James Clear’s “Atomic Habits”- Review

James Clear’s book ‘Atomic Habits’ created a global splash in 2018 and it’s still one of the books people mention when I ask what they’ve tried before when we’re discussing habit change. It’s clearly written, very persuasive and he has a great way with one-liners.

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His basic premise is seductively simple: small changes add up to big results Followed with: focusing on identity changes – saying “I am the kind of person who…” is how to make really lasting changes

For neurotypical readers – and some people with ADHD – this approach makes a lot of sense.

What about ADHD brains – or others with executive function challenges? You might try these beautifully simple ideas and discovered that consistency, progress and transformation are.. Well. More likely you’ve had some inconsistency, a lot of guilt and more half-started, dropped habits that poke your shame button every time you see the marks on your calendar stop.

I’m not saying that Atomic Habits is useless for ADHD brains – or that it ‘doesn’t work’. We do need to use a different lens or starting point though – and one that I find useful is the lens of cognitive ergonomics, a term used in ADHD coaching by Jeff Copper of DIG Coaching, and the research on ADHD from experts like Dr. Russell Barkley.

Let’s go through the ideas of Atomic Habits and see what, if anything, those of us with brains that fire differently, can use (and what to let go or reframe).

The Big Ideas in Atomic Habits

James Clear builds his argument around four reasonable sounding “laws of behaviour change”:

• Make it obvious – Design your environment so the cue for the habit is visible.
• Make it attractive – Connect the habit with something you want.
• Make it easy – Reduce friction and start small.
• Make it satisfying – Reward yourself so the habit sticks.

So far, so good.

Underneath these ‘rules’ is a deeper one: true change comes from your identity.

If you see yourself as a runner, you’ll run. If you see yourself as the kind of person who eats healthily, you’ll eat better. Clear’s method aims to shift identity by stacking small wins.

So far, this all sounds totally ‘ADHD friendly’, right?

Why This Sounds ADHD-Friendly

At first glance, Atomic Habits feels like it was written for ADHD. Clear talks about:

Environmental design – A classic ADHD strategy.

Dr Barkley has argued for decades that ADHD is not a disorder of knowing what to do, but of doing what you know, which means the environment around us – what I call the ‘scaffolding’ has to carry more of the load to get things done.

Tiny steps – “Make it easy”

Essentially breaking tasks down, something every ADHD hack or app recommends with varying degrees of success (I mean who doesn’t love a task of 3 steps actually becoming 20?).

Rewards

Dr Barkley’s research and the studies from Dr Norah Volkow show evidence that ADHD creates a fundamental difference in reward processing. Immediate rewards matter more than long-term goals. Clear’s emphasis on building up satisfaction aligns with this.

So why do so many ADHD adults still feel like failures when they try Atomic Habits?

The Hidden Problem: Consistency is a Foundational Assumption

Clear’s whole model assumes a baseline ability to be consistent. He says habits compound like interest, but interest only compounds if you leave the money in the account.

ADHD brains simply don’t work like that.

Motivation is context-dependent, not consistency-dependent.

You might floss religiously for a week and then forget for six months because you were tired and skipped a night. You might go to the gym daily for a month and then hit a two-month wall because you had to work late one day. When the challenges of creating intrinsic motivation meet the ADHD dopamine ‘problem’* these apparently strange or unnecessary gaps begin to make more sense.

Jeff Copper frames this through cognitive ergonomics: the idea that if a tool doesn’t fit the brain, the brain will struggle.

A chair designed for someone six feet tall won’t fit someone five foot two. Forcing the smaller person to “try harder” misses the point. Clear’s system is like that too: it fits well for brains that already lean toward routine and consistency. For ADHD, the fit is poor.

*’deficit’ here refers to the measurable difference in dopamine processing in ADHD. There is very limited evidence to suggest ADHD is a ‘lack’ or ‘lower level’ of dopamine by itself.

The Trap of “Identity-Based Habits”

Clear’s strongest selling point, “identity change”, can backfire and do so badly with ADHD.

If you try to become “the kind of person who writes every morning” and then miss three days, ADHD emotional dysregulation, the shame spiral, can hit hard.

Instead of reinforcing the new identity, the lapse reinforces our failure: “See, I can’t stick to anything. I’m not that kind of person.” quickly turns into “I’m useless, I’m no good at anything.” Rumination like this is not helped if we are basing our identities on what we can do.

Copper’s work on ADHD emphasises the danger of mis-labelling our habit struggles as ‘character flaws’. The truth is not that you ‘lack the right identity’ or enough discipline, but that your executive functions create an inconsistent bridge between intention and action.

For ADHD, a more helpful identity statement might be:

• I am becoming a person who experiments.
• I am becoming a person who finds creative ways to get back on track.
• I am becoming a person who can miss a day and roll with it.

These flexible identities don’t assume perfection or even consistency. They are built for variability, which is much more realistic for ADHD.

Why Dr Barkley Would Push Back

Dr. Russell Barkley’s decades of research frame ADHD not as a motivation deficit, but as a self-regulation disorder. I know that some people baulk at the ‘disorder’ or ‘deficit’ framing and I understand. However, we can’t disagree that one of the reasons most of us pursue a diagnosis or medication is that we have a ‘deficit’ or lack in getting things done, or getting started, etc.

We’re not happy with how our brain works and we know that it’s harder for us to do what other people seem to take for granted. When we stop making this about our identity – “I’m a person who can’t start things” and recognise it’s our neurology, we can see why the Clear ‘Identity change’ habit idea isn’t going to work so well. For executive function challenges, it’s less about willpower and more about the brain’s timing system and how different regions communicate and work overall. Those future rewards don’t hold enough weight; immediate cues do.

This is where Atomic Habits both shines and falls short. Clear might say “make it satisfying,” but the book still assumes that long-term compounding is the main engine. 

For ADHD, the only truly reliable engine is now. If the reward isn’t immediate, it might as well not exist OR it will be hijacked by something that’s available right now and has a similar impact on your neurotransmitters.

That means any ADHD-friendly habit building system has to lean heavily on instant cues, visual reminders, and right-now rewards, not identity shifts or distant goals.

Cognitive Ergonomics: Building A Better Frame

Cognitive ergonomics means designing solutions that fit your cognitive needs instead of forcing your brain to fit the system. Just as office ergonomics assessments will adjust desks and chairs to prevent back or muscle strain, cognitive ergonomics adjusts things around us and re-sets our expectations to minimise the gap between our cognitive load and our desired outcome.

When we apply this to habits:

“Make it obvious” becomes:
Externalise as much as possible, instead of pulling on your working memory. Use alarms, sticky notes, timers, physical objects as triggers. Don’t rely on memory or the emotional idea of an identity.

“Make it attractive” becomes:
Gamify it. ADHD brains thrive on novelty and challenge. Find ways to inject interest, not just discipline.

“Make it easy” becomes:
Minimise executive function barriers. That might mean having a gym buddy who texts you and that you’ll meet with to chat as you work out, not just laying out your clothes the night before. Social accountability often beats willpower and stops exercise being tedious.

“Make it satisfying” becomes:
Reward now, not later. If the only payoff is six months away, your ADHD brain won’t care when it sees the phone/cake/tv/impulse buy that will spike your reward neurotransmitters now.

These might seem subtle but the reframes preserve the spirit of Clear’s ideas while making them much more ADHD-friendly.

What ADHD Adults Actually Need to Build Habits

Here are a few shifts that matter more than “atomic habits” when you live with ADHD:

Permission for consistent inconsistency: Stop expecting daily perfection. Aim for “most days” or “returning after a gap.” Think ‘Persistence’.

Visual cues everywhere, refreshed as needed – Treat the environment as your memory. Out of sight really is out of mind when you need it.

Short feedback loops – Build systems where the payoff comes fast, not in three months. To be honest, this would benefit most adults.

Supportive scaffolding, not grit – Coaches, buddies, or external structures provide the consistency that your brain doesn’t.

Experimental ‘wonder based’ mindset – Habits aren’t forever; they’re trials. Some will fail. That’s normal – and it means nothing about your WHO.

So, Should ADHD Adults Read Atomic Habits?

Yes – but with a strong filter.

The book has some useful ideas, sticky metaphors and strategies but it’s not really designed for neurodivergent brains.

If you take it literally, you might end up feeling like you’re the problem (again) when the new habit doesn’t stick – or you get bored and default to what is easier, even if it’s not what you really want.

Think of Atomic Habits like a menu instead of a manual.
Borrow what fits for YOU: is that the environmental design, small wins, visible cues?

Ditch the identity-based perfectionism and long-term compounding promises.

My final thoughts

James Clear is right about one thing: small things matter. For ADHD adults, the things we need to add are more than cues and routines – they’re BIG things like self-compassion, experimentation, and designing an environment that does the heavy lifting when executive function stutters.

ADHD is not a failure of our willpower but just how our brain is connected.

When you accept and design for it, you can stop chasing habits that don’t fit and start building a life that does.