How to Change

The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

By: Katy Milkman, Angela Duckworth - foreword

Narrated by: Katy Milkman, Angela Duckworth

Wall Street Journal Best Seller

"A welcome revelation." (The Financial Times)

Award-winning Wharton Professor and Choiceology podcast host Katy Milkman has devoted her career to the study of behavior change. In this ground-breaking book, Milkman reveals a proven path that can take you from where you are to where you want to be, with a foreword from psychologist Angela Duckworth, the best-selling author of Grit.

Change comes most readily when you understand what's standing between you and success and tailor your solution to that roadblock. If you want to work out more but find exercise difficult and boring, downloading a goal-setting app probably won't help. But what if, instead, you transformed your workouts so they became a source of pleasure instead of a chore? Turning an uphill battle into a downhill one is the key to success.

Drawing on Milkman's original research and the work of her world-renowned scientific collaborators, How to Change shares strategic methods for identifying and overcoming common barriers to change, such as impulsivity, procrastination, and forgetfulness. Through case studies and engaging stories, you’ll learn:

• Why timing can be everything when it comes to making a change
• How to turn temptation and inertia into assets
• That giving advice, even if it's about something you're struggling with, can help you achieve more

Whether you're a manager, coach, or teacher aiming to help others change for the better or are struggling to kick-start change yourself, How to Change offers an invaluable, science-based blueprint for achieving your goals, once and for all.

©2021 Katy Milkman (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Packed with research-backed paths to personal growth.” (NPR’s Life Kit)

“[Filled with] practical tips that can help you reduce stress, improve your mental health and live a better life.” (CNN)

"Simple yet profound insights.” (Behavioral Scientist)

Great Listen!

Very insightful and easy to understand. Finished in a day but the concepts will stick with you.

Science based approach on how to change

I am a big fan of behavioral economics, books on habit change and the like. This book was right up my alley and didn't disappoint. A ton of practical tips and (at least for geeks like me) a fun listen

Another roadmap

There's clearly a lot of science underpinning this book which is one of the reasons why I like it, I do tend to have a preference for things with the weight of science and data backing the advice and hypotheses.

There were echoes of reconfirming concepts that make it easier and believable to read and interspersed with some new (for me) insights that were the golden nuggets I am always looking for.

The author has a light-hearted writing style that draws you in, I'm sure her classes are most enjoyable too, how fortunate her students must be!

Easy and interesting listening

I really enjoyed this book. Katy is an engaging storyteller and offers a tremendous amount of practical ways to affect positive change. I’ll be coming back to my bookmarks often.

The path to personal change

Excellent book. The material is presented clearly and easily adapted to personal use. It’s working for me and I am enjoying the success.

Super Recommended!

It’s an Excelent book from Katy. It’s super clear and straightforward. Listen to the choicelogy podcast too, it’s wonderful. Excelent job, thanks for doing this work. It’s inspiring and it helps me a lot in my life and work

Simply helpful

Well worth the listen. I really appreciate the structure of it. It makes it easy to follow along and think about how to apply the lessons learned.

Fantastic book and great listen

This book is chock full of great nuggets on applied behavioral psychology. As an educator, counselor and psychology teacher, I plan to highly encourage my students and parents to dive into this wisdom. This audio version truly made it a great experience.

Excellently crafted, so many good takeaways !

This book is well organized with many good takeaways all backed by research. Keep the research up Katie and bring it to us in very practical ways to use it. As always the Milkman delivers!

Recommended to several people already

This is east to listen to. Authors voice and the audio quality is well done.
The content is phenomenal. I have read atomic habits, deep work and many other popular books on similar subjects. And this has refreshing and a new view on not just the habit, but a deep dive into the why.