Happier with Gretchen Rubin

We talk about the Kansas City-related story of Taylor Swift’s romance with Travis Kelce, discuss plans for revisiting a “happiness project” this year, and come up with ideas for maintaining the habit of hiking. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @GretchenRubin on TikTok and YouTube Get the podcast show notes by email every week: ...

We discuss the third element of the “Happiness Trifecta”: We reveal our “24 for 24” lists of 24 things we each want to accomplish in 2024, and talk about why making this kind of list can boost our happiness. (The other two elements of the Happiness Trifecta? Choose a one-word theme for 2024 and #Write24in24.) Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraf...

I love color, and I love a “koan”--a question, story, or statement that can’t be understood logically. These thirteen color koans explore the mysteries of color. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shown...

We discuss surprising new research that suggests that being accommodating doesn’t actually make us more likable. We also mention a hack that makes habit- keeping easier, discuss whether or not we’ve kept childhood vows, and debate a listener’s question about how to handle her unusual challenge with her in-laws. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCr...

Tomorrow always seems like it will be easier than today. Even Michelangelo thought so. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life in Five Senses to see how she di...

We talk about the happiness of finishing the first draft of a book and having a child return home. We also present our five-senses portrait of a Kansas City Christmas, and discuss the recent observances in honor of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @GretchenRubin on TikTok and YouTube G...

As part of the Happier Trifecta, we give ourselves and listeners an annual challenge. We reflect on last year’s challenge of “Go outside 23 in ’23,” and we reveal the challenge for 2024 as well as many suggestions for how to make it part of our daily lives. It’s a terrific challenge – plus, for the first time, we’re suggesting two very different ways of approaching it. Get in touch: podcast@gretch...

Should Money Be Used to Buy Fresh Flowers for a Museum? By posing an interesting question—such as “Should money be spent on flowers?”—we can learn about other people’s values. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happier...

Listeners—and we--share the most effective and transformative resolutions we’ve made, as well as our suggestions for keeping them. We also talk about the 21 strategies we can use to make or break our habits. (It’s much easier to keep a resolution when we use the strategy that’s right for us.) Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @G...

Every time I refill my MTA Metro card, I’m reminded to ask myself a crucial question. Do I want to spend time or money? Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life...

In honor of the death of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Gretchen tells behind-the-scenes stories and personal reflections from her clerkship year.  Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @GretchenRubin on TikTok and YouTube Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes Get Gretchen Rubin’s newe...

Each year, we make a list of things we want to get done in the next twelve months. We review our “23 for 23” lists and report on what we accomplished (or failed to accomplish). We also reflect on what we learned from the items we did and didn’t do in 2023. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @GretchenRubin on TikTok and YouTube Ge...

As a child, I was deeply moved by this story of a child’s wish to do a good deed, and how she fulfilled that wish, despite making many mistakes. As an adult, I’m even more moved by it. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every week...

Next year marks the fifteenth anniversary of Gretchen Rubin’s #1 New York Times bestselling book, The Happiness Project. To celebrate, she’s leading a one-time, one-year course called “The Happiness Project: Revisited.” In this bonus excerpt from the course, Gretchen and Elizabeth explore the lessons Gretchen has learned over the years, talk about her plans to do a new happiness project in 2024, a...

We review the one-word themes we chose for 2023—“Scale” and “Wave”--and discuss how and why those themes influenced the last twelve months. We also reveal the one-word themes we’ve chosen for 2024, and what symbol we’ll use to represent our themes. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @GretchenRubin on TikTok and YouTube Get the po...

It’s not pleasant to be criticized, but I remind myself, “The only thing worse that getting criticized is not getting criticized.” Criticism shows that someone thinks that work is worthy of correction. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by...

Because listeners asked for another “Clear the Decks” episode--where we suggest a list of manageable, one-minute-ish tasks to do while listening--this episode features a “Deck the Halls” lists of quick tasks. Follow along, and by the end of the episode, we’ll all have accomplished a lot. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @Gretch...

We discuss how and why we might look for pockets of wasted time (and talk about some wasted time we uncovered ourselves.) We also suggest an easy step to lower anticipatory anxiety, a simple hack for avoiding waste, and discuss a listener’s question about how her Upholder son should spend his time. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instag...

In the Alcoholics Anonymous program, two people decided to take turns every day, acting as the sponsor or the one being sponsored. In helping, we are being helped.  Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/sh...

As we do every year, we share a list of suggestions for great holiday gifts. We also discuss a way to figure out what kinds of gifts someone else would want—and how to think of ideas for great gifts to ask for, for yourself. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @GretchenRubin on TikTok and YouTube Get the podcast show notes by emai...

I’ve made this mistake before, and I just made it again: During a crunch time, I decided, “With the publication of ‘Life in Five Senses,’ I can’t manage to do all these other tasks. They have to wait until afterward.” Now that the book is on the shelves, I’m dealing with a lot of unnecessarily delayed tasks. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube...

We talk about lucky dates (such as 11/11), the “wrong-shoe theory” approach to getting dressed, and a listener’s entertaining plan to celebrate her birthday month by living the life of a character from a Hallmark holiday movie. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @GretchenRubin on TikTok and YouTube Get the podcast show notes by e...

In honor of National Diabetes Awareness Month, Elizabeth talks about living with type 1 diabetes: her diagnosis, how she manages day-to-day, pregnancy, changes in technology, how family and friends can help, and more. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @GretchenRubin on TikTok and YouTube Get the podcast show notes by email every...

I laughed when I saw that someone appreciates a good dimmer system as much as I do. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life in Five Senses to see how she disco...

We talk about the new gift-giving quiz that divides people into four categories depending on the kinds of gifts they prefer to receive: Tried-and-True, Easy-to-Please, Enthusiast, and Connoisseur. We remind ourselves of the very helpful hack to check behind you each time you leave a place. We also share listeners’ many helpful suggestions about how to handle the final days of a family member or fr...