1 Atomic habit
Written by: James Clear
Originally published: 16.12.2018
Atomic Habits is a very popular book that focuses on simple small ways to maximise your productivity. In quick summary, it states an atomic habit is a regular practice or routine that is simple and easy to do. Such a habit is a source of incredible power and creates a system that can have great compounded effects. James states that the reason that a lot of people have bad results or negative effects long-term is due to tiny cumulative habits. Positive and good habits are also due to small cumulative positive habits. The reason a lot of people do not achieve their goals is not that they do not want to but because they have the wrong systems in place. The small atomic habits seem small and unimportant in the beginning but they will compound to produce extremely remarkable results when we consistently stick to them.
Key ideas from the books
i. Winners and losers have the same goals. The difference is that those who are successful tend to focus on what systems they set on a day-to-day basis to achieve the big goals
ii. Focus on the person you want to become as opposed to the habit.
iii. The 4 laws of behaviour change are
a. Make it obvious
b. Make it attractive
c. Make it easy
d. Make it satisfying
iv. Your environment can shape your behaviour
Written by: Cal Newport
Originally published: 5 January 2016
Deep Work is an extremely popular book about the power of being very focused on a singular task. Deep work is defined as the ability to focus on a single cognitively demanding task without any distractions. Cal Newport defines deep work as,” like a superpower in our increasingly competitive twenty-first-century economy.” On the other hand, he states that shallow work is what most people do daily. He defines it as a non-cognitively demanding logistical-style work, often performed while distracted.
Key ideas from the book
i. To produce the best work, you must commit to deep work regularly.
ii. In today’s economy what truly matters is the ability to produce work at an elite level and quickly master hard things.
iii. “To learn hard things quickly one must focus intensely.”
iv. “The key to developing a deep work habit is to move beyond good intentions and add routines and rituals to your working life designed to minimise the amount of your limited willpower necessary to transition into and maintain a state of unbroken concentration”
Written by: Darren Hardy
Originally published: 2010
The book Compound Effect is the strategy of reaping huge rewards from tiny, small habits that have the power to triple over time. Always take responsibility for the things that are happening to you.
The key ideas from the book:
i. The compound effect is the operating system that is running your life whether you know it or not.
ii. Consistency is the ultimate key to success.
iii. Small choices + consistency + time = significant results.
iv. The earlier you start making changes the more the compound effect works in your favour.
Written by: Greg McKeown
Originally published: 15 April 2014
Essentialism is defined by Greg as, “the disciplined systematic approach for determining where our highest point of contribution lies, then making execution of those things almost effortless.” Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it is about getting the right things done. It also doesn’t mean getting less done just for the same of it either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy to operate at the highest point of the contribution of doing only that which is essential.
The key ideas of the book:
i. Once one decides to stop saying yes to everything, it becomes possible to focus on the things that truly matter.
ii. Essentialism focuses on deliberately distinguishing the vital few from the trivial many, eliminating the non-essentials, and then removing any obstacles so the essential things are easy.
iii. With a lack of priority in your life, other people will prioritise you.
iv. The writer also focuses on the paradox of success: The more options we have the more we feel distracted from what would otherwise be our highest level of contribution.
Written by: Eckhart Tolle
Originally published: 1997
The power of now states that the only way to truly live and reach peace is to live in the present moment, the writer describes this as the now. Eckart states there is a part of the mind that is called the ego, which essentially needs the mind to live in the past or the future to survive. The ego derails us by ruminating on the past, wondering about the future, focusing on past pain and insisting that there is no peace until we finally attain that goal.
The key ideas from the book
i. Inner peace and happiness are only found in the present, not in the past or the future and anything external.
ii. The problem is that we spend most of the time focused on thought.
iii. Your ego causes problems. The ego is that part of the self that tries to control thinking, emotions, and behaviour. It creates a fake identity and tells you that memories, religion education, career, politics, nationality, and gender make you who you are. That is not who you are.
iv. Live in the now, always. Deal with what you can now and accept the present moment as it is.
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