Atomic Habits for English Teachers

I am one of those annoying people who loves new year energy. A fresh new planner? One of life’s greatest joys. Goal setting? Let’s plan a retreat! Self-help books? I listen to a chapter every day. As an eternal optimist, I just can’t help it. Each blank day on the calendar is full of possibilities. 

This is why I love to re-read Atomic Habits by James Clear every year. It’s the concept that if you make one tiny step toward your goals each day, your tiny actions will compound over the course of an entire year, career, and even lifetime. 

So, inspired by James Clear’s bestselling book, let’s break down how tiny, consistent actions can create massive, life-changing results. Whether it’s saving precious time for yourself or improving your students’ learning experiences, these strategies are designed specifically for English teachers. Keep reading to learn how just a few minutes here and there can totally transform your teaching year!

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What if making a noticeable impact in your classroom didn’t require sweeping changes or hours of extra work? What if all it took was a few small adjustments to your daily habits? Here are some ideas to get you started: 

1. Send One Positive Note Home Each Week 

One of the BEST classroom routines I ever started was getting into the habit of sending a positive email home every Friday. I appreciate how it trained me to notice more student positivity, and I loved how it helped me end the week on a feel-good note. If you started this wholesome routine, you’d have 36 opportunities for positive communication by next year. That creates an incredible ripple effect. Parents feel supported, students gain confidence, and you strengthen the home-to-school connection that can make all the difference in a child’s progress. 

If you’d like to make this habit even easier, you can download these positive note templates to get you started!

2. Leave Five Minutes Early Each Day 

This might sound small, but leaving just five minutes earlier than you usually do can add up in a big way. That’s 25 minutes each week, or a whopping 900 minutes by the end of the school year. 

How could you use that reclaimed time? Start reading that book you’ve been eyeing, pick up a new hobby, spend extra moments with your family, or simply decompress after a long day. Small changes like this can leave you feeling rejuvenated and ready to tackle the next day with more energy and focus. 

To leave just five minutes earlier a day, what boundaries would you need to set? What practical tools would you need to help form the habit (maybe even as simple as setting an alarm on your phone)? What resources could help you buy back your time? 

3. Shave One Minute Off Grading Each Essay 

Grading can be one of the most time-consuming parts of teaching English. But what if you revised your approach slightly to shave just 1 minute of grading for each essay? How much compounded time would you save? You can actually find out an exact number using this calculator!  

If you trim just one minute from each essay, and you grade 100 essays at a time, that’s saving you well over an hour per grading session. Over the course of the year, this adds up to extra hours that you can spend with your loved ones or prevent burnout. 

To learn how to save time grading, start here: 5 Tips for Grading Essays Faster While Leaving Better Feedback

4. Add Six Minutes of Independent Reading Time

Carving out just six minutes of independent reading time for your students each day might not seem like much at first. But across a 180-day school year? That’s 18 extra hours of reading! 

This extra commitment to independent reading boosts vocabulary and comprehension, while also nurturing a genuine love of books. Those small daily moments can lead to big reading progress. 

If you want to learn the research behind six minutes of silent reading, learn more here: How to Incorporate Independent Reading with Middle and High School Students

5. Dedicate Five Minutes a Day to Test Prep 

We’ve all been there—the spring testing season sneaks up, and suddenly it’s panic mode. Instead of cramming all at once, commit to adding just five minutes of test prep to your daily routine. 

Whether it’s reviewing grammar skills, analyzing a text, or practicing essay structures, these short, consistent sessions will give your students a solid six extra hours of preparation before tests roll around. Regular practice also helps ease student anxiety and makes test-taking feel like second nature. 

To make test prep a daily habit, keep reading here: Middle and High School ELA Test Prep All Year Long

6. Ask One Attendance Question a Day 

“Who’s here?” can be more than just an attendance check. Instead, ask your students a simple, fun question each day to learn more about them as individuals while sparking classroom engagement. 

Questions like “What’s your favorite snack?” or “Which superhero would you want as your teacher?” take just a moment but provide 180 opportunities over the year to connect with your students. The more seen and heard they feel, the more likely they’ll feel motivated to participate and thrive in your class. 

If you want to help build community AND promote reading, you grab a FREE list of 115+ book themed attendance questions here: Get-to-Know-You Activities for Secondary Language Arts Class

7. Add One Element of Wonder a Week 

Planning wonder-filled lessons doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If you added just one element of wonder to your lesson plans a week, that would be 36 opportunities to create classroom magic. Tiny sparks of curiosity and surprise can transform an ordinary lesson into an unforgettable experience for your students. Plus, these doable moments of wonder help fuel your teacher fire too! 

If you want to be inspired to keep the wonder this new year, read our book here: Keeping the Wonder: An Educator’s Guide to Magical, Engaging, and Joyful Learning

Bonus Tip:

If you love this concept and are ready to apply even more “atomic habits” to your classroom, start small and stack these habits onto routines you already have! For example, send that Friday positive note during your coffee break or use independent reading time to model good reading behavior with your own book. 

English teachers like you already know the value of consistent effort. After all, we teach our students the power of revision. Apply that same approach to your teaching habits, and the changes will sneak up on you—in the best possible way! 

Start implementing just one or two of these ideas today and watch how the impact grows over the semester. Happy New Year!