Happy New Year! It's great to be back on The Daily Connoisseur.

Most of us have a planner but we don’t use it optimally. In today’s video I’m sharing how you can use your planner for more than just scheduling your month. You can use it as a tool to help you develop good habits and achieve your goals. 

Here is my 5-step process to developing good habits through proper planning:

1. Write down your goals. Most planners have a section that allows you to write down goals. If not, they might have a few blank pages that you can use for this purpose. Why should we write down our goals? I am linking a Forbes article  that shares the neuroscience behind writing down your goals in order to achieve them. The neuroscience occurs on two levels: external storage and encoding. Both of these components work together to help keep our goals front and center in our minds. 

 2. Visualize the end as if it’s already happened. Ask yourself: What do you need to do to get there? So take your goal and imagine that you’ve already achieved it. It can be something as big as publishing a book or something as small as clearing the clutter from your closet. What does the end look like? What will it take to get you there? This step is purely thinking. 

 3. Write down all the action steps that you need to take to get you there. Schedule this in your planner. If we are going with the example of the book, you will need to write it, right? So make a plan to write every day. Draft out the time. Make sure it’s consistent. Make it realistic. Let’s say you plan to write from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. each morning before the family wakes up. Write that down in your planner. If your goal is to declutter your closet, write down the action plan for that. Do you notice that so far, all we’ve been doing is dreaming and writing? This is the crucial foundation. 

 4. Set a deadline and mark this in your planner calendar. If I know someone is coming over, I can tidy the house like a maniac. That deadline sets me into action. We need deadlines to accomplish our goals. Set deadlines for your goals. If I have a deadline to finish a book manuscript, you better believe I’m going to take that seriously. Set a realistic deadline to achieve your goal. 

 5. Actually do the action steps. Consistently. Hold yourself accountable. Do it. When you finish each day, check it off in your planner. Commit to these actionable habits for 30 days at a time. When you are finished with the 30 days, you might not want to quit. Let’s say you want to read 5 classic books this year that you’ve always wanted to read. Set aside time each night before you go to bed (instead of watching TV) that will allow you to read for 30 minutes. Guess what? After 30 days, I bet you will enjoy the new habit so much that you won’t want to quit and go back to your old ways. 

 BONUS: Keep your goals to yourself. Don’t speak about your goals unless you have someone you love and trust implicitly with your dreams. Many people lack vision or have a negative outlook on life. And all it takes is for someone to belittle your dreams to make you to fall slightly off track. If that does happen, just hold that criticism in your pocket and smile at their lack of vision when you finally do achieve your goal.

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. 

News

📍I have released a new line of beautiful and affordable digital art through Teespring. Check out these beautiful Parisian Cityscapes. A 3-pack of artwork is only $2.99. Print them and frame them for easy and elegant artwork in your own home. A Parisian Monuments 3-pack is also available. 

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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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I'm sharing some excellent book recommendations, a new minimalist makeup line, Ashwagandha gummies, digital Parisian wallpaper, and much more in today's video. 

Let's start off with Katherine Power's new minimalist makeup line, MERIT. Katherine Power, founder of Who What Wear, created MERIT with the idea that less is more when it comes to makeup. The makeup line is EU Compliant (free of 1,328 common toxins), paraben free, sulfate free, artificial fragrance free, sensitive skin safe, cruelty free and vegan. It also comes in recyclable packaging and the first order ships with a reusable makeup bag. 

I share a quick 5-minute makeup routine in today's video that shows the ease of using these lovely products. The aim is to bring out natural beauty rather than covering up or altering the face. I can highly recommend this makeup line. 

The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles. This book looks so interesting... I can't wait to dive into this new release! 

​Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family, and the power of literature to bring us together, perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls and The Paris Wife.

Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes is on my reading list for this spring. Have a read of the description below. It sounds so mysterious and delightful. 

In an aged brick cottage in London, the magic of the past comes alive each night for the family of a humble watchmaker. In her father's fireside stories, Lucy Claremont's fascination with the high seas begins, leading her to devote her life's work to discovering the whereabouts of a legendary lost ship. But when tragedy strikes, it's childhood friend Dashel and his knowledge of the stars that may help her solve the puzzle.

Two hundred years earlier, three young lives are altered forever when a shepherd rescues the privileged son of a powerful admiral. As the children grow, war leads to unthinkable heartbreak, deep love, and a story of betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption that fades into obscurity as centuries pass.

As Lucy and Dash explore mysterious ruins on the East Sussex coast, their search leads them to a community of souls and a long-hidden tale that may hold the answers--and the healing--they so desperately seek.

Secret Genius by Pinrose Perfume is a delightful perfume with the notes of caramel, Madagascan vanilla, and sandalwood. The shimmer mist gives the skin a delightful glowing sheen with a subtle shimmer. Code JSCOTT gives free shipping.