The famous “Monkey Business Illusion” video and the memoir of magician Darren Brown point to a similar conclusion: When we pay too much attention to something small, we may miss something big.

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Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life in Five Senses to see how she discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. 

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk about a fun, thought-provoking question to pose when we’re trying to make conversation, we discuss an astonishing fact about where we each live, and share a useful framework to decide whether we’re taking refuge in work when we should be dealing with the challenges of personal life.

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Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

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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 discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. 

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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As we do each year, we consider how we plan to design our summer. We also

discuss a hack from a food-scientist listener about an easy way to have more fun

with the sense of taste, and we talk to Sarah LaFleur, founder and CEO of

M.M.LaFleur, about the pleasures of clothes.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Follow on social media:

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@GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram

Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes

Get the resources and all links related to this episode here: http://happiercast.com/431

Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life in Five Senses to see how she discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. 

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tens of thousands of people have now taken the “What’s Your Neglected Sense?” quiz. The results are unexpected.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

@GretchenRubin on TikTok

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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 discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. 

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For this Very Special Episode, we discuss dozens of hacks for entertaining,

suggested by listeners and ourselves. We have suggestions and tips for making

tasks easier, lowering the bar, doing preparations efficiently, and generally having

more fun.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

@GretchenRubin on TikTok

@GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram

Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes

Get the resources and all links related to this episode here: http://happiercast.com/430

Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life in Five Senses to see how she discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. 

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During my daily visits to the Metropolitan Museum, I noticed something about staircases that underscored a truth I already knew: the same experience can be drastically changed by design, and even a subtle difference can have a dramatic consequence.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

@GretchenRubin on TikTok

@GretchenRubin on Instagram

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 discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. 

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elizabeth talks about the experience of being on strike as a Hollywood TV writer (and, relatedly, working on her new novel), and she also reveals her new insight about how she wants to live her life. Plus we discuss people’s enthusiastic responses to the “What’s Your Neglected Sense?” quiz.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

@GretchenRubin on TikTok

@GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram

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 discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. 

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk about why and how we should try the Strategy of Unpairing when trying to change a habit. We also discuss an easy way to get more exercise while traveling, and how to know when to accept ourselves—and when to expect more from ourselves. Plus a listener asks for suggestions for dealing more effectively with a Rebel father who resists help.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

@GretchenRubin on TikTok

@GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram

Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes

Get the resources and all links related to this episode here: http://happiercast.com/429

Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life in Five Senses to see how she discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. 

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A conversation with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor made me realize: it must be very odd to be a historic figure.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

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@GretchenRubin on Instagram

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 discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. 

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a thank-you to “Happier with Gretchen Rubin” listeners, this bonus episode features an excerpt from the audiobook of Gretchen Rubin’s new book, “Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World.” Narrated by Gretchen Rubin.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

@GretchenRubin on TikTok

@GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram

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 discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. 

Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts— Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.