Predictable: Predictable Habits for an Unpredictable Life - 1/29/25

 

The other night, I was reading, for the second go around, Atomic Habits by James Clear. If you’re not familiar with Clear’s work, especially this book, I highly recommend you pick it up and give it a gander. It’s an easy read, especially for the topic, which discusses our habits, both good and bad, and Clear provides strategies to either help build or eliminate based on our goals. As I was saying, this is my second reading of this book, one of the few books that I will re-read. If you’re wondering why I’m re-reading it, I’ve felt that since my last consumption of it, over two years ago, I have been struggling to build new, positive habits in my life. Atomic Habits helped me in the past and I have no doubts that it will once again. 

As I was reading and highlighting key takeaways, my wife looked over at me and asked, “What are you reading now?” About a week prior, I finished my first book of 2025, Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk. Fight Club is another book I have re-read. In fact, for the past five years, it has been the very book I read to kick off each new year. I look over my left shoulder, holding my blue highlighter between the index and middle finger in my right hand like a cigarette, and respond, “Atomic Habits. It’s about strategies to build positive habits and eliminate bad ones.” With her book resting on her lap, she slowly began turning her head to look forward, away from me, picks up her book, shakes her head and says, “Didn’t you already read that? You’re so predictable,” and continued to bury herself back into her book. 

I’ve contemplated this comment, “You’re so predictable,” for the past few days and realized that is exactly what I want with what goals I’m striving for. In order to build positive habits, we need to be predictable. Some may feel that being predictable leads to a boring life, no spontaneity, but I disagree. I feel that being predictable is a key ingredient for an exciting life, a life made of crushing goals and living in what many only have as dreams. 

James Clear obviously says it much better than me, he is the “Habit Expert,” but basically, creating positive habits won’t happen by simply wishing them into existence. We can say all we want of what we want to do, what we want to accomplish, but unless we put the work forth those wants are just daydreams. Positive habits need to be built into our lives with cues, support, a shift in mindset, and habit stacking. Again, I’m not going to try and explain the process and benefits of Atomic Habits, so please pick up the book and give it a read yourself, you won’t be disappointed. 

By being predictable, I know what habits throughout my day are going to happen. These are habits that I have put in place to reach the goals I have set for myself. Here’s a rough breakdown of a perfect day implementing my habits: 

5:00 Am Wakeup

Hydrate

Coffee

Prayer

Daily Stoic

Journal/reflection

Minimum 30 minutes of movement (lifting, running, or cycling)

Visit 3 classrooms

Complete tasks on my 3 item “To Do” list

Family time

Read

Sleep

These are the non-negotiables that I strive to get done each and every day. Of course, not every day is perfect, but there are definitely more days than not that I accomplish each habit. For the days that I don’t, tomorrow is a new day and I work to be 1% better than the day before. 

Being an elementary principal, husband, and father of a 13 and 16 year old, the times in between my habits are far from predictable. It’s the predictability of my daily habits that keep me grounded, focused, and working towards my goals and prepare me to take on all of the unpredictability of my predictable life. 

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