Happier with Gretchen Rubin

By Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project

Education

What's Happier with Gretchen Rubin about?

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. Part of the Panoply Network.

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Ep. 296: Establish Your Per...

10.21.2020

We discuss why you might want to establish your personal policy, I share a reading hack, we take a deep dive into listeners’ hidden delights, and Elizabeth gives herself a demerit related to the pandemic. Join my brand-new Outer Order ...

Happier with Gretchen Rubin episodes:

10.21.2020 Ep. 296: Establish Your Personal Policy, a Reading Hack, a Deep Dive into Listeners’ Hidden Delights, and a Demerit That’s Common These Days We discuss why you might want to establish your personal policy, I share a reading hack, we take a deep dive into listeners’ hidden delights, and Elizabeth gives herself a demerit related to the pandemic. Join my brand-new Outer Order ...
10.19.2020 Little Happier: Building More Roads Won’t Relieve Traffic—Literally and Figuratively. Despite urban planner Robert Moses’s attempts to relieve congestion on New York City’s road, the traffic just got worse. The lesson of “induced travel demand” is something that can apply in our own lives. Join my brand-new Outer Order Inner ...
10.14.2020 Ep. 295: Do Something Familiar in a New Way, an Easy Hack to Control Snacking, and a Conversation with Al Roker About Work and Life We talk about why we should do something familiar in a new way, share a hack from a listener that makes it easier to control impulse snacking, and have a conversation with legendary broadcaster Al Roker about “true stories of ...
10.12.2020 Little Happier: On My Wedding Anniversary, It Makes Me Happy to Remember What a Nurse Said. Jamie is the love of my life! I want to treat him that way, and so often, really, I don’t. But I try. It makes me happy to remember a time when, from observing us, someone assumed that we were ...
10.07.2020 Ep. 294: Imitate a Spiritual Master, a Hack for Toddlers, and a Conversation with Glennon Doyle About “Untamed.” We talk about why you might imitate a spiritual master, discuss a listener’s hack for keeping a toddler safe, and talk to bestselling author Glennon Doyle about her new memoir, “Untamed.” Join my brand-new Outer Order Inner Calm 30-Day SMS ...
10.05.2020 Little Happier: Why You Should Never Knit Your Boyfriend a Sweater. A college friend advised me, “Never knit your boyfriend a sweater,” and that’s turned out to be very wise advice. Join my brand-new Outer Order Inner Calm 30-Day SMS Challenge! You’ll get daily text messages with an audio message from ...
09.30.2020 Ep. 293: Anticipate Pandemic Regret, an Easy Household Hack, and a Deep Dive into Getting Kids to Eat Vegetables We talk about why now is a good time to anticipate the pandemic regret you might feel in the future; we discuss a simple, effective, household hack about opening doors; and we do a deep dive into listeners’ suggestions about ...
09.28.2020 Little Happier: How Douglas Adams—Author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”—Gave Himself Confidence. Teachers have enormous influence over our fates and our imaginations. Even a hugely bestselling writer like Douglas Adams took comfort in the words of his teacher. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast ...
09.23.2020 Ep. 292: Create a Hidden Delight, a Hack to Encourage Exercising, and a Discussion about Accepting Something as a Gift vs. Paying for It. We talk about why you might want to create a hidden delight, a listener suggests a hack for using clothes as a way to stick to an exercise habit, and we discuss a challenging question related to gift-giving and gift-receiving. ...
09.21.2020 Little Happier: Sometimes, To Do a Simple Thing We Must Make a Huge Change. The Oracle of Delphi told the people of Delos that they’d cure their present ills if they doubled the altar—because to double the altar, they must change their values. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin ...
09.16.2020 Ep. 291: Get Out of Your Storage Unit, a Hack for Reducing Unwanted Talk, and a Conversation about Relationships with Esther Perel We talk about the benefits of getting out of a storage unit; we talk to relationship expert Esther Perel about love and work; and Elizabeth’s office treadmill-desk is finally set up. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch ...
09.14.2020 Little Happier: When Do We Tell Other People What We Think They Should Do? Two Beautiful Examples. In Mark Salzman’s memoir “The Man in the Empty Boat,” he gives not just one, but two, examples of times when one person is able thoughtfully to remind someone of painful duties, and that person recognizes the right action, and ...
09.09.2020 Ep. 290: Very Special Episode: An Extravaganza of Hacks! Hacks for Relationships, Productivity, Pandemic, Clutter, Travel, and More In this Very Special Episode, we present an extravaganza of listeners’ simple, concrete hacks that can help us make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin ...
09.07.2020 Little Happier: Trevor Noah: “We Tell People to Follow Their Dreams, But You Can Only Dream of What You Can Imagine.” In his terrific memoir “Born a Crime,” Trevor Noah notes that “you can only dream of what you can imagine,” and tells the story of how his mother worked to give him a big imagination. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] ...
09.02.2020 Ep. 289: Ask Yourself, “Do I Already Own This?” How to Feel Better in Just Five Minutes with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, and Our Next Book Club Choice We discuss why it’s helpful to ask, “Do I already own this?” We also talk to Dr. Rangan Chatterjee about his new book, “Feel Better in 5,” and announce our next book club choice: Yaa Gyasi’s brilliant novel “Transcendent Kingdom.” ...
08.31.2020 Little Happier: Zora Neale Hurston’s Vision Shows How Mysterious the World Is. In her thought-provoking memoir “Dust Tracks in the Road,” Zora Neale Hurston’s vision of her future reminds me of how mysterious the world is. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes ...
08.26.2020 Ep. 288: Learn Something with a Beginning, Middle, and End, a Know-Yourself-Better Question about Second-Guessing Yourself, and a Spotlight on Brit Bennett We talk about why it’s helpful (especially these days) to learn something with a beginning, middle, and an end; we explore the Know Yourself Better question of “Do you second-guess yourself in conversations?” and shine a spotlight on the novelist ...
08.24.2020 Little Happier: What Can You Do When You Live in a Crowded, Messy, Noisy House? In a traditional Yiddish folk tale, a farmer complains about his crowded, noisy house—and his wise rabbi gives him a surprising solution. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email ...
08.19.2020 Ep. 287: Steer Clear of Quicksand, Beware of Catastrophizing, a Whimsical Hack, and a Spotlight on Baratunde Thurston We discuss why you should steer clear of quicksand, beware of the happiness stumbling block of “catastrophizing,” suggest an affordable, whimsical hack, and shine a spotlight on Baratunde Thurston. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: ...
08.17.2020 Little Happier: Bryan Stevenson Points Out a Question: Are We There to Speak, or Are We There to Listen? In his brilliant memoir “Just Mercy,” Bryan Stevenson makes the distinction: Am I invited someplace to speak, or am I invited to listen? Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by ...
08.12.2020 Ep. 286: September Is the Other January, Jay Shetty Explains How to Think Like a Monk, and a Spotlight on Colson Whitehead Why we should remember that September is the other January; we have a conversation with podcaster and writer Jay Shetty about how to “think like a monk”; we suggest a surprisingly obvious kitchen hack; and we shine a spotlight on ...
08.10.2020 Little Happier: The More We Talk to Someone, the More We Have to Say. In Karl Ove Knausgaard’s autobiographical novel My Struggle: Book Six, he reflects on the counter-intuitive truth that the more we talk to people, the more we have to say to them. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in touch on ...
08.05.2020 Ep. 285: Why It’s a Good Idea to Create a Catch-All, a Spotlight on Virginia Hamilton, and a Conversation with Susan Burton About Her Brilliant Memoir “Empty.” We discuss why it’s a great idea to create a catch-all to help boost creativity, memories, and inspiration, we shine a spotlight on children’s author Virginia Hamilton, and we talk to Susan Burton about her thought-provoking memoir “Empty.” Get in ...
08.03.2020 Little Happier: How Eating a Second Ice-Cream Cone Can Be an Act of Obliger-Rebellion In Karl Ove Knausgaard’s essay “Summer,” he perfectly describes an example of Obliger-rebellion that’s turned toward the self: he eats a second ice-cream cone in front of the envious eyes of his children. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in ...
07.29.2020 Ep. 284: Why Buying Isn’t Doing, a Deep Dive into Ways to Display Your Favorite Quotations, and a Spotlight on Harriet Washington We talk about why we shouldn’t confuse buying with doing, reveal a happiness hack for staying in touch with grandparents, review listeners’ suggestions for displaying terrific quotations, and shine a spotlight on author Harriet Washington. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; ...
07.27.2020 Little Happier: A Lesson Learned from the End of Life: Make Time for the People Who Matter Most Eugene O’Kelley’s account of his experience of the end of his life is a reminder that our time and energy are limited, and we need to make sure to give them to the people who matter most to us. Get ...
07.22.2020 Ep. 283: Happier Podcast Book Club: Renowned Writer Ann Patchett Talks about Family, Forgiveness, and Memory in “The Dutch House”—and a Spotlight on Trevor Noah. We talk to writer Ann Patchett about her powerful, compelling novel “The Dutch House.” Plus we shine a spotlight on Trevor Noah and his memoir “Born a Crime.” Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin ...
07.20.2020 Little Happier: Habits Are the Invisible Architecture of Everyday Life A passage from Christopher Alexander’s beautiful book The Timeless Way of Building is a good reminder of the importance of having habits that make our lives happier. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the ...
07.15.2020 Ep. 282: Do Good to Feel Good, Bruce Feiler Suggests Two Questions to Ask Yourself to Help Manage Transitions, and a Spotlight on Octavia Butler We discuss why one way to overcome COVID-19 listlessness is to do good for other people, explore some Know-Yourself-Better questions to help manage tough transitions with Bruce Feiler, and shine a spotlight on author Octavia Butler. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; ...
07.13.2020 Little Happier: Do You Know the Famous Story of the Fox and the Sour Grapes? One of Aesop’s most famous fables, and writer Virginia Woolf agree: it’s important to resist the temptation to deny the truth about what we really want. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast ...
07.08.2020 Ep. 281: Start a Social-Issues Book Club, a Deep Dive into the Problem of Flaky Friends, a Hack for Great Quotations, and a Spotlight on Author Jason Reynolds. We discuss why you might start or join a social-issues book club, we talk about ways to incorporate your favorite quotations into everyday life, we take a deep dive into the challenge of flaky friends, and put a spotlight on ...
07.06.2020 Little Happier: Often, It’s the Small Gestures of Thoughtfulness that Make Us Feel Loved A friend explained to me why her daily habit of making lunch came to have so much importance to her son. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every ...
07.01.2020 Ep. 280: Very Special Episode: We Discuss Questions from Listeners about the Four Tendencies Personality Framework, and a Spotlight on Samantha Irby For this Very Special Episode, Elizabeth and I discuss listener questions related to my “Four Tendencies” Personality Framework of Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels—plus a spotlight on essayist Samantha Irby. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on ...
06.29.2020 Little Happier: Someone’s Casual Comment Can Show Us an Entirely New Path for Ourselves. Acclaimed writer Nnedi Okorafor describes how a friend’s casual comment redirected her life. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] 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 ...
06.24.2020 Ep. 279: Halfway Through 2020: Check In with Your #20for2020 list and #Walk20in20—and a Spotlight on “Just Mercy.” The year 2020 is halfway over, so we check in with our “20 for 2020” lists and our “Walk 20 minutes in 2020” projects, and we talk about Bryan Stevenson’s brilliant memoir “Just Mercy.” Plus a hack for social-distancing. Get ...
06.22.2020 Little Happier: Illustrator Quentin Blake’s Use of Negative Space Is a Reminder of Its Possibilities. Illustrator Quentin Blake drew on the walls of a gallery exhibit—a great reminder that we shouldn’t overlook the possibilities of negative space. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show ...
06.17.2020 Ep. 278: Why We Should Do Something, and a Conversation with Sofy Solomon about Lessons from Safer-at-Home in a Childhood Bedroom--and How to Make Systems More Just. Why we should do something, a hack for measurement, and a conversation with Sofy Solomon about what we can learn about ourselves from spending time in our childhood bedrooms—and why we should treat our budgets as a moral document. Get ...
06.15.2020 Little Happier: We Really Don’t Have That Kind of Time. In this era of the coronavirus, I find myself thinking often about a passage from Anne Lamott’s book “Bird By Bird”—and reminding myself, “I really don’t have that kind of time.” Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch ...
06.10.2020 Ep. 277: Schedule an “Empower Hour,” a Know-Yourself-Better Question about Confiding Secrets, and a Spotlight on Writer Nnedi Okorafor Why you might schedule a weekly “empower hour,” how a dollar bill can come in handy, a spotlight on the writings of Nnedi Okorafor, and a revealing question about secrets. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on ...
06.08.2020 Little Happier: I Remind Myself: It’s Not a Bug, It’s a Feature. A proverb from computer programmers can help us remember that sometimes, our limitations and weaknesses can also serve as our strengths. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes ...
06.03.2020 Ep. 276: Design Your Summer, Solutions to Create Sibling Harmony, and How Cornstarch Can Enliven a Boring Afternoon We discuss why you might design your summer, how you can use cornstarch for a fun, science-based activity, and review listeners’ solutions for creating harmony among siblings. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & ...
06.01.2020 Little Happier: Have You Ever Been So Impatient to Get to the End That You Couldn’t Start? Sometimes, we’re so eager for to reach the end that we can’t bear to start. It’s an irrational but real response. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes ...
05.27.2020 Ep. 275: Choose a Magic Number, How an Ironing Board Can Make Working from Home Easier, and a Pandemic-Time Question to Ask Yourself We discuss why you might want to choose a magic number, how an ironing board can help you work more comfortably from home, and explore a know-yourself-better question for pandemic times. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch ...
05.25.2020 Little Happier: Can You Call Spirits from the Vasty Deep? Sure, No Problem. A line from Shakespeare’s Henry IV summarizes a point that’s worth remembering: it’s not hard to put our words out into the world, it’s another thing to get a response. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on ...
05.20.2020 Ep. 274: Change Your Life When You’re Changing Your Life, Hacks for Sibling Harmony, and a Deep Dive into COVID-19 Mantras. We discuss why it’s often easier to change our lives when we’re changing our lives, we take a deep dive into COVID-19 mantras, and we discuss hacks for keeping harmony among siblings. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in ...
05.18.2020 Little Happier: This Nightly Ritual Gives Me the “New York City Feeling” During the Pandemic. I get my “America Feeling”— more specifically, my “New York City feeling”--every night at 7 p.m., when we all cheer and clap for the people working on the front lines of the pandemic. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get ...
05.13.2020 Ep. 273: Get Grounded in Your Body Through Your Senses, an Idea for a Quick, Inexpensive Gift, and a Conversation about Tough Times with Kate Bowler We discuss how we can feel calmer by getting grounded in our body, through our senses; we discuss a gift that’s easy, inexpensive, and thoughtful, and Kate Bowler joins us to talk about how to stay happier during these very ...
05.11.2020 Little Happier: My COVID-19 Song: “New York City, Lexington Avenue, Rush Hour.” As I stood in the middle of the unnaturally deserted Lexington Avenue at rush hour, I felt, “This is the moment when I should begin to sing.” Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & ...
05.06.2020 Ep. 272: Make a “Power Hour After” list, a Conversation about Parenting with Dr. Elizabeth Schwarz, and Elizabeth Talks about No Alcohol April. We talk about you might make a “Power Hour After list,” Dr. Elizabeth Schwarz joins us to talk about how to deal with common parenting challenges, and Elizabeth celebrates her completion of No Alcohol April. We have been nominated for ...
05.04.2020 Little Happier: What’s the Best Time to Plant a Tree? A famous proverb illustrates why now is the best time to start anything—because it’s the only time we can start anything. We have been nominated for a Webby Award. Please vote for "Happier with Gretchen Rubin" for here: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2020/podcasts/general-series/health-wellness Get ...

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