Best Habit Books: 7-Day Challenge to Build Stronger Routines & Willpower
Struggle to stick to good habits? This 7-day challenge curates the best books on habits, helping you rewire your behavior, stay consistent, and achieve your goals.
Day 1
Atomic Habits by James Clear is about how small 1% improvements in our daily habits can lead to remarkable results and change your life.
This is a practical guide to building good habits and breaking bad habits.
The Four Laws of Behaviour Change say to make good habits: obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.
"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity." —James Clear
Why read it?
When I picked up "Atomic Habits," I didn't expect much.
I've read tons of self-help books for my website over the last several years, and they often say the same things.
But this book was different.
James Clear basically summarizes ALL the best strategies on habit formation in a way that is incredibly... well, "Clear." Best of all, he focuses on making tiny improvements, not big leaps, showing how small daily changes can really add up.
I was surprised how much I liked it.
It's a book I plan to read again every few years. 📈
Day 2
The Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg is a deep dive into the science of how habits work.
If you want to change your habits but don't know where to start, this book can help you.
It provides a simple 3-step formula called "The Habit Loop" to break bad habits and build better ones.
"Habits, scientists say, emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort." —Charles Duhigg
Why read it?
Charles Duhigg's book first popularized the habit loop - the idea that all our habits follow a cycle of "cue-routine-reward." More importantly, he gave practical ways we can "hack" the steps of this loop to take back control of our habits and our lives.
Before Atomic Habits, this was THE go-to book on habits and it is still well worth reading. (For psychology nerds, the habit loop was actually based on the psychologist B.F. Skinner's work that described a 3-step process of stimulus, response, and reinforcement.
Basically, his theory explains why your dog turns into a slobber machine the second you rustle their treat bag. 🐶
Day 3
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is about becoming more effective at reaching our goals and leading others.
Stephen Covey says his teachings are based on timeless principles like personal responsibility, empathetic listening, and treating others with fairness.
"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply." —Stephen Covey
Why read it?
This book teaches 7 key principles that you can apply to almost any area of life, kind of like a Swiss Army knife for personal development.
Stephen Covey shifts focus from the surface-level pursuits of busyness and status to the character ethic - which says true success is about who we are, not just what we achieve.
After all, being busy isn't a personality trait, no matter how much we pretend it is on social media. 🤷♂️
Day 4
Dopamine Nation explains how to break bad habits using the neuroscience of dopamine, the "pleasure molecule" in our brains.
If you want to retrain your brain to like doing hard things, Dr. Anna Lembke shares tools that may help like dopamine fasting, self-binding, truth-telling and leaning into pain.
"The paradox is that hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, leads to anhedonia, which is the inability to enjoy pleasure of any kind." —Anna Lembke, MD
Why read it?
Imagine a book that helps you understand why we're all seemingly addicted to things like coffee, Instagram likes, or that that sweet, sweet rush of completing a to-do list.
Dr. Anna Lembke takes us on a journey through the neuroscience of pleasure and pain, proving that sometimes, too much of a good thing is exactly as bad as it sounds. 🍩
Day 5
Deep Work is about focusing deeply so you can thrive in your professional career.
Cal Newport says reducing distractions and increasing our ability to concentrate will allow us to learn new skills faster and produce higher quality work.
"Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not." —Cal Newport
Why read it?
In a world where the siren song of distractions is almost impossible to resist, Cal Newport's "Deep Work" emerges as the lighthouse guiding us back to productivity and meaningful work.
Newport champions the invaluable skill of deep work: the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks.
He teaches us that in the age of superficiality, the depth of your focus determines the depth of your success. 🏆
Day 6
"Eat That Frog!" by Brian Tracy is a guide to stop procrastinating, increase productivity, and master time management.
It teaches you to tackle the hardest tasks first, helping you get more done and make each day more focused and productive.
"Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal." —Brian Tracy
Day 7
The 5AM Club is about learning to wake up at 5 a.m. and follow a morning routine, so we can become more self-disciplined, productive, and happy.
Robin Sharma wrote this self-help book as a story, with a Billionaire mentoring an Entrepreneur and Artist, who were struggling with distraction and procrastination.
"All change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end." —Robin Sharma
Day 8
The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest is a guide to stop self-sabotage and build the life you want.
It shows how to change emotional habits blocking growth, let go of the past, imagine your future self, and separate good intuition from bad intrusive thoughts.
"What you believe about your life is what you will make true about your life." —Brianna Wiest
Day 9
Essentialism by Greg McKeown is a productivity book that helps you get more done by doing less.
It teaches you to focus only on what’s really important and say no to things that distract you.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed by too many tasks, you'll learn how to prioritize and concentrate on what truly matters in your life and work.
"If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will." —Greg McKeown
Day 10
The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan emphasizes focusing on the single most important task in any area of your life to achieve extraordinary results.
The book teaches the power of prioritization, guiding readers to simplify their approach by identifying and acting on the "one thing" that will make the biggest impact in their goals, careers, or personal lives.
"What’s the ONE thing you can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?" —Gary Keller
Why read it?
I read The ONE Thing, and it completely shifted how I think about productivity.
Instead of trying to juggle everything at once, this book taught me to focus on what truly matters—what will drive the biggest results.
If you feel overwhelmed with too many tasks or unsure where to start, The ONE Thing will show you how simplifying and narrowing your focus can lead to extraordinary success.
Day 11
Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven shares lessons he learned as a Navy SEAL.
It’s all about how small habits, like making your bed every morning, can lead to bigger successes in life.
It also teaches you how to stay strong during tough times, work well with others, and never give up.
"If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed." —Admiral William H. McRaven
Why read it?
You should read Make Your Bed because it’s super inspiring and easy to read.
Unlike many self-help books, it’s refreshing because it’s based on real-life stories from the author's Navy SEAL training and war experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Admiral McRaven uses powerful personal examples, like recovering from a brutal skydiving accident or enduring 16 hours covered in mud, to show how discipline and mindset can help you succeed in life.