The Power of Habit

This book is one of those foundational books that shifted my approach to both personal and professional habits. The science and storytelling brought habit formation to life, showing me how small changes could drive big outcomes. Like Cal Newport’s and Gretchen Rubin's work, it’s practical and realistic, offering insights I could apply directly to my routines and business practices.

Duhigg’s breakdown of how habits work—and how to reshape them—gave me new tools for building sustainable, intentional habits and teaching others to do it, too. This one has stayed with me and remains a key influence on how I approach productivity.

The book teaches nothing new – only one of the most important levers for business success, i.e., the habits you deploy in your life to reach the goals you want.

The goals are an emergent phenomenon of the habits you employ. If you choose the wrong habits, you’ll never reach your goals.

After reading this book, I started both my writing habit (at least one word per day) and my coding habit (at least one line per day) which both transformed my life

This is a book that I give to people who want to change a habit of their own or advise someone else how to change a habit; how to change a habit in a team or an organization; and to better understand cultural habits, how to adapt. It’s a powerful book because human beings are creatures of habit: Good habits? Bad habits? Your choice.  

A lot of our behavior is behavior we have learned to do without even realizing we are doing it. A lot of our behavior is actually a series of habits. We think that habits are hard to change, but actually, they aren’t. Think about it. You have dozens of things you do every day that are habitual (the route you use to drive to work or school, where you put your keys when you leave your home…). Do you even remember creating that habit? Probably not. So it couldn’t be that hard to create a habit. Duhigg explains the science… show more.

If you want to change and improve your habits – whether dealing with existing bad habits relating to alcohol, chocolate, or screen time (I’m looking at myself…) or understanding and improving your behaviour with exercise or work/life balance (still looking at me) – I recommend starting with The Marshmallow Effect and then following immediately with The Power of Habit. The very worst that can happen is that your bad habits continue but you understand why! But much more likely is that you gain insights that will change your life for the better. It’s a perfect blend of science, common… show more.

First published in 2012, The Power of Habit still occasionally pops up on bestseller lists. That's because it is timeless in many ways. Do you think you understand why you do things the way you do them? Charles Duhigg shows through engaging vignettes that many habits are formed unconsciously, explains the science behind them, and tells how people and companies can change and harness them for success. Like how getting workers to focus on important "keystone" habits can make a huge difference in getting desired results. Or the value of instilling shared habits so everybody on a team works in… show more.