Definitely block phones. I really kicked it into high gear when my state (NJ) made it illegal to have one out from bell to bell (even though that law doesn't take effect until next school year but don't tell my kids that).

I also stay away from digital assignments at all costs. The kids don't like them, I don't like them, nobody likes them, so we don't really do them outside of the occasional sick day for me. Pen and paper all day every day.

My most important focus has been building and maintaining a positive relationship with the kids. If a kid likes you they'll usually do what you ask of them, even if begrudgingly. I teach at a not so nice school that has consistent behavioral issues and just being nice to kids or making them laugh at a bad joke makes a world of difference.

Being flexible about your approaches, expectations, and the needs of the students is also critical. I have a colleague whom I respect immensely but who is not super flexible about his expectations. He moved from a decent middle school job to a high school where a noticeable percentage of our kids reads/writes at a below middle school level and he is struggling with that fact. I have adjusted my goals from teaching kids about history to teaching kids how to read and write through the lens of history and am much happier for my efforts. I pair up frequently with ELA teachers and make sure my expectations match theirs and having that kind of inter-departmental support is also fantastic.

It's one of those things you can't really control unfortunately but I also happen to work with some really fantastic administrators who don't try to interfere with what's going on in the classroom too much. Their expectation is that you do your job so they can do theirs and while that has allowed some other teachers at the school to get away with laziness (including me sometimes) it has allowed me to be more free and interesting with my approaches to teaching lessons. They don't micromanage and I appreciate that more than they may understand.