for a lot of other habits that rely on my complex physical or mental effort.
If you have a
menstrual cycle
then your need for food, your focus, and your energy levels are going to fluctuate every few weeks. Itās not always going to be possible ā or even healthy for you ā to keep the same strict routine.
In my case, I find my energy plummets right around my period, and Iāve learned it is not a good idea for me to be getting up and doing cardio every day when I feel like that because Iāll just end up exhausted for the next week. Thanks to what I learned reading
Period Power
, I have proven now it is much better for me if I take the 3ish days Iām bone tired to actually lean into that fatigue and fully take a break from absolutely everything that I feasibly can (exercise, chores,
thinking!
). If I do that my energy snaps back much faster.
If Iām keeping a habit tracker of my morning workouts and only rewarding myself for not ābreaking the chainā then every 28-ish days when I have to give my body a break Iām going to ruin my streak and feel like crap about that (on top of all the other self-esteem issues in the hormone soup).
The fluctuations in my hormones with my energy, mood and focus every cycle are a large reason
why I find keeping routines difficult
. I never seem to be able to keep regular routines for things like exercise, or honestly
even keeping habit trackers
! [
5
] ā going consistently for more than about a month because
hormones change my motivations
so much. James canāt help me with that, and he has no idea what thatās like (based on the contents of his book at least).
I actually read
Period Power
after I read
Atomic Habit
s, so I have since been working on my cycle tracker and try to lean into what my body and brain want in the different phases of my cycle (see
my review of Period Power
for more information about that). This has meant Iāve been feeling generally happier and healthier, but Iām yet to work out how I rebuild my morning routine after my last house move!
Caution if you have an eating disorder
James has some irresponsible advice on food and diet (losing weight, getting fit, building muscle), which definitely could be triggering for anyone with an eating disorder. He actually encourages you to hyper-focus on your eating, keep food and weight logs and concentrate on feeling bad about binges (as if binge eaters donāt find it distressing). [
6
]
Edit: Iāve realised in
Jan 2024
that I think the big reason this book has irritated me so much is that while it isnāt and it doesnāt pretend to be about exercising (though he uses plenty of examples about this) it buys into the most unhelpful of fitness and diet culture messaging ā that no pain, no gain, all or nothing kind of mindset. I was looking for something that actually helps me form habits so I get the true benefits of exercise, without the guilt and shame that fitness culture pushes on me, which just leads to being stuck in an unproductive all-or-nothing cycle. Anyway, wrote about that here:
Exercise should be fun
.
Edit:
March 2025
I have since ācracked the codeā on how to motivate myself and keep better habits, specifically when it comes to exercise, and I will write up a follow-up whenever I can find the time (so donāt hold your breath!)
.
So, who is
Atomic Habits
for?
If you are a person like James who has a lot of self-discipline and finds personal organisation itself rewarding, then youāll probably like this book, but you also likely wonāt
need
it because this stuff comes easily to you.
People who might need genuine help with building better habits in their lives are likely to struggle to find anything that is long-term useful here. Like all mass-market self-help books, it is too vague and is unlikely to offer you the specific individual advice that would make a difference.
My two takeaways from it were to
make habits small and easy
and to
stack them to make a routine
. Neither of these things are really new or earth-shatteringly original advice. Iāve always known I have to make things seem easy and comfortable for me to do them, and there are some areas (like writing this blog) that I need to work on making easier for myself! [
7
] Reading this was maybe a nice reminder placed in a new framework, but I didnāt need a whole book to get there.
At the end of the day ā as long as you do not have an eating disorder, this book isnāt going to hurt you other than wasting your money and the time itāll take to read it. I have already told you all you need to know about how Atomic Habits work, so you can take that framework and see if you can apply it to help you with a routine in your life that you might need help with.
I just hate these lazy ābooksā that are just extended blog posts with no research and fucking citations from social media! They just treat readers like idiots, and
I feel stupider
for having read it.
Update April 2026
:
Iāve shared updated thoughts on building good habits, sticking to exercise routines and motivation.
Footnotes
He calls himself an expert and asks people to pay him money for his supposed expertise (including buying this book), so I donāt know why people keep telling me he doesnāt claim to be an expertā¦ https://jamesclear.com/about
ā©ļø
[1] My favourite Obsidian YouTubers are
From Sergio
and
Nicole van der Hoeven
[
back
]
[2] Iām not really disorganised, Iām more
inconsistently
organised. My bursts of organisation only last a few weeks. [
back
]
[3]
If Books Could Kill
go into this more, but my favourite example is a story he uses about how homes with energy meters in prominent locations within the home were more likely to conserve energy. According to Peterās research for the podcast āThe source for that is a book from 2015 where the author wrote that she was told the story at a conference in 1973.ā [
back
]
[4] Iāve read a few articles that say the whole brush before or after eating breakfast debate doesnāt really matter, itās more important that you
actually do brush
! Brushing before food in the morning protect your teeth from the food and drink you have for breakfast. e.g.
see this advice on a dental centre website
. [
back
]
[5] See all my abandoned Bullet Journals and more recently abandoned Obsidian vault of daily notes! [
back
]
[6] Jamesās advice on compulsive behaviour and binge eating, quote: āIf you eat a chocolate bar every morning, acknowledge it, almost as if you were watching someone else.
Oh, how interesting that they would do such a thing.
If you binge-eat, simply notice that you are eating more calories than you should. If you waste time online, notice that you are spending your life in a way that you do not want to.ā .. Dude, that is awful advice. [
back
]
[7] You may notice my non-existing posting schedule. I do have
a new plan
to try to get me going again with the blog! [
back
]
š¦
Before you write me a comment
This is my personal blog, and I write for fun as a hobby.
I am not an āinfluencerā of any kind, nor do I want to be. I donāt even have adverts on this website! I shared my thoughts on this book to help
me
understand why
I
felt it was a bad book, and for anyone else out there who also felt the same way and felt a little bit crazy about it.
If you love this book
, then I am very happy for you. I am glad that you enjoyed it and it helped you, and the millions of others who love it too!
You do not need to write a comment telling me that I am wrong in my personal opinion
because I didnāt like the book. We are just different people with different bodies, brains, life experiences and different tastes in books.
James Clear has millions of fans and a bestselling book that shows no signs of losing popularityā¦ he doesnāt need you defending him on my little blog.
Atomic Habits
currently has
4.33 average out of 5 Stars on Goodreads
from 1.1 million ratings. Itās doing more than fine, my opinion is the minority!
+76 |
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Posted in[Book Reviews](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/category/books/book-reviews/) [Life](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/category/life/)
# My Problem with Atomic Habits by James Clear
Posted by  By [Alice](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/author/alice_digest-2/ "View all posts by Alice")
July 2, 2023
[36 Comments](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comments)
> **š** *Atomic Habits* has **a couple** of useful ideas but it is a mess of a book, and long-term it has not transformed my life\!
I read ***Atomic Habits*** at the end of last year and Iāve been meaning to talk about it for a while. Itās lived at the back of my mind since I did read it and not necessarily in a good way, itās more of *an irritation* I canāt shake. The podcast [*If Books Could Kill*](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2040953/13042014-atomic-habits "If Books Could Kill podcast episode on Atomic Habits") just dropped an episode on it, which has prompted me to finally write out my thoughts on this.
I had a general awareness that this books exists from seeing it in Waterstoneās displays. I think I had picked it up to read its back cover, and then put it down and forgot all about it. Then last year I started watching video tutorials on note-taking using Obsidian.mb, it seemed like *everybody* had read this thing, and my curiosity was piqued! \[[1](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#youtubers "1")\]
At the time I really wanted to make more time in my day to work on writing and blogging. As an adult person with a full-time job it is very hard to find time in the day for maintaining a clean house, garden, relationships, eating healthy, exercise, and sleep; never mind for anything else. I thought maybe if I could get a bit more structured routine into my week I can carve out some more āfreeā time for creativity.
The **Good Habit** I need is to do my workouts in the morning before work. After work just does not work for me ā Iām too tired and hungry, and I just want to do something I enjoy. I also find (once I get going) that I have more energy for cardio first thing, and it makes me feel a lot better during the day.
Iāve been getting stuck in the **Bad Habit** of not getting out of bed when my alarm wakes me up, and staying there either scrolling on my phone or ā honestly *just daydreaming* ā until about 5 minutes before Iām to log on for work! Iād still go for a walk at lunchtime and after work (weather permitting) but not doing strength and cardio workouts leaves me feeling grotty and stiff (and also see: [Reasons Why I Should Get Up & Do Some Exercise](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/reasons-why-i-should-get-up-do-some-exercise/ "Reasons Why I Should Get Up & Do Some Exercise")).
I have struggled with this since I started working from home in 2020, and this got worse after I bought my own place and moving house really blew my routine apart. (And Iāve since moved house a second time!).
With that in mind, I thought Iād give *Atomic Habits* a try to see if it held up to the hype, and whether it might actually help motivate me to get the fuck up out of bed and work on my fitness.
[Click here to just skip to my notes on everything you could learn from this book\!](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#4laws)
## What are Atomic Habits?
It is a bit of a confusing title. āAtomicā here means lots of small parts that add up to a powerful whole. James Clearās thesis is that building lots of small positive habits into your day will over time transform your life. There seems to be an internet trend in the productivity sphere of describing things as āAtomicā ā e.g. ā[Atomic Essays](https://www.ship30for30.com/post/how-to-write-an-atomic-essay-a-beginners-guide. "Atomic Essays")ā etc. So I guess it would make sense to you if youāre already in that space (or are better at science than me!).
## Who is James Clear?
James Clear is not actually an expert qualified in anything. He is just an American man on the internet. He has [a blog and a newsletter](https://jamesclear.com/about "a blog and a newsletter"), which became very popular (this is his big brag). He has styled himself as āan expert on habits and decision makingā[1](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#a44d1ac2-5413-4ac4-bd45-a4b03cba5da0) ā¦but *what does that actually mean*? Definitely not that he knows how to write a decent book\!
In the opener of the book he describes himself as a hyper-organised, disciplined person who finds it easy to build good habits. This blew my mind because how would someone *whoās brain just works like* ā who **hasnāt had to *try*** ā be able to help someone like me, who has never been able to long-term stick to a routine of good habits?
> While my peers stayed up late and played video games, I built good sleep habits and went to bed early each night. In the messy world of a college dorm, I made a point to keep my room neat and tidy.
>
> Mate, if you were this organised u003cemu003eat universityu003c/emu003e then you have no idea of the struggle\!
The fact that he thinks *this* qualifies him to dispense advice on the topic set off some alarm bells right away that this man was about to tell me to *just do what he does* and not understand why I find that difficult. *Iām more interested to hear from a naturally disorganised person* \[[2](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#messy "2")\] that has found a way to keep a good routine for at least a year! I feel that would be a more qualified person to give me advice.
He also opens the book with an anecdote about getting hit in the face with a baseball, which is completely irrelevant to anything to do with habits or his qualifications as an expert. It was confusing. I guess it is just the one sort of interesting thing about him?
## Why is this a book?
It reads like a blog post ā or a newsletter ā which is exactly what it started out as.
This is so clearly written by a male person (more on this) who, as weāve read *by his own admission*, has never struggled with building good habits. The writing is cold, robotic, and insanely repetitive. It is full of meaningless charts, and the entire contents of it could be summed up in half a page. But then thatās my beef with almost all self-help books\!
He also *repeatedly* ā ***relentlessly*** ā tries to direct you to his damn website to give him your email address to download more pointless materials (16 times he directs you to atomichabits.com). I found this very off-putting and gave me the vague feeling that Iām being treated like an idiot, and that this is a scam.
u003cemu003eJust think about this chart for a minute and youāll realise how stupid it is. u003cstrongu003eWhat skill gets 37 better over a year?u003c/strongu003e How the hell would you quantify that?u003c/emu003e
## Are Atomic Habits useful?
There are **some useful ideas** here, but again ā *this does not need to be a full book*. Itās a blog post at most. There are not a whole bookās worth of useful ideas, so the rest is padded with nonsense or at best, pseudoscience.
The examples he uses to support his theories are often misrepresented to fit his narrative or based on nothing but anecdotes (and in one case an anecdote of an anecdote). He also frequently cites Twitter and Reddit threads as sources! Reading Reddit posts is not research in my book, certainly not in a published book I find prominently featured in every bookshop Iāve been in in the last few years. \[[3](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#citation "3")\]
Another problem with this book is that it conflates many things that are very different as equal habits with the same simple solutions. Examples he uses include binge eating junk food, looking at social media, weight training, voting, reading, learning a language, praising your employees, making your bed, chewing fingernails etc as being on the same level. Some of these are lifestyle choices, some are down to personality, some are compulsive habits, and some are psychological disorders. They do not all have the same solution.
He has some worthy observations about building good routines and habits, but in trying to stretch that idea out into a book and apply it to all areas of life, he loses clarity, and everything gets really muddled. Again, this is because he hasnāt really done hard research to test his theories, he is not an expert in psychology ā he is just a guy dispensing advice based on some articles, social media posts and a couple of books heās read.
### James Clearās Four Laws
The whole book centres on James Clearās 4 Laws. **That is the sum total of this book**, it is all you need to know.
1. Make it **obvious** (*cue*)
- Stack your habits to be triggered by time/location/action and stack to follow each other
2. Make it **attractive** (*craving*)
- bundle good habits with things you want to do (rewards)
3. Make it **easy** (*response*)
- Build an environment where it is easy to do good habits and difficult to do bad ones
- Habits should be small, less than 2 minutes
4. Make it **satisfying** (*reward*)
- Habit trackers to give yourself evidence of progress
Here is an infographic I made after I first read this book. It takes a bit of scrolling, so you can [click here to skip past it\!](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#stacking "Click her to skip past it!")
Infographic I made for fun after I first read the book.
### Build a routine by chaining good habits
The main useful idea I got from this book was to **cue habits**, or what he called ā*Habit Stacking*.ā That is stringing together actions in your routine so that **one good habit follows another**. I also find it helpful to think about each step in this string and its own small, individual and *easy-to-do* habit.
For example ā
1. My alarm clock on the other side of the room goes off at 7am.
2. This triggers me to have to get up out of bed to turn it off.
3. That is then my cue to go to the bathroom for my morning pee.
4. After peeing and washing my hands at the sink I immediately brush my teeth.
5. Then I put some music on my phone while I put on my gym clothes because that helps me get in the mood to exercise.
6. Gym clothes on are my cue to go to and get out my exercise mat.
7. Once Iām on my exercise mat I then do a workout.
I did find this **framework** to be a useful way to think about my routine, and it helped me, for a time ā at least up to number four and getting my teeth brushed! I have consistently been brushing my teeth every morning now I trained myself to automatically do it first thing after peeing instead of having to remember to do it after eating breakfast. Before, because now working from home, I eat breakfast at my desk, Iād sometimes forget to brush them until much later in the day ā *gross, I know*! \[[4](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#teeth "4")\]
Numbers 5-7, require more effort and motivation, also worked ***but for only a few weeks*** and this is where I start to have some issues with his advice.
## The hormone rollercoaster
I say that it is clear this book was written by a male (or, more accurately, *someone who doesnāt experience a menstrual cycle*) because so many of his examples for habits centre on food and exercise and emphasise that these must be **daily and consistent**.
His big tip for āMake it satisfyingā is to keep habit trackers and ādonāt break the chainā of success. Thatās fine for simple actions things like brushing your teeth in the morning, but this is less useful for a lot of other habits that rely on my complex physical or mental effort.
If you have a **menstrual cycle** then your need for food, your focus, and your energy levels are going to fluctuate every few weeks. Itās not always going to be possible ā or even healthy for you ā to keep the same strict routine.
In my case, I find my energy plummets right around my period, and Iāve learned it is not a good idea for me to be getting up and doing cardio every day when I feel like that because Iāll just end up exhausted for the next week. Thanks to what I learned reading [Period Power](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/review-period-power-by-maisie-hill-changed-my-life/ "Review: Period Power by Maisie Hill Changed My Life"), I have proven now it is much better for me if I take the 3ish days Iām bone tired to actually lean into that fatigue and fully take a break from absolutely everything that I feasibly can (exercise, chores, *thinking\!*). If I do that my energy snaps back much faster.
If Iām keeping a habit tracker of my morning workouts and only rewarding myself for not ābreaking the chainā then every 28-ish days when I have to give my body a break Iām going to ruin my streak and feel like crap about that (on top of all the other self-esteem issues in the hormone soup).
The fluctuations in my hormones with my energy, mood and focus every cycle are a large reason **why I find keeping routines difficult**. I never seem to be able to keep regular routines for things like exercise, or honestly *even keeping habit trackers*! \[[5](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#tracker "5")\] ā going consistently for more than about a month because *hormones change my motivations* so much. James canāt help me with that, and he has no idea what thatās like (based on the contents of his book at least).
I actually read [*Period Power*](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/review-period-power-by-maisie-hill-changed-my-life/ "Review: Period Power by Maisie Hill Changed My Life") after I read *Atomic Habit*s, so I have since been working on my cycle tracker and try to lean into what my body and brain want in the different phases of my cycle (see [my review of Period Power](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/review-period-power-by-maisie-hill-changed-my-life/ "Review: Period Power by Maisie Hill Changed My Life") for more information about that). This has meant Iāve been feeling generally happier and healthier, but Iām yet to work out how I rebuild my morning routine after my last house move\!
### Caution if you have an eating disorder
James has some irresponsible advice on food and diet (losing weight, getting fit, building muscle), which definitely could be triggering for anyone with an eating disorder. He actually encourages you to hyper-focus on your eating, keep food and weight logs and concentrate on feeling bad about binges (as if binge eaters donāt find it distressing). \[[6](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#food "6")\]
*Edit: Iāve realised in **Jan 2024** that I think the big reason this book has irritated me so much is that while it isnāt and it doesnāt pretend to be about exercising (though he uses plenty of examples about this) it buys into the most unhelpful of fitness and diet culture messaging ā that no pain, no gain, all or nothing kind of mindset. I was looking for something that actually helps me form habits so I get the true benefits of exercise, without the guilt and shame that fitness culture pushes on me, which just leads to being stuck in an unproductive all-or-nothing cycle. Anyway, wrote about that here: [Exercise should be fun](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/health/exercise-should-be-fun/).*
*Edit: **March 2025** I have since ācracked the codeā on how to motivate myself and keep better habits, specifically when it comes to exercise, and I will write up a follow-up whenever I can find the time (so donāt hold your breath!)*.
## So, who is *Atomic Habits* for?
If you are a person like James who has a lot of self-discipline and finds personal organisation itself rewarding, then youāll probably like this book, but you also likely wonāt *need* it because this stuff comes easily to you.
People who might need genuine help with building better habits in their lives are likely to struggle to find anything that is long-term useful here. Like all mass-market self-help books, it is too vague and is unlikely to offer you the specific individual advice that would make a difference.
My two takeaways from it were to **make habits small and easy** and to **stack them to make a routine**. Neither of these things are really new or earth-shatteringly original advice. Iāve always known I have to make things seem easy and comfortable for me to do them, and there are some areas (like writing this blog) that I need to work on making easier for myself! \[[7](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#blog "7")\] Reading this was maybe a nice reminder placed in a new framework, but I didnāt need a whole book to get there.
At the end of the day ā as long as you do not have an eating disorder, this book isnāt going to hurt you other than wasting your money and the time itāll take to read it. I have already told you all you need to know about how Atomic Habits work, so you can take that framework and see if you can apply it to help you with a routine in your life that you might need help with.
I just hate these lazy ābooksā that are just extended blog posts with no research and fucking citations from social media! They just treat readers like idiots, and *I feel stupider* for having read it.
***
**Update April 2026**: [Iāve shared updated thoughts on building good habits, sticking to exercise routines and motivation.](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/thoughts-on-habits-exercise-and-motivation/)
***
## Footnotes
1. He calls himself an expert and asks people to pay him money for his supposed expertise (including buying this book), so I donāt know why people keep telling me he doesnāt claim to be an expertā¦ https://jamesclear.com/about [ā©ļø](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#a44d1ac2-5413-4ac4-bd45-a4b03cba5da0-link)
\[1\] My favourite Obsidian YouTubers are [From Sergio](https://www.youtube.com/@FromSergio "From Sergio") and [Nicole van der Hoeven](https://www.youtube.com/@nicolevdh "Nicole van der Hoeven") \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#1 "back")\]
\[2\] Iām not really disorganised, Iām more *inconsistently* organised. My bursts of organisation only last a few weeks. \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#2 "back")\]
\[3\] *[If Books Could Kill](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2040953/13042014-atomic-habits " If Books Could Kill")* go into this more, but my favourite example is a story he uses about how homes with energy meters in prominent locations within the home were more likely to conserve energy. According to Peterās research for the podcast āThe source for that is a book from 2015 where the author wrote that she was told the story at a conference in 1973.ā \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#3)\]
\[4\] Iāve read a few articles that say the whole brush before or after eating breakfast debate doesnāt really matter, itās more important that you *actually do brush*! Brushing before food in the morning protect your teeth from the food and drink you have for breakfast. e.g. [see this advice on a dental centre website](https://www.hollandparkdental.co.uk/when-to-brush-your-teeth/ "see this advice on a dental center website"). \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#4 "back")\]
\[5\] See all my abandoned Bullet Journals and more recently abandoned Obsidian vault of daily notes! \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#5 "back")\]
\[6\] Jamesās advice on compulsive behaviour and binge eating, quote: āIf you eat a chocolate bar every morning, acknowledge it, almost as if you were watching someone else. *Oh, how interesting that they would do such a thing.* If you binge-eat, simply notice that you are eating more calories than you should. If you waste time online, notice that you are spending your life in a way that you do not want to.ā .. Dude, that is awful advice. \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#6)\]
\[7\] You may notice my non-existing posting schedule. I do have [a new plan](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/just-do-the-thing/ "Just do the thing") to try to get me going again with the blog! \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#7 "back")\]
***
## š¦ **Before you write me a comment**
- **This is my personal blog, and I write for fun as a hobby.** I am not an āinfluencerā of any kind, nor do I want to be. I donāt even have adverts on this website! I shared my thoughts on this book to help **me** understand why **I** felt it was a bad book, and for anyone else out there who also felt the same way and felt a little bit crazy about it.
- **If you love this book**, then I am very happy for you. I am glad that you enjoyed it and it helped you, and the millions of others who love it too! **You do not need to write a comment telling me that I am wrong in my personal opinion** because I didnāt like the book. We are just different people with different bodies, brains, life experiences and different tastes in books.
- James Clear has millions of fans and a bestselling book that shows no signs of losing popularityā¦ he doesnāt need you defending him on my little blog. *Atomic Habits* currently has [4\.33 average out of 5 Stars on Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40121378-atomic-habits) from 1.1 million ratings. Itās doing more than fine, my opinion is the minority\!
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Last updated on April 2, 2026
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### 36 Comments
1. 
[A.S. Akkalon](https://www.asakkalon.com/)
July 8, 2023,
[7:15 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-84)
I read this book too and, like you, was decidedly underwhelmed. I probably took away the same four points you did, but I wasnāt excited enough about them to make a cool infographic. š
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[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
July 8, 2023,
[7:45 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-85)
I was actually more excited at the time about playing around with Canva than the content of this book haha
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- 
Neeru
January 12, 2025,
[3:46 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1406)
Hi Alice,
I have just finished reading āAtomic habitsā and not sure what to make of it, I googled how many copies it had sold. It had sold many millions and had been translated into several different languages for sale all around the world! This left me somewhat deflated as I did not feel like it was either the ārip roaring readā nor the life changing advice I would expect from such a best seller.
It wasnāt bad, there were moments I could relate to, I understood the structure and have taken away a few ideas to resolve the bad habit I came to the book with. (Going to bed late ) . Only time will tell if this works for me.
I work in medical science so naturally I flipped to the back pages to see which resources had been used and was like you surprised that a good number of the references were from various places on the Internet such as blogs and newsletters. Other quotes had been randomly selected from various books . Which led me to question the claim that the book was entirely led by research..
Iām not trashing the book at all, but I was incredibly relieved to come across your post soon after to see that I was not alone and some of my thinking
Thanks
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2. 
Rebecca
February 5, 2024,
[2:50 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-419)
My husband often quotes this book, as if having some kind of elevated knowledge on the subject, but practices literally ZERO of the ideas from the book. It is irritating. It serves him as a tool to impart some superior knowledge whilst simultaniously protecting his inconsistent self image.
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3. 
J
February 8, 2024,
[2:46 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-421)
do you have any thoughts or recommendations on more nuanced explorations on this topic? I found your criticism helpful so Iām curious if youāve found some resources that resonated more for you.
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-  A
[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
February 10, 2024,
[3:24 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-424)
Hi J! Great question, thanks! Iām not sure how helpful I can be because this is all still something Iām working on, but Iāll share where I am right now\!
Iām using an app called Habitica which lets you create a little avatar for yourself and āgameifyā your life, so you can set your own habits, to dos, goals etc and get in app XP and level up. Itās only been a month so I am still riding on novelty and trying to work out the best way to set up what I want to track and reward myself for, but I like it. Iāve stuck at it longer than I ever have any kind of habit-tracking log before, apparently treating myself like a videogame character resonates more than a row of checked boxes\!
I like that that puts me in control and makes it super easy to adjust my approach, and allows you to āpauseā negative effects if youāre ill or on holiday or something else is taking you out of regular life.
I plan to share about that again soon, life has just been a bit chaotic lately.
Iāve been learning more about shame and guilt recently, especially around things like exercise ([I shared a post the other week](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/health/exercise-should-be-fun/) and I am reading one of Brene Brownās books at the moment). I think I get demotivated by those feelings, so Iām trying to create a softer āsomething is better than nothingā approach to getting myself into a comfortable āmovementā habit and kind of give myself small easily achievable daily goals, with stretch goals for extra rewards in Habitica. Trying to ease myself in to avoid an all-or-nothing mindset trap.
I need to work through my own mental and physical levels rather than try to go from level 1 to 10 in one go, failing and then feeling terrible about myself until I retry the same cycle.
I guess its about understand yourself and what type of motivation feeds you. As I say Iām very (always) āin progressā on this topic but I am trying to share more on it as a I try things out.
I would like to do a bit of research into the topic of motivation, I think there is a lot of unhelpful āproductivityā stuff out there to weed through\!
If you find anything useful I would also be curious for you to share\!
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4. 
sabrina
February 21, 2024,
[8:18 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-442)
Hi, since you might be interested in something more scientific, did you try the book āgood habits, bad habitsā from Wendy Wood? I read it a long time ago, and I do not recall all the details. Might be also a bit repetitive but at least it is backed up by research.
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-  A
[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
February 21, 2024,
[9:34 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-443)
That does sound interesting! I would definitely like more research based advice than what Atomic Habits had to offer. Thank you š
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5. 
Margi Currey
February 25, 2024,
[7:00 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-444)
Yes, Obviously James Clear hasnāt experienced Menopause or have an Autoimmune Disease like myself.
I was once extremely driven & motivated. Every morning I would bound out of bed & head to the gym, I did this for orotund 30years. I saw amazing results which made me eat a disciplined, healthy diet. Then, COVID, Menopause & an Autoimmune Disease hit me.I was totally fatigued & started to struggle.
Weight gain happened, but I would push myself through it.
What used to work, just stopped working. I find it disheartening & disappointing when people say āJust keep goingā, results will happen!!!!\!
Iām not a negative person, have always looked at the Positive, however, I am a realist. Only thing Iām getting from this book is anger. I feel this book is more aimed at people who have not had motivation in the past!!!!!!!\!
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-  A
[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
February 25, 2024,
[8:54 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-445)
Hi Margi! Iām sorry to hear youāre struggling. I am also (a year later!) still irritated by the book for reasons that I still struggle to articulate but I think a lot of it is that he slips over any nuance in the reasons why one might struggle with forming good habits (because he has never struggled seemingly) and at the end of the day boils down that the unhelpful āall or nothingā type attitude that does not work for me, and gets me in a cycle of trying, failing and feeling bad about myself.
This particularly tough when it comes to exercise and weight gain, when we already get bombarded with those messages from fitness and diet culture (which James seems to wholeheartedly buy into), and shame over how our bodies look and whether we are āmaking the effortā means to look thin.
And we will have different priorities, time restraints, energy levels and health concerns at the different times in our lives. It is not realistic that one thing will work forever. Especially if you have changing female hormones, and/or an autoimmune disease.
Over the last couple of weeks Iāve been thinking more about the idea of āintuitive movementā and trying to let go of the messages from fitness culture. This means learning to listen to what your body wants and allowing yourself to adjust your exercises routines. Letting go of the idea that exercise is for weight loss when it has so many other benefits. Learning to recognise that any movement can count as exercise to help release unhelpful guilt or shame over ānot doing enoughā ā hoovering, gardening, scrubbing the shower etc are all things that can get your heart rate up. Something is always better than nothing.
Perhaps looking into that might help you if youāre suffering with fatigue?
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6. 
[Alla](https://www.moonheartdoula.com/)
October 3, 2024,
[12:00 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1104)
Hi, I found this blog post by accident being disappointed at the fact that I couldnāt get Atomic Habits from my library because the line is few weeks long. Iāve read it before and struggle to remember what I liked about it ā hence me trying to listen to it again.
I decided to comment not so much about that book but your desire to find other ways to move. I Highly recommend Katie Bowman books! She is amazing and fun. She will make you look at moving and movement in a new way. Try Move your DNA.
Best wishes
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-  A
[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
October 3, 2024,
[5:54 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1107)
I really appreciate the recommendation, I just looked Katie Bowman up and Iāll check out her podcast! Thank you\!
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7. 
Dr Gary Bradley
October 12, 2024,
[12:08 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1128)
Yup. Itās pseudoscientific misinformation. Iām a psychologist.
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8. 
Iswarya
October 13, 2024,
[12:14 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1135)
THIS! As I was reading each paragraph, I was internally screaming āOMG YESā!!! I struggle in the exact same way you described and for years, I hated myself because of books like this ā I seriously thought there was something wrong with me for struggling to be consistent (and even sought therapy to āfixā myself)! Until one day I happened to notice that my moods & energy levels would vary significantly across my menstrual cycle ā and have actually been that way since puberty hit. I took similar approach as you describe (embracing āsomething better than nothingā, not being bothered with schedules & streaks, giving myself grace to actually take a break for a few days and getting back to things) and I have been so much happier since. Honestly! I completely agree with your assessment of this book.
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[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
October 13, 2024,
[7:46 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1137)
Hi Ishwarya, thanks for commenting! Yes, itās been good to learn Iām not the only one! Iād recommend reading more about your menstrual cycle if you havenāt already, I found Period Power helped me feel more productive than Atomic Habits did, not to mention more comfortable in myself\!
Itās kind of blown my mind how overlooked the hormonal cycle has been for women, I never got taught how it could make me feel day to day, week to week\!
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9. 
Tri
November 23, 2024,
[2:12 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1263)
I read this book a few years back and I thought it was great. Now, years later, I still think itās a good book. I donāt think it has been life changing for me but I see the book more as conceptual rather than prescriptive. By understanding the mechanism ā the 4 laws we can undo the bad habits which has been effective for me. But that means a rock-solid system and environment which is easier said than done. This comes easier for a very structured person as you say. On the other side of the goal-system spectrum is āThe One Thingā which might be easier for the average person.
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[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
November 23, 2024,
[8:18 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1264)
It definitely works for some people but absolutely the people I know that praise it are exactly the people that love to have routine and structure\!
Iām still struggling with my environment, I did well when I lived alone but living with another person (and cats) it is a lot more difficult.
I think Iād also be terrible with The One Thing, I have too many things I want to do and which one is my current focus changes monthly! I think thatās also why habit trackers and rewards never seem to work for me for very long.
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10. 
Annie
December 30, 2024,
[5:52 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1355)
Iām currently on a 7 hour train ride to NYC to close out a truly difficult year and start a new one on a stronger foot. I thought reading this book would give me some helpful tools, but holy hell its only ignited rage. I wonāt go on about all that I find problematic. However, I will praise you for calling out how damaging this is not only for those struggling with an ED, but it quite likely contribute to someone e gaging in behaviors to start one. Iām on a mission to dismantle weight based discrimination and black and white thinking about weight, exercise, food and more. Weāre worried about DEI books in our schools yet allow messages like this to be main stream??!! My heart hurts. Alice, Iām a new follower and fan of yours. Thank you\!
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[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
December 30, 2024,
[6:16 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1356)
Thank you for taking the time to comment Annie, I hope your train ride is going smoothly\!
Iām always gratified when someone else (I have to say usually women!) has this reaction to Atomic Habits! Itās taken me nearly two years at this point to pin point exactly why this book pissed me off so much ā beyond the blindly obvious ED triggers! (FFS James!). Obviously itās not a diet book, yet itās still full of this āall nothingā diet culture bullshit that gets you stuck in failure loops.
I still feel mildly enraged when I see it in bookshop displays\!
Highly recommend the If Books Could Kill podcast in general, but especially this episode.
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11. Pingback: [Atomic Habits: Does James Clearās Method Really Transform Lives? ā bookishinsights.com](https://bookishinsights.com/atomic-habits-does-james-clears-method-really-transform-lives/)
12. 
Tom
February 10, 2025,
[9:34 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1489)
I am a trained astrologer. I love looking at famous peoples charts. A while back I looked at both James Clearās chart, Tim Ferris, and also Steven Pressfield. They all have the perfect charts for discipline, order, granular details and nuclear all day focus. Like most teachers, they are only teaching from their experience and point of view. As someone who has spent a lifetime struggling with concentration I am with you on this one. Over time Iāve managed to find my own way, based on how Iām wired up. But itās been a brutal journey.
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13. 
Kasra
February 12, 2025,
[12:04 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1494)
I cant say ive had menstrual cycles, but I agree with this post. Bad habits talks about designing systems, but issues like its weird delayed gratification aspects and its obsession with habit trackers (as you mentioned) only work if you already have the willpower to commit to it, and are also prone to overplanning (especially for those with executive functioning issues like people with ADHD). Itās funny because he actively goes against his core 4 values (which are not bad) and drifts into another weird LinkedIn bro thing that works for the people who have the luxury to be able to orient their whole thing around āself disciplineā without extravagant factors (as you said, periods etc).
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14. 
Joelle Prophete
February 19, 2025,
[8:15 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1518)
Hi\!
I was looking for reviews because I was planning on buying Atomic Habits and I am glad I found yours. I have two suggestions š If you havenāt read The Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg thatās a really good read. The main idea is similar to what you highlighted in your infographic but he goes into a lot of details about how habits are formed and how you can create and change habits. the author is a journalist and he did a lot of research, there are tons of good references. My second suggestion is Procrastination, Why You Do It and What to do about it. Thatās also a really great book that goes into the psychology of why we donāt do the things we know we should do and how we can fix it. I hope these are helpful\!
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[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
February 23, 2025,
[10:30 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1528)
Hi Joelle,
Thanks for the recommendations ā Iāve had a few people have mentioned both of those books to me. Maybe one day Iāll get around to them\!
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15. 
TJ (Aus)
February 22, 2025,
[6:27 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1524)
I regret buying this book. I read 3 pages and my bullshit detector screamed. The intro pages is classic I got smashed in the face and recovered overnight, so can you\!
I proceed to try and find a new story or anything about this incident and all that comes up are his interviews. Nothing more. I then your review, which I feel is on point.
This guy comes across as unrelatable alpha bro who jaw maxes! Do not want! And this is as a white male albeit a non-neurotypical white male.
So I think I will skip on this brain rot of a book.
Cheers,
TJ
P.S. using hide my email to avoid spam ^\_^
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-  A
[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
February 23, 2025,
[10:29 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1527)
Haha yes that is the experience I had! I still donāt understand the relevance of that anecdote\!
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- 
John
April 25, 2025,
[10:03 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1671)
But he didnāt recover overnight, It took him years to recover from his injury and get back to baseball. thatās the whole point of the this book. You donāt have to start big, you donāt have to get back to it overnight. You have to prioritize consistency over intensity and start small.
I donāt think this guy comes of as an āalpha broā. Donāt know why you would think that. He actually encourages the reader to not go too hard on themselves in the beginning.(as thatās why most people donāt stick to their habits)
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16. 
asdf
March 21, 2025,
[2:24 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1608)
Men self-help book:
You have to..
Women self-help book:
You deserve..
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\+5
17. 
Jeff
March 22, 2025,
[12:20 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1613)
Not so much a comment on the review, but in support of what Iām sure is a shared love of words and meaningā¦ forgive me for noting that itās āpiquedā, not āpeakedā. Thank you and thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book. Iām looking to pick up a few titles on Audible and gathering opinions.
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-  A
[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
March 23, 2025,
[5:24 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1616)
Thanks Jeff, thatās one of those words I always get caught on\!
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18. 
ECS
April 9, 2025,
[7:19 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1635)
I started reading this book and almost immediately was underwhelmed, so I did a search which landed me here. Iām so grateful it did because you saved me the tedium of actually reading the book, and distilled the vague āehhhā I couldnāt put my finger on.
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19. 
DebB
May 13, 2025,
[4:41 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1721)
Your blurb on this site reads: āThese are just my personal thoughts and feelings. I am not an expert in anythingā and yet your criticize someone else for not being an expert. Is it because his lack of credentialed expertise hasnāt stopped people from applying the precepts and experiencing results. It didnāt work for you. You seem a little peeved that it did for others.
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-  A
[Alice](http://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/)
May 13, 2025,
[6:48 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1722)
Hi Deb, Iām not presenting myself as an expert, publishing any self-help books or charging money people for my uneducated opinions. I donāt even have ads on my blog. Like any review these are just my thoughts after reading the book.
You clearly enjoyed the book which is wonderful, it seems millions of other people agree with you! I had a different experience with it.
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20. 
Andy
May 20, 2025,
[1:35 pm](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1748)
I finished this book 3 months back and have consistently have lost weight and maintained sleep hours each week, so the book definitely helped. Your review provided some good considerations on menstrual cycles and disorders that Iāll keep in mind when recommending the book. Although, I found your blogpost and the If Books Could Kill podcast (the first 10 minutes that I could bring myself to listen to at least) came off as quite cynical in their interpretation of certain parts of the book.
While itās true that James has no credential in, say, psychology, he does not try to pass off as one. All the info from this book was made clear, from introduction, to either be his own experience or information he has found useful. One does not need a degree to share these things. Itās also unreasonable hold someoneās shared experience on the same level of accountability as a scientific work imo, especially when he already prefaced the book as such.
Criticisms of inconsideration for hormone cycles and ED did not take into consideration previous steps of the system/book (1st law) where the first thing readers are suggested to do is list and rate habits (as good/neutral/bad). The discretion of what is bad is up to the readers. Although using eating and exercise as examples is insensitive.
Saying this is a book for already organized people is also something I disagree with as someone who leaves his dried laundry in a basket on the floor for a week before putting them in the cabinet. Your claim that he hadnāt had to try was based on the excerpt āWhile my peers stayed up late and played video games, I built good sleep habits and went to bed early each night.ā which was a description of the effort he made, not an affirmation of his character (given the point of this book, why would it be). Tips like recording your progress, making things noticeable, and accessible would make no sense if you are already good at organization.
I say these things mostly to provide another interpretation for people to gain something out of this book more than anything else. Though to be honest the tone of that podcast did get under my skin quite a bit.
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21. 
Shoaib
July 30, 2025,
[5:47 am](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#comment-1935)
Hello Alice,
I canāt tell you how I laughed fit to burst after reading your very interesting, insightful (inciteful too! š
), and helpful review of the book āAtomic Habitsā by James Clear. I was going to read it but now know better where to get grooming advice from. I am going to bookmark your blog now, and intend to visit here every morning to get a dose of pick-me-up before I start a hectic day\!
Thanks for lifting my mood and spirit\!
Cheers,
Shoaib
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22. Pingback: [V.H. Belvadi ā Revisiting āAtomic Habitsā ā¢ (Venkatram Harish Belvadi)](https://vhbelvadi.com/revisiting-atomic-habits)
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| Readable Markdown | > **š** *Atomic Habits* has **a couple** of useful ideas but it is a mess of a book, and long-term it has not transformed my life\!
I read ***Atomic Habits*** at the end of last year and Iāve been meaning to talk about it for a while. Itās lived at the back of my mind since I did read it and not necessarily in a good way, itās more of *an irritation* I canāt shake. The podcast [*If Books Could Kill*](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2040953/13042014-atomic-habits "If Books Could Kill podcast episode on Atomic Habits") just dropped an episode on it, which has prompted me to finally write out my thoughts on this.
I had a general awareness that this books exists from seeing it in Waterstoneās displays. I think I had picked it up to read its back cover, and then put it down and forgot all about it. Then last year I started watching video tutorials on note-taking using Obsidian.mb, it seemed like *everybody* had read this thing, and my curiosity was piqued! \[[1](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#youtubers "1")\]
At the time I really wanted to make more time in my day to work on writing and blogging. As an adult person with a full-time job it is very hard to find time in the day for maintaining a clean house, garden, relationships, eating healthy, exercise, and sleep; never mind for anything else. I thought maybe if I could get a bit more structured routine into my week I can carve out some more āfreeā time for creativity.
The **Good Habit** I need is to do my workouts in the morning before work. After work just does not work for me ā Iām too tired and hungry, and I just want to do something I enjoy. I also find (once I get going) that I have more energy for cardio first thing, and it makes me feel a lot better during the day.
Iāve been getting stuck in the **Bad Habit** of not getting out of bed when my alarm wakes me up, and staying there either scrolling on my phone or ā honestly *just daydreaming* ā until about 5 minutes before Iām to log on for work! Iād still go for a walk at lunchtime and after work (weather permitting) but not doing strength and cardio workouts leaves me feeling grotty and stiff (and also see: [Reasons Why I Should Get Up & Do Some Exercise](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/reasons-why-i-should-get-up-do-some-exercise/ "Reasons Why I Should Get Up & Do Some Exercise")).
I have struggled with this since I started working from home in 2020, and this got worse after I bought my own place and moving house really blew my routine apart. (And Iāve since moved house a second time!).
With that in mind, I thought Iād give *Atomic Habits* a try to see if it held up to the hype, and whether it might actually help motivate me to get the fuck up out of bed and work on my fitness.
[Click here to just skip to my notes on everything you could learn from this book\!](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#4laws)
## What are Atomic Habits?
It is a bit of a confusing title. āAtomicā here means lots of small parts that add up to a powerful whole. James Clearās thesis is that building lots of small positive habits into your day will over time transform your life. There seems to be an internet trend in the productivity sphere of describing things as āAtomicā ā e.g. ā[Atomic Essays](https://www.ship30for30.com/post/how-to-write-an-atomic-essay-a-beginners-guide. "Atomic Essays")ā etc. So I guess it would make sense to you if youāre already in that space (or are better at science than me!).
## Who is James Clear?
James Clear is not actually an expert qualified in anything. He is just an American man on the internet. He has [a blog and a newsletter](https://jamesclear.com/about "a blog and a newsletter"), which became very popular (this is his big brag). He has styled himself as āan expert on habits and decision makingā[1](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#a44d1ac2-5413-4ac4-bd45-a4b03cba5da0) ā¦but *what does that actually mean*? Definitely not that he knows how to write a decent book\!
In the opener of the book he describes himself as a hyper-organised, disciplined person who finds it easy to build good habits. This blew my mind because how would someone *whoās brain just works like* ā who **hasnāt had to *try*** ā be able to help someone like me, who has never been able to long-term stick to a routine of good habits?
> While my peers stayed up late and played video games, I built good sleep habits and went to bed early each night. In the messy world of a college dorm, I made a point to keep my room neat and tidy.
The fact that he thinks *this* qualifies him to dispense advice on the topic set off some alarm bells right away that this man was about to tell me to *just do what he does* and not understand why I find that difficult. *Iām more interested to hear from a naturally disorganised person* \[[2](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#messy "2")\] that has found a way to keep a good routine for at least a year! I feel that would be a more qualified person to give me advice.
He also opens the book with an anecdote about getting hit in the face with a baseball, which is completely irrelevant to anything to do with habits or his qualifications as an expert. It was confusing. I guess it is just the one sort of interesting thing about him?
## Why is this a book?
It reads like a blog post ā or a newsletter ā which is exactly what it started out as.
This is so clearly written by a male person (more on this) who, as weāve read *by his own admission*, has never struggled with building good habits. The writing is cold, robotic, and insanely repetitive. It is full of meaningless charts, and the entire contents of it could be summed up in half a page. But then thatās my beef with almost all self-help books\!
He also *repeatedly* ā ***relentlessly*** ā tries to direct you to his damn website to give him your email address to download more pointless materials (16 times he directs you to atomichabits.com). I found this very off-putting and gave me the vague feeling that Iām being treated like an idiot, and that this is a scam.
u003cemu003eJust think about this chart for a minute and youāll realise how stupid it is. u003cstrongu003eWhat skill gets 37 better over a year?u003c/strongu003e How the hell would you quantify that?u003c/emu003e
## Are Atomic Habits useful?
There are **some useful ideas** here, but again ā *this does not need to be a full book*. Itās a blog post at most. There are not a whole bookās worth of useful ideas, so the rest is padded with nonsense or at best, pseudoscience.
The examples he uses to support his theories are often misrepresented to fit his narrative or based on nothing but anecdotes (and in one case an anecdote of an anecdote). He also frequently cites Twitter and Reddit threads as sources! Reading Reddit posts is not research in my book, certainly not in a published book I find prominently featured in every bookshop Iāve been in in the last few years. \[[3](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#citation "3")\]
Another problem with this book is that it conflates many things that are very different as equal habits with the same simple solutions. Examples he uses include binge eating junk food, looking at social media, weight training, voting, reading, learning a language, praising your employees, making your bed, chewing fingernails etc as being on the same level. Some of these are lifestyle choices, some are down to personality, some are compulsive habits, and some are psychological disorders. They do not all have the same solution.
He has some worthy observations about building good routines and habits, but in trying to stretch that idea out into a book and apply it to all areas of life, he loses clarity, and everything gets really muddled. Again, this is because he hasnāt really done hard research to test his theories, he is not an expert in psychology ā he is just a guy dispensing advice based on some articles, social media posts and a couple of books heās read.
### James Clearās Four Laws
The whole book centres on James Clearās 4 Laws. **That is the sum total of this book**, it is all you need to know.
1. Make it **obvious** (*cue*)
- Stack your habits to be triggered by time/location/action and stack to follow each other
2. Make it **attractive** (*craving*)
- bundle good habits with things you want to do (rewards)
3. Make it **easy** (*response*)
- Build an environment where it is easy to do good habits and difficult to do bad ones
- Habits should be small, less than 2 minutes
4. Make it **satisfying** (*reward*)
- Habit trackers to give yourself evidence of progress
Here is an infographic I made after I first read this book. It takes a bit of scrolling, so you can [click here to skip past it\!](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#stacking "Click her to skip past it!")
Infographic I made for fun after I first read the book.
### Build a routine by chaining good habits
The main useful idea I got from this book was to **cue habits**, or what he called ā*Habit Stacking*.ā That is stringing together actions in your routine so that **one good habit follows another**. I also find it helpful to think about each step in this string and its own small, individual and *easy-to-do* habit.
For example ā
1. My alarm clock on the other side of the room goes off at 7am.
2. This triggers me to have to get up out of bed to turn it off.
3. That is then my cue to go to the bathroom for my morning pee.
4. After peeing and washing my hands at the sink I immediately brush my teeth.
5. Then I put some music on my phone while I put on my gym clothes because that helps me get in the mood to exercise.
6. Gym clothes on are my cue to go to and get out my exercise mat.
7. Once Iām on my exercise mat I then do a workout.
I did find this **framework** to be a useful way to think about my routine, and it helped me, for a time ā at least up to number four and getting my teeth brushed! I have consistently been brushing my teeth every morning now I trained myself to automatically do it first thing after peeing instead of having to remember to do it after eating breakfast. Before, because now working from home, I eat breakfast at my desk, Iād sometimes forget to brush them until much later in the day ā *gross, I know*! \[[4](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#teeth "4")\]
Numbers 5-7, require more effort and motivation, also worked ***but for only a few weeks*** and this is where I start to have some issues with his advice.
## The hormone rollercoaster
I say that it is clear this book was written by a male (or, more accurately, *someone who doesnāt experience a menstrual cycle*) because so many of his examples for habits centre on food and exercise and emphasise that these must be **daily and consistent**.
His big tip for āMake it satisfyingā is to keep habit trackers and ādonāt break the chainā of success. Thatās fine for simple actions things like brushing your teeth in the morning, but this is less useful for a lot of other habits that rely on my complex physical or mental effort.
If you have a **menstrual cycle** then your need for food, your focus, and your energy levels are going to fluctuate every few weeks. Itās not always going to be possible ā or even healthy for you ā to keep the same strict routine.
In my case, I find my energy plummets right around my period, and Iāve learned it is not a good idea for me to be getting up and doing cardio every day when I feel like that because Iāll just end up exhausted for the next week. Thanks to what I learned reading [Period Power](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/review-period-power-by-maisie-hill-changed-my-life/ "Review: Period Power by Maisie Hill Changed My Life"), I have proven now it is much better for me if I take the 3ish days Iām bone tired to actually lean into that fatigue and fully take a break from absolutely everything that I feasibly can (exercise, chores, *thinking\!*). If I do that my energy snaps back much faster.
If Iām keeping a habit tracker of my morning workouts and only rewarding myself for not ābreaking the chainā then every 28-ish days when I have to give my body a break Iām going to ruin my streak and feel like crap about that (on top of all the other self-esteem issues in the hormone soup).
The fluctuations in my hormones with my energy, mood and focus every cycle are a large reason **why I find keeping routines difficult**. I never seem to be able to keep regular routines for things like exercise, or honestly *even keeping habit trackers*! \[[5](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#tracker "5")\] ā going consistently for more than about a month because *hormones change my motivations* so much. James canāt help me with that, and he has no idea what thatās like (based on the contents of his book at least).
I actually read [*Period Power*](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/review-period-power-by-maisie-hill-changed-my-life/ "Review: Period Power by Maisie Hill Changed My Life") after I read *Atomic Habit*s, so I have since been working on my cycle tracker and try to lean into what my body and brain want in the different phases of my cycle (see [my review of Period Power](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/review-period-power-by-maisie-hill-changed-my-life/ "Review: Period Power by Maisie Hill Changed My Life") for more information about that). This has meant Iāve been feeling generally happier and healthier, but Iām yet to work out how I rebuild my morning routine after my last house move\!
### Caution if you have an eating disorder
James has some irresponsible advice on food and diet (losing weight, getting fit, building muscle), which definitely could be triggering for anyone with an eating disorder. He actually encourages you to hyper-focus on your eating, keep food and weight logs and concentrate on feeling bad about binges (as if binge eaters donāt find it distressing). \[[6](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#food "6")\]
*Edit: Iāve realised in **Jan 2024** that I think the big reason this book has irritated me so much is that while it isnāt and it doesnāt pretend to be about exercising (though he uses plenty of examples about this) it buys into the most unhelpful of fitness and diet culture messaging ā that no pain, no gain, all or nothing kind of mindset. I was looking for something that actually helps me form habits so I get the true benefits of exercise, without the guilt and shame that fitness culture pushes on me, which just leads to being stuck in an unproductive all-or-nothing cycle. Anyway, wrote about that here: [Exercise should be fun](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/health/exercise-should-be-fun/).*
*Edit: **March 2025** I have since ācracked the codeā on how to motivate myself and keep better habits, specifically when it comes to exercise, and I will write up a follow-up whenever I can find the time (so donāt hold your breath!)*.
## So, who is *Atomic Habits* for?
If you are a person like James who has a lot of self-discipline and finds personal organisation itself rewarding, then youāll probably like this book, but you also likely wonāt *need* it because this stuff comes easily to you.
People who might need genuine help with building better habits in their lives are likely to struggle to find anything that is long-term useful here. Like all mass-market self-help books, it is too vague and is unlikely to offer you the specific individual advice that would make a difference.
My two takeaways from it were to **make habits small and easy** and to **stack them to make a routine**. Neither of these things are really new or earth-shatteringly original advice. Iāve always known I have to make things seem easy and comfortable for me to do them, and there are some areas (like writing this blog) that I need to work on making easier for myself! \[[7](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#blog "7")\] Reading this was maybe a nice reminder placed in a new framework, but I didnāt need a whole book to get there.
At the end of the day ā as long as you do not have an eating disorder, this book isnāt going to hurt you other than wasting your money and the time itāll take to read it. I have already told you all you need to know about how Atomic Habits work, so you can take that framework and see if you can apply it to help you with a routine in your life that you might need help with.
I just hate these lazy ābooksā that are just extended blog posts with no research and fucking citations from social media! They just treat readers like idiots, and *I feel stupider* for having read it.
***
**Update April 2026**: [Iāve shared updated thoughts on building good habits, sticking to exercise routines and motivation.](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/thoughts-on-habits-exercise-and-motivation/)
***
## Footnotes
1. He calls himself an expert and asks people to pay him money for his supposed expertise (including buying this book), so I donāt know why people keep telling me he doesnāt claim to be an expertā¦ https://jamesclear.com/about [ā©ļø](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#a44d1ac2-5413-4ac4-bd45-a4b03cba5da0-link)
\[1\] My favourite Obsidian YouTubers are [From Sergio](https://www.youtube.com/@FromSergio "From Sergio") and [Nicole van der Hoeven](https://www.youtube.com/@nicolevdh "Nicole van der Hoeven") \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#1 "back")\]
\[2\] Iām not really disorganised, Iām more *inconsistently* organised. My bursts of organisation only last a few weeks. \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#2 "back")\]
\[3\] *[If Books Could Kill](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2040953/13042014-atomic-habits " If Books Could Kill")* go into this more, but my favourite example is a story he uses about how homes with energy meters in prominent locations within the home were more likely to conserve energy. According to Peterās research for the podcast āThe source for that is a book from 2015 where the author wrote that she was told the story at a conference in 1973.ā \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#3)\]
\[4\] Iāve read a few articles that say the whole brush before or after eating breakfast debate doesnāt really matter, itās more important that you *actually do brush*! Brushing before food in the morning protect your teeth from the food and drink you have for breakfast. e.g. [see this advice on a dental centre website](https://www.hollandparkdental.co.uk/when-to-brush-your-teeth/ "see this advice on a dental center website"). \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#4 "back")\]
\[5\] See all my abandoned Bullet Journals and more recently abandoned Obsidian vault of daily notes! \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#5 "back")\]
\[6\] Jamesās advice on compulsive behaviour and binge eating, quote: āIf you eat a chocolate bar every morning, acknowledge it, almost as if you were watching someone else. *Oh, how interesting that they would do such a thing.* If you binge-eat, simply notice that you are eating more calories than you should. If you waste time online, notice that you are spending your life in a way that you do not want to.ā .. Dude, that is awful advice. \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#6)\]
\[7\] You may notice my non-existing posting schedule. I do have [a new plan](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/life/just-do-the-thing/ "Just do the thing") to try to get me going again with the blog! \[[back](https://thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/#7 "back")\]
***
## š¦ **Before you write me a comment**
- **This is my personal blog, and I write for fun as a hobby.** I am not an āinfluencerā of any kind, nor do I want to be. I donāt even have adverts on this website! I shared my thoughts on this book to help **me** understand why **I** felt it was a bad book, and for anyone else out there who also felt the same way and felt a little bit crazy about it.
- **If you love this book**, then I am very happy for you. I am glad that you enjoyed it and it helped you, and the millions of others who love it too! **You do not need to write a comment telling me that I am wrong in my personal opinion** because I didnāt like the book. We are just different people with different bodies, brains, life experiences and different tastes in books.
- James Clear has millions of fans and a bestselling book that shows no signs of losing popularityā¦ he doesnāt need you defending him on my little blog. *Atomic Habits* currently has [4\.33 average out of 5 Stars on Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40121378-atomic-habits) from 1.1 million ratings. Itās doing more than fine, my opinion is the minority\!
\+76 |
| Shard | 79 (laksa) |
| Root Hash | 16168025716658332479 |
| Unparsed URL | uk,co,thewallflowerdigest!/books/book-reviews/my-problem-with-atomic-habits-by-james-clear/ s443 |