3 Ways Atomic Habits can help your photography career

January 19, 2021

Photography and Self-Help

I used to be some kind of a “self-help” junkie.

I am not so sure where it came from but I always thought that self improvement was very important. So this lead me to read tons of book on the subject of getting good at being yourself.

One of the lessons I took away from my experiences and those books is the chip-away method. Chip away means to me that instead of going all-out on an objective or a goal, a better approach is that you simply methodically go at solving it. Little by little. This seems to be like it lead to sustainable results long term (and let’s agree - less tiring).

James Clear is pretty clear

Now, I wanted to write more on the subject of chipping away but I came across Sam Harris’ podcast featuring James Clear that discussed just that. James being a little better on marketing dubbed it - Atomic Habits.

The podcast was eye opening and I’ve purchased the book immediately.

How habits impacts your photography career

The basic premise is that change doesn’t usually come from willpower. A simple habit change can significantly impact your life, good or bad. To implement those good habits and replace the bad ones, there are a series of “psychological tricks” to get you to form those new good habits. Atomic Habits goes in great length in listing the techniques, detailing them and the psychology behind it.

Here are some habits you should favor that are inspired from the book.

3 Better photography habits

1) Want to make more sales? Make a habit of contacting multiple clients a day. Clients won’t find you if they do not know you exist. I personally make a habit of contacting 3 new potential clients a day and following up with whomever didn’t respond.
2) Do you suffer from GAS or Gear Acquisition Syndrome? The video covers the psychology behind why but in short, make it harder to buy stuff with your credit card!
3) Want a better portfolio? Book yourself a minimum of 1 purely creative photoshoot a month. By the end of the year, you will have a new portfolio with 12 new shoots that represents YOUR brand!

The book works like a self audit and gives you the best practices in order to develop those good habits. I can blindly recommend Atomic Habits to anyone, it is that powerful. I know that only a few will actually pick up the book . But those who do will be rewarded with practical advice to become the best at what they do.

I have made a video on the subject of Atomic Habits discussing how they can actually help photographers (which are the principal readers of this blog).

So if you want more out of life, your business and your goal - I urge you to watch this video or just get the book (USA || Canada).

Hope you enjoyed this! See you in the next post!

Yvens