Build 'Atomic' Habits

by Henry Abrahams April 16, 2025

Habits are things we do frequently (or on cue), without much thought. But how can this benefit our Health & Wellbeing?

We know that consistency is key for adaption and development. That's why building healthy habits is a notion we wholeheartedly endorse.

By making something almost automatic, no conscious decision or motivation is needed. For our bodies, consistent stimulus over time drives adaptation, therefore regular exercise helps us get fitter - perhaps that's improved mobility or greater strength or in the longer term, improvements in our Health and Wellbeing. For this reason, it is often said ‘Habits beat Motivation’ when it comes to forming meaningful change.

Don't get us wrong, motivation is still a vital component, particularly when it comes to getting started, but by forming a pattern of behaviour we remove the need to force ourselves to do something, thereby achieving it, even when our motivation wanes.

A great source of information (and indeed inspiration) on the subject is Atomic Habits by James Clear. This bestseller is widely recognised as both a mine of knowledge and a coaching guide.

In his book Clear, teaches us about habits, how we can develop them, and the methods for harnessing their full power. He suggests we generally underestimate the significance of minor improvements or indulgences, and Atomic Habits covers the science behind what drives our behavior.

We highly recommend the read, but here are four great tips from the book that help cement good habit formation.

The Four Tips (or “Bricks”) That Help Cement Good Habits

Building good habits means building a solid foundation. Clear emphasizes that our environment shapes what we do. There are 4 tricks or “bricks” that he identifies to make good habits stick. You need to make them obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.

Obvious - if you want to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, you might start by making sure you have a good supply of both in the house. The same applies to developing our bodies. If we want to improve your Hip or Ankle mobility, firstly, you need to make the habit cue obvious. You might put a Self Massage Tool & Mat in a place where you'll see it, where it's easily accessible. That way, you'll tend to use them more. Continuing with this example, if you leave this ‘station’ set up in the front room or another location that you visit regularly, this action could make it more likely that you'll complete your exercises when you are there.

Attractive - To make a habit form, it helps if it's attractive. The more appealing an environment is, the more time you'll want to spend there. So, having a space to move creates a place in which you'll want to spend more time.

Easy - Reduce "task friction." This friction is anything that adds time or hassle. This could be having your Peanut Self Massage Tool on your desk or leaving your Activation Bands inside your running shoe so it's ready to go when you are.

Satisfying - Find movements or exercises that you enjoy. The more you enjoy doing something, the more likely you are to stick with it.

For bad habits, all these ideas flip around. The idea is to make them invisible, unattractive, more difficult and ultimately, unsatisfying. So, place unhealthy snacks out of sight. Only allow yourself to smoke outside in the cold. Make your TV harder to watch by taking the batteries out of the remote control.

Clear points out that you want to make your bad habits as unsatisfying as possible and that change is rarely easy. In his words ‘Building a house, that becomes a home for good habits, takes some work.’

Good habits aren't always easy to build, because their rewards aren't as immediately gratifying to you as they are for some bad habits. The goal of sticking to good habits is trusting in their trajectory. It's about sticking with it and being consistent!

So, how do we create good healthy mobility, rehab or conditioning habits when daily life, and our lack of motivation, both get in the way?

Having a Mat and some accessories at home can help make it obvious and attractive by creating a nice space to move. By doing this, you are reducing barriers. There is no need to go to the gym, no additional membership cost, no additional time to travel. It doesn't need to be much, 10mins a day can make a big difference and quickly adds up to over an hour a week.

Clear endorses ‘Starting easy’ with a small goal. 2 mins rolling or mobility work soon adds up. Having the kit at home or taking it with you can reduce friction and make it easier to keep going.