The last decade has allowed me to read only a few books, and complete even fewer. So, this year I took up the goal to read 1 book completely, and I’m content as I write this piece of reflection here, because it signifies that I was successful. By now I know that I am a slow reader. And the only 2 genres I can tolerate at the age of 24, now, are Classics and Non-Fiction (primarily, autobiographies, biographies & personal development).
I read “Atomic Habits” this year, and this piece is about how it became my companion in this year.
There’s something uniquely “meta” about reading a book about habit formation while also trying to build better reading habits. Life this year seemed overwhelming and busy, and reading everyday just wasn’t possible - let alone reading a book that requires your brain to be active & to understand the principles being described. It was very difficult. But I decided to apply Clear’s principles “the two minute rule” / “habit stacking” to the very act of reading the book itself. This created a fascinating feedback loop.
This is not a book review, I’m actually quite tired for a book review. This is a reflection about how applying the principles I learnt, in daily helped me achieve a tiny milestone - “reading the book” and making active notes, physical & mental everyday to make life 1% better. Be it doing yoga everyday, even for just 2 minutes or going for a run in the evening, or creating a motivation ritual of turning on ambient lighting & candles before reading to encourage reading, or reading 1 page everyday just to form the habit. It helped and it works - that’s what I want to tell future Mrunal and anyone reading it.
Here’s the few things I intended to change & how they went (honestly):
1. Two minute rule - works flawlessly. Every time I rolled out my yoga mat & sat for 2 mins, I was instantly motivated to just do yoga for the next 25 minutes. (just showing up helps)
2. Creating a motivation ritual - Every single time I wanted to write or read, I simply would just not. So I created this ritual of switching on ambient lighting before bed & reading 1-2 pages. It just motivated me for some reason.
3. Habit Stacking: Did not realize that i already did this in various forms. For example, because I wanted to go to office by a fixed time everyday, & not delay things, I just stacked habits like yoga, bathing, breakfast & off to office.
4. Habit Tracker: Visualizing progress is very important & it helped me. I’d stuck a paper on the wall on my study where I would track progress for 3 habits: reading, yoga, running and meditating.
5. Accountability partner: I desperately intend to wake up earlier than I do, now. And for years I haven’t been able to do that. Why do I want to wake up early? Because I love Morning sunlight & want to feel fresh for longer. Also when you wake up early, you just seem to get things done for yourself, without any interruptions. So, I set my mom as my accountability partner & created a habit contract. For every day that i woke up after 7:30 AM, I needed to transfer INR 1500 to my mom, and if I woke up after 8:30 AM, then INR 2500 and if it was after 9, then INR 3000. I followed this for a week before succumbing to cold Mornings. And it kinda failed post that. But I shall try it again.
That’s almost about it. I started reading the book in January & finished in December. Implemented almost every tactic & feel good about how the book became my companion in 2024. I have read many self help books (from my father’s vast collection) but this one, by far is the best. I’m carrying forward these lessons. Reading isn’t just about consuming information – it’s about creating a sustainable system for continuous learning.
Wait, what else did I read?
I sneaked a mini book that I borrowed from a friend - “The little book of Alpaca philosophy” in & it’s a beautiful book too - about taking things slowly & consuming at your own pace. I learnt that losing cool is the last thing you’d want to do, from this book! While seemingly simple at first glance, “The Little Book of Alpaca Philosophy” offers surprisingly deep insights into living a more balanced and mindful life.