Does Atoms solve a problem?
When small parts don't add up to a powerful whole
New week, new product review! This is the second in a series of posts where we review products we use. We write about how well they solve the problem they state they're solving for the people they're stating they're solving it for.
This post is about Atoms, a habit-building app based on the principles of James Clear's Atomic Habits book (thanks
for telling me about it).First things first: what problem do they claim to solve?
The team behind Atoms identified that current habit-tracking apps don’t really help people learn how to create a habit and only serve as activity reminders and notification apps. People that are trying to form habits first need to understand how habit formation works and need coaching throughout their habit-forming journey.
In Atomic Habits, James Clear describes the habit loop and the four rules to help "design an environment that has the correct cues to make you crave good habits, taking action and rewarding yourself for doing the right thing to keep the loop running." According to the four rules, good habits must be obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. The habit loop aims to help users get 1% better every day by deciding first on the person they want to be, then focusing on tiny changes that compound over time, and lastly, creating processes that break bad habits and support change.
Who is this for?
Atoms heavily relies on the Atomic Habits book, so the primary users are those who read and know about the book. Other than that, it's for anyone who wishes to make small changes to improve their quality of life.
Is Atoms solving the problem?
I identified 2 sub-problems:
1) Teaching users to set habits they will stick to
Problem solved? Not really. Let me explain why:
Compared to other habit-tracking apps, when creating my first habit, I got a template to follow and suggestions on what to write at each step. I had the urge to quickly define all the habits I've been trying to build into my life, but the app limited me to one habit at a time so I increase my chances of forming it. Fair enough.
Defining my first habit was easy, but I needed feedback on the one I set or suggestions to make it smaller, more obvious, attractive and satisfying (as the four rules set out by the book). For example, I was able to select that I plan to do weight training every day of the week; by this time, I know myself well enough to know that won't happen. Ever. Thinking big and starting small sounds great, but how do people learn to do that? How do I know if my habit is manageable?
The app wants to be the book applied in real life. And we all know that things get messy when we try to put theory into practice. So, I expect more rigour and feedback to learn to set habits correctly based on the principles outlined in the book. That’s what I’d expect as a user of the Atomic Habits companion app.
2) Coaching users to stay on track until habits are part of their life
Problem solved? I have mixed feelings about this one.
While the flow to set the first habit is straightforward, everything else around it that's meant to inspire and guide is cluttered, overwhelming, and lacks structure. I like the idea of daily lessons that contain snippets from the book. Often, after reading a good book (especially around productivity), I wish to re-read fragments to internalize some of the lessons better or have them pop up when a situation arises and I need them the most. The app does this halfway, instead of giving me daily relevant bits of wisdom that apply to my current habit forming journey, it gives me access to tens of small articles I need to navigate myself or sends daily reminders with links to seemingly random articles.
I would have liked this feature even more if I had received daily wisdom from the book, specifically about the areas I struggle with, not random thoughts about procrastination, willpower, and goal setting.
Last, there is the part where you can track your progress via repetition, milestones, reflections, streaks, and even an accountability buddy. Powerful gamification tactics alone, but not in how they’re applied in Atoms, where you get a long list of different features that aren’t really explained (with overlapping sections in 3 different places: Progress, Home, and Settings) and then left alone to figure out how they work, if you can. I liked the idea of the accountability buddy, but other than inviting someone, I couldn't figure out what else we could do to motivate and keep each other accountable to stick to our goals. One of the main lessons of the book is to decide on the person one wishes to become and then make small steps towards that vision. I assume reflections were designed to help people here, but the way they’re currently done is disjointed and doesn’t provide guidance.
Conclusion
The book's success alone demonstrated that people want to learn to establish successful and long-lasting habits. I believe Atoms doesn't deliver on its promise.
Currently, it doesn't provide people with a place and a way to practice through feedback until they nail how to create successful habit loops. Existing features are loosely built on principles from the book, and it's hard to understand their role in habit formation.
The app lacks what made the book successful: actionable advice and practicality. I would even argue that the app is an oversimplification of the book. I hope future versions of the app will better use existing technology and design to offer a richer experience in terms of user-specific feedback and guidance, where features have the goal to help users master different stages of building habits and are interactive, fun, and relevant by being presented gradually at the time users need them.
This would make Atoms one of a kind and a truly powerful place for people to make positive changes in their lives.
The brand messages (Better, bit by bit; Tiny changes; Dream big, start small) are all strong and valid, as are some UI elements and animations. I got the impression that a very nice brand book was defined somewhere, but it wasn't translated successfully into an app.
Will I choose to subscribe? Probably not, as I see no value in paying 80€/year or 10€/month for more unstructured and context-unaware daily lessons and additional content I already have access to in the book, for an accountability buddy who doesn't keep me accountable and for being able to form more habits when the app suggests I focus on one at a time.