In today's video I'm sharing ten habits that have changed my life for the better and have set me up for success.
One of this month's Chic Assignments is to cultivate a good habit. I thought I'd share ten habits that have improved my life for the better so we can keep the discussion going.
I highly recommend reading the book, Atomic Habits, by James Clear. This book has put so much into perspective for me. I realized why some parts of my life are successful... and others aren't. It's all about my habits. Let's look on the bright side today as I share the good habits I've cultivated over the years.
🌿Habit #1 Wake-up Early I started this habit around 13 years ago when I became serious about becoming a writer and I'm so thankful I did. Of course, there have been exceptions over the years (like when I have a baby), but generally I wake up between 5:00 am and 6:00 am. I even did this before I had children. Waking up early sets me up for success each day and if I ever oversleep my alarm or wake up with the kids on a busy weekday, I always regret it.
🌿Habit #2 Setting Up the Homeschool Room the Night Before Yes, there are other things I prepare for the night before, but this particular habit, helps the following day run much smoother. We tidy up the room when we are finished with school, but at night I go over the lessons for the next day and lay out all of the school work at their desks. That way, they can get started without me, if necessary, and there is no confusion about what work to do in the morning. On the nights I don't do this, chaos generally reigns the next morning. I realize not everyone homeschools, but if there is something you can prepare the night before to help the next day run smoother, develop a good habit to cultivate that.
🌿Habit #3 Taking Vitamins I got into the good habit of taking vitamins at the beginning of my first pregnancy, over ten years ago, and have regularly taken vitamins since. I've been taking the Women's 18+ from Ritual for the past year and can personally recommend them to you. They have a lovely mint essence that make them easy to swallow, and never upset my stomach. Thank you to Ritual for sponsoring today's video. Code DAILY10 gives 10% off.
🌿Habit #4 Meal Planning I have experienced life while meal planning and life without meal planning and I can definitely tell you that meal planning makes life easier and keeps us on budget. After the birth of our fourth child I really burned out and didn't meal plan for nearly two years. I relied heavily on meal kits and last-minute dinners. The ironic thing is that meal planning would have made my life easier back then. I now enjoy meal planning. It's fun to try new recipes and keep them mixed in with family favorites. You can check out my What's for Dinner? playlist for more inspiration.
🌿Habit #5 Ordering Grocery Delivery I resisted this for a long time, but one of my good friends convinced me I had to try online grocery delivery. I took her advice and have never looked back. It can be really stressful to take all of your children to the grocery store, especially if they are little (and especially now in a pandemic). I love ordering my groceries because I save money by not putting extra things in my cart that we don't need. Armed with my meal plan, I am able to save so much time and energy and just focus on actually creating the meals. For those curious, I use Instacart and my personal code gives you $10 off your order JSCOTT70795F190
🌿Habit #6 Intermittent Fasting I do the 16:8 method. Since I started intermittent fasting last year, I have seen a massive improvement in my overall health and wellness. I was able to lose over 20 lbs and settle comfortably at my pre-pregnancy weight from over ten years ago. I also have increased energy, clear skin, and so much more. I'll be doing a one-year update on intermittent fasting in March so I hope you will join me back for that.
🌿Habit #7 Listening to audio books while cleaning I have an audible subscription and enjoy it so thoroughly. You can also listen to audiobooks free from the library. I'm always listening to a riveting book and the wonderful side effect is that it actually makes me want to clean. I enjoy popping my headphones on in the afternoon and tackling the kitchen or folding laundry. I enjoy escaping into books and since I rarely have time to sit down and read anymore, I can still get my fill of enjoyment from reading.
🌿Habit #8 Reading living books to the children My boys (ages 4 and 2) are still very young and enjoy the picture books we read to them everyday. With my older daughters (10 and 8) I've gotten into the wonderful habit of reading a chapter from a living book to them each night. I can't stress enough how life-changing this has been for all of us. If you only take one tip away from this video, I hope it's this one. We started with The Wind in the Willows, then read the entire Little House on the Prairie series, The Secret Garden, and now Little Women. I look forward to reading a chapter to them each night. It is such a special bonding time and the benefits of reading living books are too numerous to count.
🌿Habit #9 Planning (with my planner) I use both a digital and paper planner. I schedule appointments, write down deadlines, and things I need to remember for the kids. I also plan out all of my work and homeschool too. Each day I will write a to-do list that helps me stay on track. Planning properly majorly contributes to my productivity and is a beneficial habit that I do every day. I currently use The Day Designer for my main planner and love it.
🌿Habit #10 Writing every day My writing mentor, Alan Watt, suggested that I write every day. As a writer, I agree that it is essential. If you don't write every day, you start to slip and, as soon as you know it, you haven't written in a month. Writing every day, whether it is a book, for this blog, or writing poetry, fills my creative cup and keeps me feeling alive. You might not be a writer, but you can certainly find your passion and find time to do it every day.
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Comment of the Week
Leslie writes, "Thank you for acknowledging that there really are days we don't feel like cooking. And that doesn't make us bad homemakers."
Hello Leslie, even Madame Chic had days when she relied on prepackaged frozen foods for dinner. It wasn't often, but it definitely happened. The key is to not fret over it and just own that you're going through a burnout. I can totally relate!
I hope you enjoyed today's video. Is there a habit I discussed today that you would like to cultivate this year? Let us know in the comments below and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog.
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Thank you so much for your wonderful content! Would you ever consider listing what books you’re reading, and your read aloud? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kay! Thanks for the suggestion! ~ Jennifer
ReplyDeleteEstablishing daily habits is an excellent way to keep your home life from going off the rails if something drastic or unexpected happens, like serious illness in the family. I've found putting as many things as possible on autopilot by establishing habits frees up time to do more fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteBetty Hughes
ReplyDeleteWonderful that you read to the girls!
I had 4 children, now adult, and tea time was a highlight for us. They would eat and I would read aloud to them and sip my tea! To this day, that was a 'ritual' that they remember with affection, gratitude, warmth and plan to do with their children. (I still remember almost choking with a sore throat form Gollum's creepy voice in The Hobbit!)
#8 I am a multi-generational living book reader. My dad read to me, and I read to my sons for years after they were both reading. I remember reading Felix Salten’s Bambi (the original, not Disney!) when I was about 4. My deer hunting father was very affected by the story; he never hunted game again. And my second son, who was having trouble learning to read English in his French immersion program, launched himself when my “chapter a morning before school” plan grew frustratingly slow - about a book and a half into the Harry Potter series! My guys loved a wide variety of classic books: Lassie Come-Home, Treasure Island, A Christmas Carol, Heidi, Black Beauty. More contemporary favourites included Susan Collins’ The Dark is Rising trilogy.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite videos you’ve done!! You reinforced my passion to continue to cultivate good habits. Currently my favorite atomic habits are getting up early to read my Bible and plan my day, reading aloud to my children daily, preparing our homeschool week ahead every weekend, meal planning, and “couch time” to connect, talk with, listen to my husband every day when he gets home from work! Keep up the encouragement! You’re a blessing!
ReplyDelete