Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

habits form based on frequency, not time
: Hermann Ebbinghaus was the first person to
describe learning curves in his 1885 book Über das Gedächtnis. Hermann Ebbinghaus,

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Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology (United States: Scholar Select,
2016).
CHAPTER 12
this difference in shape played a significant role in the spread of agriculture
:
Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (New York:
Norton, 1997).
It is human nature to follow the Law of Least Effort
: Deepak Chopra uses the phrase
“law of least effort” to describe one of his Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga. This concept is
not related to the principle I am discussing here.
a garden hose that is bent in the middle
: This analogy is a modified version of an idea
Josh Waitzkin mentioned in his interview with Tim Ferriss. “The Tim Ferriss Show,
Episode 2: Josh Waitzkin,” May 2, 2014, audio,
https://soundcloud.com/tim-
ferriss/the-tim-ferriss-show-episode-2-josh-waitzkin
.
“it took American workers three times as long to assemble their sets”
: James
Surowiecki, “Better All the Time,” New Yorker, November 10, 2014,
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/10/better-time
.
addition by subtraction
: Addition by subtraction is an example of a larger principle
known as inversion, which I have written about previously at
https://jamesclear.com/inversion
. I’m indebted to Shane Parrish for priming my
thoughts on this topic by writing about why “avoiding stupidity is easier than seeking
brilliance.” Shane Parrish, “Avoiding Stupidity Is Easier Than Seeking Brilliance,”
Farnam Street, June 2014,
https://www.fs.blog/2014/06/avoiding-stupidity
.