In recent years, there has been a social wave of excitement around making and breaking habits to be successful.

Books like James Clear’s "Atomic Habits" and Charles Duhigg’s "The Power of Habit" have sparked fervent interest in the topic. Nearly a dozen people have recommended these two books to me, underscoring their resonance with our collective quest for success and the truths behind achieving it.

Momentum only matters if you are moving in the right direction.

Working furiously to break habits based on external, social perceptions of what direction we should be moving in can lead to wasted effort. Instead, our actions should stem from our own intentional choices.

However, we often are so enamored with the desire to take action and see results that we forget to set back and reflect if we are moving in the direction of goals that we intentionally chose.

As Stephen Covey aptly puts it in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People":

Taking time to get clear on what is important and what the goal is can make all the difference. Once you have clarity, you can then focus on that goal with force that is purposeful.

“Put First Things First.”

Once you get clear on the values-driven direction you are heading in, then comes the moment for tactics and tools to accelerate the momentum in the right direction.

In addition to the skills and frameworks that James Clear outlines in "Atomic Habits," there are many other frameworks that have helped me prioritize the most important activities first. Stephen Covey’s "Put First Things First" (Habit 3) is a powerful concept that emphasizes this approach.

One practical tool that continues to help me prioritize my mission-driven tasks is the Eisenhower Matrix, which categorizes tasks into four quadrants based on urgency and importance. This has helped me in focusing on what truly matters and avoiding the trap of busyness without productivity.

Get clarity on your northstar, then implement tools that catapult you in that direction.

Before diving into making or breaking habits, take a step back to ensure you are clear on your direction and priorities.

This foundational clarity will make your efforts more effective and aligned with your true goals. Focus first on setting a vision and principles to guide you, and then seek out and implement myriad of tools and frameworks available to build and break habits that support your vision.