Atomic Habits for Midlife Working Women and Mothers

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For midlife women, there may come a time where you start to think about what the rest of your life will look like. If you’ve fallen off the health wagon the last few years or if you feel like you have no passions that you can call all your own, applying Atomic Habits as a midlife working woman and mother can really turn things around and jump start this new phase of life.

Habits are powerful and life changing. If used the right way, they can create extraordinary improvements in your life. On the flip side, building the wrong habits can be absolutely detrimental to your overall well-being.

What are Atomic Habits?

Author James Clear defines “Atomic Habits” in 3 different ways.

1. Tiny or small, like an atom. Behaviors that are small and easy to do are not only more likely to be completed, but also can provide powerful results in the long run.
2. A fundamental unit in a large system. In a sense, your habits are like the atoms of your life. Each one is a fundamental unit in the system of your life.
3. The source of immense energy or power. Your habits are a great source of habit.

What is an example of an Atomic Habit for midlife working women?

Working out is a common goal and habit midlife women over 35 often restart over and over again. The problem for many women seems to be that it’s very difficult to make this lifestyle stick with some real tangible consistency.

For me, my midlife crisis coupled with leaving a toxic work environment brought on my need to change my habits and focus on my well-being. I decided to focus on fitness and will share below how to do the same for you.

What ways can this habit or lifestyle be applied to midlife working women?

James Clear succinctly lays out a detailed formula to follow.

1. Make it obvious
2. Make it attractive
3. Make it easy
4. Make it satisfying

Let’s work through this specific example together using the steps

Make it obvious

Making it obvious for midlife women and mothers is possibly the most crucial element of his formula. The sheer amount of STUFF women have to remember is what weighs on us the most.

Clear suggests “habit stacking” to initiate a new habit and make it obvious. Scope out a habit you know you practice and “stack” the new habit right after so that it starts going hand in hand. 

For example: If you decide to work out before the family wakes up or before you get ready for work, consider a few things you do every morning without much thought. 

I personally put on my Apple Watch immediately after I wake up because I am obsessed with tracking the number of steps I take. Then I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and put on my contacts. 

A few months ago it was easy for me to sit on my bed at this point and scroll through my phone until my kids woke up, but now I stack this with heading to my home work out area.

The habit stacking formula broken down is “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].” Therefore, “After brushing my teeth and putting my contacts, I will go work out.”

Make it attractive

Sometimes in midlife, it becomes so easy to be lazy in the way we present anything. 

We get a little too comfortable in sweats or stop going the extra mile to make things attractive because we just simply have so much more things going on than to focus on aesthetics. 

But there is a reason we’re drawn to pretty and beautiful things. It holds our attention just a little bit longer than everything else.

Take the time to cultivate spaces that matter to you and to represent yourself as the type of person you want to become.

Since implementing my new workout habit, I’ve really made more effort to dress more put together to even exercise. There are a lot of skimpy workout outfits out there but if you’re just getting started, trying more modest but comfortable tops like this cute tank top and peekaboo long sleeved shirt is a great start. This gets me in a headspace to BE a fitness oriented person. Not someone just doing it on the fly.

Also, consider creating a designated area where you can work out consistently. Make this fitness area organized and decorate the space in a way that gets you in the mood to exercise. If you want to color coordinate there are so many great options these days to really spruce up the vibe, You can start with these colored weight sets and anti-tear yoga mats.

Make it easy

In addition to habit stacking and creating a beautiful work out space for yourself, think of ways to make it very easy for you to incorporate fitness into your life on a daily basis. The simplest thing you can do to get started is to make all your tools easily available. This means, keeping any weight you like to use, yoga mat, shoes, water bottles like my Hydro Flask, timers, tv set ups, or music all in one area. Trying to track down different things all over your house gives you extra reasons to get tired of the habit before even starting. 

Clear mentions that one practical way to eliminate a bad habit is to reduce the exposure to the cue that causes it and to avoid temptations instead of hoping to have enough self control to overcome it. 

Scheduling is a great example of avoiding bad habit-creating cues or temptation. I am an avid fan of using the Happy Planner to schedule out my week and commit to working out as well.

If working out in the morning means your kids often interrupt you or you simply cannot wake up enough to do it consistently, then you should readjust the time you want and CAN commit to. If you continue to force this time on yourself, it will be easier and easier to skip workouts.

Try working out during your lunch hour instead if it provides more consistency and less interruptions. It’s all about setting yourself up for success by making it easier on yourself, not harder.

You know inherently what scenario would make it easiest for you. So create it.

Make it satisfying

Making something satisfying can be a challenge. 

If you’re an incessant list maker and checking off tasks gives you joy then implement this immediately. There are great habit trackers you can try. 

Depending on your intent with working out, the way to make it satisfying will differ.

If your intent is to lose weight or inches, I recommend taking selfies. Many fitness experts warn that it’s common for people to gain weight if they are incorporating a lot of weight bearing exercises and this might discourage you. In reality, a picture of yourself might show you improvements you wouldn’t have seen just by looking at the number on the scale.

If it’s to elevate your mood, then there are great mood trackers as well to see general trends in your feelings. 

If it’s for health purposes, measuring blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol are all quantifiable long term measures you can definitely ask your doctor about for an effective plan.

Whatever the purpose, habit stacking here would work well too. Stack something you love to do with this new habit. If you like tracking steps or seeing how many calories were burned the way I do, get an inexpensive and simple step counter or an Apple watch for more detailed information and check how you’ve done right after. If you have a sweet tooth, try pairing your workouts with a delicious chocolate protein shake.

What does Atomic Habits teach?

In essence, Clear says habits are the compound interest of self improvement. Try not to focus on lofty goals, rather focus on setting up the system. And finally, imagine how the type of person you want to become would do every step of the way and embody it.

Try picking a habit you’ve always wanted to implement and apply his steps this week.