We’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes—our travel hacks extravaganza. These 30 tips range from the obvious (check the weather!) to the oddly specific (pack Downy Wrinkle Releaser), and as we get ready for our first-ever sisters reading retreat, we’re realizing how many of these tricks we’ve forgotten—and how helpful they still are. Some things really do stand the test of time.

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

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

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We discuss how to make use of counterintuitive research that shows that our ability to change our minds often makes us less satisfied with our choices. We share a helpful smartphone hack for scheduling text messages. Plus we continue our discussion about handling a spouse who makes hurtful "jokes," with practical advice from listeners who've successfully addressed this issue. 

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Take the Four Tendencies quiz to find out whether you're an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel
• Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
• Sign up for Bookshop's summer reading challenge on the homepage at gretchenrubin.com
• Download the Happier app
• Elizabeth is reading: The Other Side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon (Amazon, Bookshop) 
• Gretchen is reading: Round the Bend by Neville Shute (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: [email protected]

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

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the “Four Tendencies” personality framework, tech legend Steve Jobs was a Questioner. At a crucial moment, his question was ignored—with profound consequences. 

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Get in touch: [email protected]

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

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss how we’re doing on some items from our “25 for ’25 lists,” and how book writing is going for both of us. Plus we talk about the joys of reading commercial fiction from the 1980s.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Sign up for the 30-day summer reading challenge at gretchenrubin.com
• For the Love with Jen Hatmaker

Get in touch: [email protected]

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

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss why it’s useful to identify the "ugliest thing" in your life—i.e., what aspect needs the most attention? We also share an easy hack about enhancing family memories, and we explore a Four-Tendencies situation involving a young-adult son's surprising reaction to his father's lateness. We wrap up with listener suggestions for creative before-and-after photo books.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
• After Hours with Jamie Rubin podcast
• The Four Tendencies 
• Take The "Four Tendencies" Quiz
• Download the Happier app
• Elizabeth is reading: Climbing in Heels by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas (Amazon, Bookshop) 
• Gretchen is reading: Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: [email protected]

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

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With time and experience, we learn “Secrets of Adulthood,” and parenthood teaches us many of those lessons.

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• "Secrets of Adulthood" 

Get in touch: [email protected]

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

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a recent Secrets of Adulthood Substack Live conversation, I talked to the terrific Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action (the nation’s largest grassroots group fighting gun violence. We discuss insights from her latest book and how we've arrived at several of our own Secrets of Adulthood, including why it’s important to ask yourself whether your life goals are your own or someone else's, the cost of indecision, and when to double-back or double-down.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Subscribe to Secrets of Adulthood on Substack
• Playing with Fire by Shannon Watts on Substack

Get in touch: [email protected]

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

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We share a treasure trove of creative, easy parenting hacks from our listeners, as well as a happiness hack about creating a "prep station" bin to stay organized for trips and special events. In our "Know Yourself Better" segment, we explore how the desire to manage our own worry can lead us to burden or try to control others. Plus, we share some ideas related to reading.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
• Subscribe to Secrets of Adulthood on Substack
• Subscribe to Happier in Hollywood on Substack
• Check out the Libby app
• Elizabeth is reading: Climbing in Heels by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas (Amazon, Bookshop) 
• Gretchen is reading: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Amazon, Bookshop) 

Get in touch: [email protected]

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

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The familiar proverb “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature” is a reminder that one person may seek out a product, an experience, or a situation for the very reason that someone else avoids it.

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Get in touch: [email protected]

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

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk about why it can helpful to trust our interests and inclinations about what to read, watch, or listen to, without imposing a lot of judgment on our choices.

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• Elizabeth's treadmill desk

Get in touch: [email protected]

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

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.