Fumio Sasaki changed his life when he became a minimalist. But before minimalism could really stick, he had to make it a habit. All of us live our lives based on the habits we've formed, from when we get up in the morning to what we eat and drink to how likely we are to actually make it to the gym. In Hello, Habits, Sasaki explains how we can acquire the new habits that we want--and get rid of the ones that don't do us any good.
The author might disclaim any idea that Hello, Habits is meant to instruct or guide readers, but there’s scarcely any other conceivable reason for the book to exist, and my, my is it an unsettling prospect to get life-advice from somebody who, translator Eriko Sugita’s efforts notwithstanding, comes across as more than a little dim ... The book is [...] full of little tossed-off asides from which readers are encouraged to draw deeper life lessons, and virtually every single one of those tossed-off asides should instead be tossed out - as blockheaded, off-point, factually wrong, or all three.
Sasaki [...] offers a methodology for developing helpful, healthful habits in this handy guide ... He finishes with habit-maintaining advice like gradually increasing challenges to avoid boredom and chaining new habits onto established ones. Readers who find establishing a routine frustrating will love Sasaki’s methods.
A minimalist guru delivers a tepid discussion of remaking one’s rotten behavior ... Sasaki blends jargon [...] with a few observations from science, as when he notes that remaking habitual behavior is largely unconscious activity ... The best parts of the book are glosses on others’ thoughts ... Pass on this one and turn to Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit or Wendy Wood’s Good Habits, Bad Habits instead. Of minimal interest considering the many better books on the subject already on the market.
