What to Read for Establishing Better Habits, Rhythms & Routines

There are a lot of books on creating routines and habits. This list is going to include those that I’ve read that I’d be willing to say were “life-changing” – meaning I personally changed something in my life because of these books.

#1 – Atomic Habits

This is the best book on habits I’ve ever read. The premise is that something atomic is small but when done as a habit can make a huge impact. To create atomic habits, follow the four laws of behavior change which are to make it attractive, obvious, easy, and satisfying. One of my favorite quotes from this book is that “You don’t rise to the level of your goals, but fall to the level of your systems.” So rather than focusing on what you want to achieve, it’s best to focus on who you want to become and create systems or routines to help you get there.

#2 – Lazy Genius Way

This is a book I had on my shelf for quite some time and just didn’t read. Once I finally read it, I was shocked I didn’t read it sooner as it was that good. The point of this book is that you don’t have to be full lazy, or full genius to get good outcomes. You can be both intentional, but keep it simple. And that some of the best ways come from this lazy genius route. Some of the chapters I enjoyed best from this book were the habits of deciding once, batch it, put everything in order, essentials, and schedule rest. If you’ve read the book recommendations on time + priority management this post, this is another book that would also help in those areas as well if implemented.

#3 – Rhythms of Renewal – This book is separated into 4 sections on rhythms – Rest, Restore, Connect, and Create. In each section, there are 6-7 shorter chapters focused on a specific rhythm to help support that area. A few examples include sections on getting deep sleep, Sabbath, seeking adventure, getting outside your comfort zone, and leading with vulnerability.

#4 – 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

I also shared this one in the time + priority management post but it’s worth mentioning under this topic as well. The 7 habits are be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win/win, seek first to understand then be understood, learn to synergies, and sharpen the saw. While this book is less about how to create the habits like Atomic Habits talks about, this one reviews 7 great habits to implement that will continue to develop you to be a better version of yourself.

There’s plenty of other books that could be listed here, but again, I thought these were the most powerful on the topic. If you can only choose 1, I’d recommend Atomic Habit as that is in my top 15 books I’ve read of all time. Happy reading!