In today’s episode, I want to talk about creating habits as a principal. Stay tuned.

Welcome to The Principal’s Handbook, your go-to resource for principals looking to revamp their leadership approach and prioritize self-care. I’m Barb Flowers, a certified life coach with eight years of experience as an elementary principal. Each week, we dive into strategies for boosting mental resilience, managing time effectively, and nurturing overall wellness. From tackling daily challenges to maintaining a healthy work-life balance, we’ll navigate the complexities of school leadership together. Join me in fostering your sense of purpose as a principal and reigniting your passion for the job. This podcast is where your well-being is the top priority.

Welcome back! Today, we’re focusing on creating habits as a principal—and I love habits and routines. They’re how I stay productive and successful. As principals, being intentional about building habits allows us to get more done automatically and be proactive with what really matters. It also frees up mental bandwidth, which we desperately need given how many complex decisions we make daily. By the end of the day, I’m mentally exhausted, and I’m sure you are, too.

Habits also create consistency that staff and students can rely on—just like in a classroom where routines help students know what to expect. We want to create that same consistency in our buildings.

Today, I want to talk about designing a customized leadership habit system that fits your unique school context because what works for one principal won’t work for everyone.

I always think about my principal when I was a teacher. He had amazing habits and routines. He was in classrooms constantly—at least three times a day in my smaller school of 275 students. Later, when I was a principal of 550 students, I realized that level of visibility wasn’t realistic for me, but it inspired me to be more visible in ways that worked for my building.

He also went out to recess daily and played kickball with kids, proactively preventing many behavior issues. That worked for his smaller building with shorter recess blocks but wouldn’t fit my larger school’s schedule.

So, it’s critical to find habits that work for you.

Before diving deeper, let’s clarify the difference between habits and routines. Routines are systems you do at certain times; over time, they become automatic habits. I use these terms interchangeably, but the goal is to have these practices become habits through consistent repetition.

Why do many principals struggle with consistent habits?

One common reason is the mindset of too many emergencies. When you believe your day is ruled by crises, it’s hard to be proactive. This mindset leads to reactivity, which is exhausting.

But the more habits you establish, the less reactive you need to be. For example, my principal being outside at recess prevented many behavior issues, reducing crises.

Administrative demands also compete for your time, often pushing out intentional leadership unless you protect that time carefully.

Another struggle is the comparison trap. Copying another principal’s habits rarely works because every building differs—student population, staff experience, assistant principals, support staff. Plus, behavior patterns and challenges vary year to year.

Just like a classroom changes yearly, so does your building. What worked one year might not the next, and that’s okay.

I worked in a district with two elementary schools. Even principals in the same district had very different leadership styles and habits—and both were successful.

So really think about your building size, staff experience, demographics, urban vs. suburban vs. rural context, and grade levels. These factors shape your habits.

Four ways to create new habits

I developed a product called Leadership by Design, a comprehensive habit tracking system. In it, I outline four effective ways to create new habits:

1. The Habit Loop
From James Clear’s Atomic Habits, the habit loop consists of: cue, craving, response, and reward.

• Cue: What triggers the habit? (e.g., an alarm or reminder)

• Craving: What motivates you? (e.g., wanting to be more visible)

• Response: The actual habit action (e.g., doing classroom walkthroughs)

• Reward: The benefit you get (e.g., seeing engaged students)

To change a habit, you need to understand and modify this loop.

2. Implementation Intentions (When-Then Planning)
This is a simple but powerful plan linking behaviors to specific cues: “When I do X, then I will do Y.”
For example, “When I finish morning announcements, then I will visit classrooms.” This sets natural transition points to build habits.

3. Habit Stacking
Build a new habit on top of an existing one.
If morning announcements are a routine, stack “classroom visits” immediately after.
Even if you think you don’t have routines, you do—arriving at school, checking email, leaving school. Use those as foundations.

4. Micro Habits
Start tiny. Pick the smallest possible habit to make it manageable and reduce resistance.
If you want to increase classroom visits, start with 2 minutes or just one visit.
Want to increase staff appreciation? Write one positive note per week. Build gradually from these small actions.

Tracking your habits

Tracking is essential because what gets measured gets managed. If you want to improve, you have to know where you are and monitor progress. Tracking creates accountability, helps you see what works, and shows patterns in your leadership.

Tracking can be digital—using calendars or apps—or paper-based like planners or habit trackers. The key is consistency.

When setting a new habit or goal, define small, clear action steps and make it routine until it becomes automatic.

Final thoughts

Remember, leadership habits must be personalized. Reflect on your context, experiment, and find what works for you. Don’t blindly copy habits from Instagram or other principals and then feel bad if it doesn’t fit your style or school.

If you want help building your habit system, check out Leadership by Design: The Principal’s Custom Habit System. It includes templates for accountability, trackers for self-care, routines, goal-setting, walkthroughs, and staff/student recognition.

I’ll link that in the show notes.

Think about what habits you want to start implementing and tracking now—habits and routines that fit you and your school.

If you love the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Remember, you have the power to shape your life according to the mindset you choose.

Have a great week, and I’ll see you next time.