The workshop led by Dr. Kristin Palmer focuses on the essential concepts from 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear, emphasizing that success stems from daily habits rather than grand transformations. Key takeaways include understanding habit formation through cues and rewards, and practical strategies to create good habits and break bad ones, such as habit stacking and the two-minute rule. The session promotes identity change as a means to foster lasting habits that align with one's desired self-image.

1. Atomic
Habits
Welcome to the…..
with Dr. Kristin Palmer

2. Format for today’s workshop
● Housekeeping
● Introductions
● High-level takeaways on the book
● Tools and templates from the book
● Active discussion and engagement
● Follow up email with slides and survey

3. HOUSEKEEPING
You’ll get the
slides via email
Please provide
feedback in the
survey
Please mute
when not
speaking
On or off
camera is
a-ok
This is a safe place

4. Dr. Kristin Palmer
CEO, Life Coach, Builder, Woman who gets stuff done, Crusader for Improving the World through Education.

6. James Clear - it started with a flying baseball bat

9. “Success is the product of daily habits, not once
in a lifetime transformations.” - James Clear
Are your habits putting you on the path to success?

10. “Habits are the
compound interest of
self-improvement.”

12. 1% Better
Tiny Daily Changes = Outstanding Results

13. Goals vs. Systems
Create a system (and environment) to support you.
Goals are momentary.
Systems sustain who you want to be over time.

15. Environment
Pack your gym bag.

16. “The score takes care of itself.”
- Bill Walsh

17. Identity
Be who you want and the your choices will follow.

19. Latin root for Identity is:
essentitas = being
and
identidem=repeatedly

20. Three Levels of Change:
1) Identity Change
2) Process Change
3) Outcome Change
What this might look like:
1) I am an athlete
2) I work out 5 times a week
3) I lost 10 lbs this year

21. Habits matter because they can change your
beliefs about yourself.

22. I am not a morning person.
I’m always late.
I’m not good with names.

23. 1. Decide the type of person you want to be.
2. Prove it to yourself with small wins.

24. I’m not a smoker.
I’m a healthy person.
I’m a supportive mom.

27. Your identity emerges out of your habits.
Every action you take is a vote for the type of
person you wish to become.

30. The most effective way to change your habits
is to focus not on what you want to achieve,
but on who you wish to become.

33. Problem Phase Solution Phase
Cue Craving Response Reward
Your phone buzzes You want to see what it is You grab your phone and
look
You satisfy your craving to look and grabbing your
phone becomes associated with phone buzzing.
You are answering
emails
You begin to feel stressed,
you want to feel in control
You bite your nails You satisfy your craving to reduce stress and biting
nails becomes associated with answering email
You wake up You want to feel alert You drink coffee You satisfy your craving to feel alert and drinking
coffee is associated with waking up
You smell a donut
shop going to work
You crave a donut You buy and eat a donut You satisfy your craving for a donut and buying a
donut becomes associated with walking to work
You are stuck at
work
You feel stuck and want to
relieve your frustration
You pull out your phone and
go on social media
You satisfy your craving to feel relieved and you
associate checking social media for when you are
feeling stuck on a problem at work
You walk into a dark
room
You want to be able to see You turn on the lights You satisfy your craving to see and turning on the light
switch becomes associated with being in a dark room

34. How to Create a Good Habit
Cue Make it obvious
Craving Make it attractive
Response Make it easy
Reward Make it satisfying
How to Break a Bad Habit
Cue Make it invisible
Craving Make it unattractive
Response Make it difficult
Reward Make it unsatisfying

35. Whenever you want to change behavior, ask yourself:
1) How can I make it obvious?
2) How can I make it attractive?
3) How can I make it easy?
4) How can I make it satisfying?

36. Law #1: Make it obvious
The trick here is we tend to do things on autopilot
and not realize what we are doing unconsciously.
We have behavior patterns, but we need
to make ourselves aware of them.

40. Tool #1: The Habits Scorecard
Wake up =
Snuggle +
Tell Scott I love him +
Go to the bathroom =
Wash hands =
Brush hair =
Floss/Brush teeth +
Make bed +
Get dressed =
Open blinds =
Check phone =
Unload dishwasher +
Make oatmeal/coffee +
Set the table =
Pester Theo to hurry up -
Wake Fox -
Pester Theo to eat, vitamin -
Send boys off to school =
Check email =
Put in load of laundry +

42. Tool #2: Implementation Intentions
People who make a specific plan for when they will
perform a new habit are more likely to follow through (vs
waiting for inspiration to strike).

43. I will do (Activity) on (Day)
at (Time) in (Place).

44. This might look like…..
Meditations. I will meditate for one minute at 7AM in my kitchen.
Studying. I will study Spanish for 20 minutes at 6PM in my bedroom.
Exercise. I will exercise for one hour at 5PM in my local gym.
Marriage. I will make my partner a cup of tea at 8AM in the kitchen.

45. Tool #3: Habit
Stacking
Piggyback on something
you already do.

46. It started with flooding….

47. Everything you do is a cue for
the next thing you do.
You go to the bathroom which leads to washing and
drying your hands. Then you see the towel is dirty so
you add it to the laundry. Then you see you are out of
dryer sheets so you add that to the shopping list, etc…

48. After I (current habit),
I will (new habit).

49. Look at your habit
scorecard and decide
what new habit to
piggyback where.
After I pour my coffee, I will meditate for one minute.
When I decide I want to buy something, I will wait 3 days.

50. Stack onto habits or events.

51. Redesign your environment
to make it obvious.

52. Or make it invisible!
versus

53. To stop a bad habit, change the environment
If you can’t get your work done, leave your phone in another room.
If you are wasting too much time watching TV, move the TV to another room.
If you buy junk food at the grocery store, change the store you shop at.
If you are playing too many video games, unplug the console and store in a closet.

54. Motivation is overrated.
Self-control is a short term strategy.

55. Law #2: Make it attractive
We want/anticipate rewards more than we like rewards.
Thinking about vacation vs. being on vacation.
Thinking about presents on Christmas morning vs. playing with presents.

56. Tool #4: Temptation Bundling
what you want to do + what you need to do

58. After I (current habit), I will (habit I need).
After (habit I need), I will (habit I want).
After I get my morning coffee, I will say something I am grateful for (need), then I can read the news (want).
After I pull out my phone, I will do 10 push-ups (need), then I will check Facebook (want).
After I get back from lunch, I will call three clients (need), then I can check ESPN (want).

59. You are a social being that craves to belong.
You will be shaped by those around you.

60. Behaviors that help us ‘fit in’ to those around us are attractive.
We imitate the close, the many, and the powerful.

61. Join a community where your desired behavior is the norm.

62. Where do cravings come from?
Conserve energy
Obtain food and water
Find love and reproduce
Connect and bond with others
Win social acceptance and approval
Reduce uncertainty
Achieve status and prestige
Habits are modern-day solutions to ancient desires.

63. You can satisfy underlying cravings in different ways.
You may reduce stress by going for a run or smoking a cigarette.

64. Cue > Prediction > Simulation > Action
Predictions > Feelings/Cravings/Emotions/Desires
The specific cravings you feel and habits you perform are an attempt
to address your fundamental underlying motives.
Habits are attractive when we associate them with positive feelings.

65. I have to cook dinner for my family.
I get to make dinner for my family.
I need to go for a run.
It’s time to build endurance and get fast.
I have to quit smoking.
I want to lead a long and healthy life.

66. Law #3: Make it easy
To make something automatic, you need to do it a lot.

67. Repetition not Perfection
JUST DO

68. Be in Motion vs. Taking Action
I brainstormed a list of possible topics.
I wrote a draft of an article.
Motion feels like you are getting something done but
it’s really it is just preparing to get something done.

69. Habits form based on frequency not time.

70. The Law of Least Effort

71. The truth is our real
motivation is to be lazy and to
do what is convenient.

72. The greater the obstacle, the
more difficult the habit, the more
friction there is between you and
your desired end state.

73. Make the habits you don’t want
hard.
Unplug the TV. Uninstall the app.
Change the password.

74. Make the habits you want easy.
Two minute rule. Healthy Treats
Ready. Gym bag packed.

75. Addition by Subtraction = Maximize Efficiencies

76. Prime your environment for future use.
Make ahead breakfasts, clean/stocked desk, devices charged.

77. There are moments when
our choices lead us to
better or worse days.
Master those moments.

78. Even when you know
you should start small,
it’s easy to start too big.

79. Two-Minute Rule:
When you start a
new habit, it should
take less than two
minutes to do.

80. Make it super easy.

81. Gateway habits (2 minutes) can lead you
down a more productive path. These easy
gateway habits lead to master showing up.

82. Establish the habit,
then make it
harder.

83. You can’t improve a
habit that doesn’t exist.

84. Habit Shaping =
Moving from easy to harder in phases.

85. If you create a ritual at the
beginning of a process, it is more
likely you can slip into a deep focus
to do great things faster.

86. Make stuff hard if you
want to stop doing it.

87. Commitment Device - a choice in the present that controls your
actions in the future.

88. The ultimate way to lock
in future behavior is to
automate your habits.

89. Make it automatic to do ‘the right thing’
Medicine. Prescriptions on auto-refill.
Personal finance. Auto-deduct from your paycheck to your retirement savings.
Cooking. Meal-delivery services can do your grocery shopping and portion control.
Productivity. Social media browsing can be cut off with a website blocker.

90. Onetime choices are single actions that automate your future
habits and deliver increasing returns over time.

91. Law #4: Make it satisfying
What is rewarded is repeated. What is punished is avoided.

92. Toothpaste = Clean Mouth Feeling

93. Love that luxurious lather = clean hands

94. Immediate.
Not delayed.

95. “It almost always happens that when the
immediate consequence is favorable, the
later consequences are disastrous, and vice
versa…Often, the sweeter the first fruit of
a habit, the more bitter are it’s later fruits.”
- Frederic Bastiat

98. The cost of good habits are in
the present. The cost of bad
habits are in the future.

99. Create an IMMEDIATE reward.

105. The Paper Clip Strategy

106. Track Your Habits to Keep Them on Track
1) Obvious
2) Attractive
3) Satisfying

108. After I (current habit), I
will (track my habit).

109. You will miss a day.
Start again the next day.
Never miss twice.

110. Habit Contracts can give you an accountability
partner and create immediate consequences.

112. You are less likely to repeat
a bad habit if it is painful or
unsatisfying.

114. Bonus Stuff / Endnotes

115. Habits are easier to perform and
more satisfying to stick with
when they align with your
natural inclinations and abilities.

117. The secret to maximizing your
odds of success is to choose the
right field of competition.

118. Big Five Personality Traits
Openness to experience: from curious and inventive to cautious and consistent.
Conscientiousness: organized and efficient to easygoing and spontaneous.
Extroversion: outgoing and energetic to solitary and reserved.
Agreeableness: friendly and compassionate to challenging and detached.
Neuroticism: anxious and sensitive to confident, calm, and stable.

119. https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits/personality

120. Explore, explore, explore….
What feels like fun to me but work to others?
What makes me lose track of time?
Where do I get greater returns than the average person?
What comes naturally to me?

121. Doug Adams = ok funny, ok artist, ok office worker but
combine those three and he’s one of a kind and awesome.

122. Play a game that favors
your strengths. If you can’t
find one, create one.

123. Work. Hard.

124. “Optimal Zone of Difficulty”
Goldilocks Rule: Humans experience peak
motivation when working on tasks that are
right on the edge of their current abilities.
Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right.

125. When starting a habit, make it easy.
Once established, add small challenges.

126. The greatest threat to success
is not failure but boredom.

127. Do it even when it’s boring.
Keep doing the reps.
Cutting up the crudites.
Down dog after down dog.

128. Habits + Deliberate Practice = Mastery

129. Take time to reflect.

132. Lessons from the Four Laws
Awareness comes before desire.
Happiness is simply the absence of desire.
It is the idea of pleasure that we chase.
Peace occurs when you don’t turn your observations into problems.
With a big enough why you can overcome any how.
Being curious is better than being smart.
Emotions drive behavior.
We can only be rational and logical after we have been emotional.
Your response tends to follow your emotions.

133. Lessons continued
Suffering drives progress.
Your actions reveal how badly you want something.
Reward is on the other side of sacrifice.
Self-control is difficult because it is not satisfying.
Our expectations determine our satisfaction.
The main of failure correlates to the height of expectation.
Feels come both before and after the behavior.
Desire initiates. Pleasure sustains.
Hope declines with experience and is replaced by acceptance.

134. Lessons continued
Cue > Craving (Feeling) > Response > Reward (Feeling)
Satisfaction = Liking - Wanting

145. Additional Resources from Workshop Discussion
TBD

146. Thank you!
Dr. Kristin Palmer
http://www.CentralOregonLifeCoach.com