Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Health EN ↓ 1338 episodes

Gretchen Rubin is HAPPIER, and she wants you to be happier too. The #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before gets more personal than ever as she brings her practical, manageable advice about happiness and good habits to this lively, thought-provoking podcast. Gretchen’s cohost and guinea pig is her younger sister, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in Los Angeles, who (lovingly) refers to Gretchen as her happiness bully. Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/

Author

Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project

Episodes

Little Happier: Why Did I Insist on Taking My Little Girl to Pre-school in the Freezing Cold and Snow? 29.03.2021 5:03

Understanding my Four Tendencies personality framework, and my own Tendency as an Upholder, revealed to me why I’d behaved inexplicably years ago, when I took my daughter to school in a snowstorm. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of...

Ep. 318: Look at Your Home with the Eyes of a Stranger, Some Terrific Before-and-After Clutter Stories, and Valuable Lessons from the Pandemic 24.03.2021 31:21

We discuss why you might look at your home through the eyes of a stranger, why a simple hook can be so useful , share some excellent before-and-after clutter-clearing triumphs, and discuss listeners’ response to the question, “What valuable lesson have you learned from the pandemic?” Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin...

Little Happier: We Can Learn from the Monkey Who Wouldn’t Let Go of the Bananas. 22.03.2021 2:52

The old teaching story of the greedy monkey and the bananas illustrates many notions, including the idea that sometimes we have to let go of a desire in order to free ourselves. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new boo...

Ep. 317: Do You Thrive with a “Sense of Urgency,” a Hack for Drinking Less Alcohol, and a Conversation about Just Work with Kim Scott and Trier Bryant 17.03.2021 43:31

We discuss whether we thrive in an atmosphere with a sense of urgency, share a listener’s happiness hack for drinking less alcohol (without giving it up altogether), and have a conversation with Kim Scott and Trier Bryant about how we can recognize and eliminate workplace injustice. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin &...

Little Happier: Who’s Happier? My Husband, Who Got His iPod Back, or Me, Who Retrieved It for Him? 15.03.2021 3:18

One of the best ways to make ourselves happier is to make other people happier. I was made happier by my gesture of loving in tracking down my husband’s iPod than he was made happy by getting it back. Do good, feel good. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#ne...

Ep. 316: What Valuable Lessons Have We Learned from the Pandemic, a Hack to Fight Morning Grogginess, and a Question about a Rebel Teacher Who Doesn’t Read Emails 10.03.2021 29:25

We discuss why we might ask ourselves, “What valuable lessons have I learned from the pandemic, now that a year has passed?” We also suggest an easy hack to shake off sleep inertia, tackle a listener’s question about a Rebel teacher who doesn’t read email, and give a phone-related gold star. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @Gretch...

Little Happier: The Memory of a Delicious Night of Sleep, Four Hundred Years Later 08.03.2021 3:11

In the 1600s, Samuel Pepys kept a diary, and of everything he wrote about, including the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London fair, one thing that is remembered, so many hundreds of years later, is a delicious night of sleep he had in 1661. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week...

Ep. 315: Sixth Anniversary! Our Most Popular Try-This-at-Home Tips, Happiness Hacks & Favorite Moments 03.03.2021 32:17

In honor of our sixth anniversary—an unusual year, due to the pandemic—we look back at the previous year and highlight our favorite try-this-at-homes, happiness hacks, and favorite moments. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#new...

Little Happier: Yogi Berra Was Funny, and He Also Hit on Some Profound Truths 01.03.2021 3:42

Baseball legend Yogi Berra was famous for the hilarious things he said. And in his own inimitable way, he captured some profound truths. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM here: http://ou...

Ep. 314: Re-Engage with Your Resolutions, A Hack for Helping People to Give Gifts, an Outdoors Demerit, and Why Humor Is Such a Powerful Tool at Work and in Life. 24.02.2021 40:14

We talk about the 21 strategies that can help us re-engage with our resolutions, discuss a hack about helping people to give gifts (to avoid disappointment), and talk to Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonus about how humor can help us to engage more productively with other people. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @Liz...

Little Happier: How a Loose Piece of Popcorn in a Museum Inspired a Masterpiece 22.02.2021 3:46

The brilliant children’s book From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was inspired when writer E. L. Konigsburg spotted a piece of popcorn on a chair in a period room at the Metropolitan Museum. You never know what moment can lead to a masterpiece. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email ever...

Ep. 313: Help People Not Disappoint You, a Hack for Reading More, a Talk with Deepa Iyer about Different Roles to Play in Social Change 17.02.2021 33:32

We talk about how and why it’s a good idea to help people not disappoint us, share a reader suggestion about how to read more, and Deepa Iyer explains her map for social change. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Get t...

Little Happier: It’s a Lot of Work to Make Friendly Gestures, But We All Have to Try. 15.02.2021 2:21

Whenever I think about the work that it takes to try to be friendly, I remember a funny story from my daughter’s childhood. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM here: http://outerorderinner...

Ep. 312: Confront a Clutter-Related Conflict, a Hack for Having Fun, and Using the Four Tendencies Framework to Get Chores Done 10.02.2021 34:32

We discuss why you might confront a clutter-related conflict, how to use the Four Tendencies personality framework to help tackle clutter and chores, and talk Anne Mercogliano about a fun acvtivity while safer-at-home. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here:...

Little Happier: A Beautiful Image: A Cabin in the Woods, with Flowers Growing Close to Its Walls 08.02.2021 2:48

I’m haunted by an image from Erling Kagg’s book Walking One Step at a Time, when he describes a cabin in the wood where the owner had carefully arranged that no footpaths would appear, so that it stood amid the wilderness, right up to the door. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http...

Ep. 311: Find a Manifestation of Your One-Word Theme, an Easy Hack to Spark Happy Memories, and a Conversation with Ron Lieber about the Price You Pay for College 03.02.2021 41:04

We share listeners’ suggestions about creative ways to create physical representations of our one-word themes for 2021, discuss an extremely easy, fun hack for bringing happy memories to life, and we talk about the happiness stumbling block of paying for college with journalist Ron Lieber. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @Gretchen...

Little Happier: A Question That Seemed to Make No Sense Was in Fact a Declaration of Love 01.02.2021 3:35

Sometimes, gestures of love don’t look the way we expect. I found it wonderful to think that, many years after this time has passed, the writer realized what she’d been witnessing. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new...

Ep. 310: Very Special Episode! Great Hacks, Tips, Tools, and Suggestions About How to #Read21in21. 27.01.2021 36:17

In this Very Special Episode, we share hacks, strategies, and tools from listeners—and our own experience—about how to get more reading done in 2021. #Read21in21 is underway. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Get the...

Little Happier: Some of My Favorite Proverbs About Parenthood. 25.01.2021 2:43

I love aphorisms, proverbs, true rules, and Secrets of Adulthood, and I offer some of my favorite proverbs for parenthood. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM here: http://outerorderinnerc...

Ep. 309: Heed a Suggestion, Look Better on Zoom, and a Deep Dive into Listeners’ Brilliant Ideas for “21 for 21” Lists. 20.01.2021 31:52

We discuss why you should heed someone’s suggestion, take a deep dive into listeners’ imaginative ideas for their “21 for 2021” lists, and reveal a hack to help us look better on Zoom (and perhaps sleep better, too). Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: htt...

Little Happier: An Ancient Story Is a Reminder that We Can Hurt People When We Try to Force Them to Fit into Our Model. 18.01.2021 3:58

The famous Greek myth of the Bed of Procrustes illustrates the principle that we shouldn’t try to pressure everyone to fit into a single approach. No bed fits every traveler; we can hurt people when we try to force them to fit into our model. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http:/...

Ep. 308: Tackle Your Email for One Hour, A Hack for Dealing with Photo Clutter, and an Interview with Gary Taubes About “The Case for Keto.” 13.01.2021 36:03

We discuss why spending one hour managing our email inbox can give us a happiness boost, highlight a listener hack about clearing out the photos on our phones, and interview award-winning journalist Gary Taubes about his new book “The Case for Keto.” Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show n...

Little Happier: I Can’t Blame the Internet, or, The World Has Changed, But I Have Also Changed. 11.01.2021 3:03

When I feel distracted or overwhelmed, I remind myself that I can’t blame the internet. If I want a life with more time for calm and reflection, I need to create it for myself. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book...

Ep. 307: We Reveal Our “21 for ‘21” Lists, Discuss a Hack for Staying in Touch, and Give a Gold Star to a Documentary 06.01.2021 33:50

We reveal our “21 for 2021” lists, discuss an easy hack for staying in touch with people long-distance, and Elizabeth gives a gold star to a great music documentary. Registration is still open for The Happiness Project Experience 2021. If you want to join a community focused on making meaningful changes all year long, join today: gretchenrubin.com/thpe. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraf...

Little Happier: To Calm Myself, I Imagine a Traffic Light in a Thunderstorm. 04.01.2021 3:06

When I’m feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or unhappy, I sometimes conjure up an image in my mind—an oak tree in Iowa, or a traffic light in a thunderstorm—to help me to feel calmer. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new bo...