Hello, Friends!

Good gosh! Is it okay to say that now that we are already in November? I was in the grocery store recently and spotted the turkeys, and my first thought was, “Oh my gosh, I really do need to get one soon!” Time is moving way too fast!

As the colder season approaches, I am making a conscious effort to give myself permission to slow down and take my time. This is something I have never really allowed myself to do before, but I find myself in a season of life where I am choosing to embrace it. I want to be intentional about how I spend my time, how I prepare, and how I experience the days ahead.

I am learning that slowing down is not falling behind. Sometimes, it is simply making room for what matters most. And I think that is all a part of planning for beauty.

I recently came across a list from Jennifer L. Scott of The Daily Connoisseur called “Planning for Beauty.” Her approach to planning included things like reflecting on the year, planning around your energy, creating rituals, choosing quality over quantity, setting seasonal intentions, protecting your inner life, and intentionally making room for beauty. I loved the idea immediately. Not simply because I like a beautiful home or appreciate a well-planned week, but because the idea suggests something deeper:

A beautiful life doesn’t happen entirely by accident.

Some of it has to be planned. We plan our work. We plan appointments. We plan vacations. We plan meals. We plan our finances, but how often do we plan for the quality of our lives? How often do we look at our calendar and ask, Will this week actually feel good to live? That question has changed the way I think about planning.

Beauty Needs Room to Exist

Beauty is often treated as something extra. Something we add after the important things are finished. We’ll set the table beautifully when we have time. We’ll read the book when we’ve caught up on everything else. We’ll take the long walk when the schedule slows down. We’ll invite friends over when the house is perfect. We’ll buy the flowers when we have a reason to celebrate. But what if beauty isn’t something we should squeeze into the leftover spaces of our lives? What if it deserves a place on the calendar? The truth is, if we don’t intentionally make room for the things that nourish us, the urgent will almost always take their place. There will always be another email. Another load of laundry. Another errand. Another responsibility. Another thing that needs our attention. At some point, we have to decide that living well is also a responsibility.

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

Plan Around Your Energy, Not Just Your Time

One of the ideas from Jennifer L. Scott’s framework that particularly resonated with me is the idea of planning around your energy. We tend to organize our lives according to the clock, but two hours on the calendar don’t necessarily equal two hours of energy. Some days we are focused and creative. Other days we are tired and need quiet. Some seasons of life are expansive. Others require us to slow down. Learning to recognize this can change the way we plan. Instead of constantly asking, How much can I fit into this day? We can begin asking, “What does this day have the capacity to hold?” That is a very different question. It allows us to stop treating ourselves like machines, which I am guilty of constantly. 

Create Rituals

There is something beautiful about having small rituals that anchor our days. Morning tea before the house wakes up. Lighting a candle while getting ready in the morning. A walk after lunch. Reading before bed. Fresh flowers on the table. Sunday dinner with family. A weekly reset of the house. Writing in a journal at the end of the day. These things may seem insignificant, but rituals tell us that ordinary moments are worth noticing. They create rhythm, and rhythm creates a sense of home—not just within our physical surroundings, but within ourselves.

Choose Quality Over Quantity

One of the greatest challenges of modern life is that we have access to an almost unlimited amount of everything. More information. More entertainment. More possessions. More commitments. More choices, and yet, more doesn’t necessarily mean better. Sometimes a beautiful life is created by subtraction. Fewer commitments. Fewer possessions. Fewer distractions. Fewer relationships that leave us depleted. Fewer things purchased simply because they are available, and more of what actually matters. A beautiful life may not be a life filled with more. It may be a life filled with better. Better conversations. Better food. Better books. Better relationships. Better use of our time. Better attention.

Give Each Season an Intention

I love the idea of living seasonally. Not only in the literal sense of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, but in recognizing that our lives have seasons too. There may be a season for building. A season for resting. A season for learning. A season for creating. A season for caring for others. A season for letting go. A season for beginning again. We don’t have to do everything in every season. Perhaps part of living beautifully is recognizing what this particular season of our lives is asking of us. Instead of constantly trying to do everything, we can ask:

What matters most right now?

That question can bring enormous clarity.

Put Beauty on the Calendar

This might be my favorite part. Plan for beauty. Don’t wait for beauty to happen. Create opportunities for it. Buy the flowers. Make the dinner. Use the good dishes. Take yourself to the museum. Go for the walk. Read the novel. Put on the dress. Invite the friends. Listen to the music. Watch the sunset. Make your home lovely for the people who actually live there, and don’t wait for a special occasion. Your life is the occasion. There is a tendency to save beautiful things for later. The good china. The expensive perfume. The beautiful dress. The vacation. The celebration. The candle. The photograph, but later isn’t guaranteed, and ordinary life deserves beauty too.

End the Week Gently

I also love the idea of ending a week with reflection rather than judgment. Instead of asking, Did I accomplish everything? Perhaps we can ask: What went well? What nourished me? What drained me? What am I proud of? What did I learn? What would I like to do differently next week? There is something wonderfully gentle about this kind of review. It isn’t about criticizing ourselves into becoming better. It is about becoming more aware, and awareness gives us the ability to make better choices.

A Beautiful Life Is Built Intentionally

I don’t think living a beautiful life means living an easy life. It doesn’t mean every room is clean, every meal is homemade, every day is peaceful, or every season is enjoyable. Life will still be messy. There will be hard days. There will be unexpected circumstances. There will be seasons when simply getting through the day is enough. But perhaps living beautifully means refusing to let the difficult parts of life convince us that beauty doesn’t matter. It means continuing to notice. Continuing to cultivate. Continuing to choose. Continuing to make room for the things that remind us that life is more than a list of obligations.

Jennifer L. Scott’s idea of “Planning for Beauty” gave me a new way to think about planning. I’m not simply planning my week anymore. I’m beginning to ask myself: What kind of life am I creating with the way I spend my days? Because eventually, our lives are made up of those days, and perhaps a beautiful life isn’t something we find. Perhaps it is something we intentionally create, one beautiful choice at a time.

The idea for this post was inspired by Jennifer L. Scott’s “Planning for Beauty” framework from The Daily Connoisseur. Her ideas prompted me to think more deeply about how we can intentionally plan not just for productivity, but for a beautiful and meaningful life.

I hope this will inspire you as well.