Best Books on Habits: 31 Picks Recommended by CEOs

Charles Duhigg explains the loop of cue, routine and reward behind every habit and his golden rule for changing one, with cases such as Febreze at Procter & Gamble and Paul O’Neill’s focus on worker safety at Alcoa. Ray Dalio says it opened his eyes about habits.

James Clear divides each habit into four stages, from cue and craving to response and reward, and shows how habit stacking, environment design and a shift in identity let small daily changes compound. Andrew Huberman urges everyone to read it and apply the tools.

Benjamin Hardy argues that willpower loses to surroundings at odds with a goal, so lasting change comes from shaping the environment, with forcing functions, layers of accountability and settings that support the behavior wanted. Bill Widmer pairs it with The Power of Habit.

Jeff Olson holds that lasting success rests on plain disciplines repeated daily, small choices that compound for or against a person over the years. Benjamin Spall values its account of how everyday habits work both for and against people.

Marshall Goldsmith, who coaches global leaders, describes twenty habits that hold already successful executives back and offers a systematic way to change behavior for the better. James Clear recommends it to people who are successful but know they are not perfect.

Gretchen Rubin starts from the premise that no single habit strategy suits everyone, and explains principles of making and breaking habits rooted in self-knowledge, from keeping healthy habits amid temptation to helping someone else change.

Joe Dispenza argues that personality is not fixed and that ingrained habits and beliefs can be overridden by changing thoughts and emotions, ending with a week-by-week meditation process for rehearsing a new self. Chelsea Frank recommends it.

Over 45 days of short exercises, Loretta Graziano Breuning shows how to form new habits that make dopamine, serotonin, endorphin and oxytocin easier for the brain to release. Marvin Liao has it on his list.

Stephen Guise’s method began with a commitment to one push-up that grew into full workouts; he argues that motivation and big resolutions fight the subconscious brain, while tiny daily commitments follow its rules and last.

Psychotherapist Richard O’Connor explains why bad habits resist change through two selves, a conscious one and an automatic one, and gives exercises to retrain the automatic self against procrastination, overeating and worry. Bogdan Lucaciu credits it with showing him his own bad habits and behavior.

Tynan argues that willpower is limited and that deliberately built habits turn hard tasks into automatic ones; the second half weighs specific habits across each major area of life, with the pros and cons of adopting each.

Amy Johnson treats bad habits and addictions as impersonal brain wiring formed by acting on habitual thoughts, and argues that the wiring can be reversed through small everyday changes rather than force of will. Chelsea Frank recommends it.

Stephen R. Covey’s book is mainly about character and personal effectiveness, organized as seven habits that move from independence to interdependence, with the last one keeping the rest in shape. Todd Henry says the idea of sharpening the saw led him to daily study.

Tim Ferriss gathered the routines and tactics of world-class performers from his podcast, from morning rituals to training, and tested many himself; it is a broad playbook rather than a habit method. James Altucher keeps it on his floor and reads a page at a time.

Moving from building habit-forming technology to resisting it, Nir Eyal offers a four-step model for following through on plans; the book is mainly about distraction and attention. James Clear praised it as a framework for getting results amid noise.

Nir Eyal’s book is mainly about product design: his Hook Model explains how products from the iPhone to the Bible App build user habits through repeated cycles. Javed Khatri says it taught him to understand the minds of end users.

Chase Jarvis treats creativity as a habit open to everyone and strengthened by small daily actions, organized around his IDEA system; the book is mainly about creative practice and careers. Debbie Millman sees it as proof that creativity is a practice as well as an art.

Richard Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein write mainly about choice architecture in policy and business, showing how inertia, the influence of others and predictable biases shape what people do, and how arranging options can move people toward better choices. Eric Ries recommends it.

Mel Robbins’s book is mainly about courage and action, built on a five-second countdown she uses to break bad habits, quiet self-doubt and push past procrastination. Miracle Olatunji describes its rule of acting on an impulse before the brain squashes it.

Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz write mainly about managing energy for performance, and their route to lasting change runs through specific, positive rituals that balance effort with renewal. James Clear has it on his list of best business books.

Adam Alter traces the rise of behavioral addiction, from compulsive email checking to binge watching, and shows how companies design for it and how the same design can be turned to good use. Joe Rogan found it a sobering read.

Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney make the case that self-control predicts success and works like a muscle that practice strengthens and overuse tires, with techniques for improving it. Dan Ariely praised its simple tricks for drawing on willpower.

Mason Currey compiles how 161 artists and scientists arranged their working days, from Trollope writing before his post office job to Balanchine working while ironing. James Clear took from it that great artists share a consistent time and place to work.

Aubrey Marcus walks through a single day, from waking to sleep, proposing small, specific tweaks that build into weekly routines and eventually habits for life, from diet and workouts to inbox triage. Ryan Holiday endorsed it as a guide to remaking daily rituals and habits.

Neil Fiore’s program is mainly about procrastination, treating it as a pattern with causes that can be removed so busy people start tasks sooner and enjoy guilt-free play. Lisa Rothstein recommends it to clients fighting procrastination.

Physician Gabor Maté draws on his Vancouver clinic to present addiction as a continuum running through society, shaped by brain chemistry, emotional development and personal history, with self-understanding as the first step. Peter Attia found it upsetting and illuminating.

Terry Burnham and Jay Phelan trace self-defeating habits such as overeating and overspending to instincts shaped when ancestors struggled to survive, and argue that understanding these genes lets people outwit them and build better habits.

Former Navy SEAL Jocko Willink lays out the daily routines of body and mind he keeps and makes the case that discipline leads to freedom, with strategies against weakness and procrastination. Tim Ferriss calls it fantastic.

Brendon Burchard’s six habits for long-term success, from generating energy and seeking clarity to demonstrating courage, come from his coaching and a large survey of high performers. Bogdan Lucaciu found the content strong once past the introduction.

Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey start from heart patients who would not change their habits even when told they might die, and offer diagnostics for uncovering the beliefs and mindsets behind that immunity in people and organizations. Nadia Al Sheikh notes how often the resistance is self-inflicted.

Sean Covey adapts his father’s seven habits for teenagers, applying proactivity, planning and prioritizing to self-image, friendships, peer pressure and parents. Miracle Olatunji found in it a base of principles for goal setting and personal growth.