MBR: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

I decided I was going to read a book a week for a year, here’s a quick review of this week’s book. You can see the ongoing list here.

Basic Info

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do and How to Change It by Charles Duhigg

Why I read it

I read an interesting piece by Duhigg in the New York Times called How Companies Learn Your Habits. It piqued my interest and this book wound up on my to-read list.

How it connects to the Public Sector

So much of what you do on a daily basis in the workplace is done out of habit. How you start your day, when you break for coffee, even how you react to adversity. The sum of which is what I think we often refer to as institutional momentum – the place we inevitably go, even if we think we are working against it.

What I got out of reading it

The lesson from the book is simple enough: being able to spot and alter your habit loops can set up you up for success.

If you are looking for examples on how exactly to do so, the book is rife with them.

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