We’re all trying to find ways to make and stick to new habits, especially if you find yourself—like me—lingering in the psychology and self-help section in bookstores, searching for the silver bullet to optimize your daily routine. However, far too often we fall short of our lofty aim to run a marathon, volunteer every weekend, or make 10 new friends. Habits, though, are most successful when tied to a value and identity that we want to hold overtime. And more, they are accomplished by making bite-size adjustments.
"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become,” says James Clear, author of the renowned top-selling book Atomic Habits, which helps people make minor adjustments to reach their goals. “If there's ever this gap between the thing you desire and your daily habits, your habits will always win.”
Clear, whose ethos resides on getting 1% better each day, fighting a lack of willpower, and designing the right environment to build habits, is turning his celebrated lessons into an interactive digital tool alongside tech firm Tiny to track habits and provide mindset guidance—a new app, Atoms, launched today.
“It's like the friend that's with you to hype you up when you didn't know you needed it,” Clear tells Fortune. “The app is completely organized around that idea of, how do we actually get people to take action?” Clear notes that many people know the basics but undervalue the power of reminders and consistent motivation to implement daily improvements.
The app builds upon the lessons from Atomic Habits, such as never missing your habit twice and building systems over goals. It also incorporates new lessons, such as the power of having an accountability partner and finding how to make habits fun.
How does the ‘Atoms’ app work?
Clear says this is the type of app to start your day using. You’ll begin by drafting a new habit based on prompts about your interests, values, and goals. You’ll be given suggestions and asked to write out the time and place the habit will occur to break it down into practical steps. You’ll then tie it toward an identity to enforce its meaning in your life and receive mindset training through daily lessons.
The app will encourage you to stick with your habit while assessing if it’s the right one for you and suggesting ways to edit the original aim. After all, adapting habits to the season you’re in is a crucial part of maintaining successful routines, Clear says.
“We don't punish you in the app,” he says. “We keep streaks alive even if you miss a day if you show back up the next day…the point is to try to have some adaptability in there that actually resonates with what real life is like.”
When you click into the app to complete a habit, the screen lights up in a rewarding way, giving you a spike of satisfaction. “When you check in and build your habit each day, it's not just about feeling good in the moment or making a little bit of progress towards something. It's also about casting a vote for the type of person you want to be,” Clear says.
For more on how to build healthy habits:
- The 3 daily tricks Jay Shetty says will help you master a growth mindset and achieve your goals
- The secret to achieving your best is to stop worrying about what people think. A performance psychologist reveals 3 tips to break the cycle
- Today is ‘Quitter’s Day,’ when most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions. Here are 3 ways to restart yours
