Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 552: Start Your 100-Day Countdown, Try Substack & the Power of Engaging Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

There are about 100 days left in the year, and we discuss why starting your 100-day countdown can make you happier. We also explore a hack that will help you read, learn, and get entertained, and we share interesting responses from listeners about the power of engaging.

Resources & links related to this episode:

For the Happier Podcast Book Club: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon, Bookshop)
Joshua Rothman's New Yorker article "A.I. Is Coming for Culture"
Listen to the new podcast Since You Asked with Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin
Happier in Hollywood Substack
Secrets of Adulthood Substack
"Fall in Love with Your Next Novel" Quiz
Elizabeth is reading: Actress of a Certain Age by Jeff Hiller (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little Happier: A Surprising and Subtle Way to Change Your Habits: Consider Texas Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

Texas’s extremely successful anti-littering campaign illustrates an important principle about habit change: Sometimes changing our habits requires us first to change our identity.

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Happier: Returning to Routine? 7 Strategies to Make it Easier [Revisited] Sep 13, 2025

Show notes

Feeling the end-of-summer slump? In this revisited episode, we share 7 practical strategies that can help you rebuild your routine for fall—especially if you're dragging your feet. September is the other January, and this “starter kit” for habit change will help you reset without forcing it.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 551: Question Assumptions, College Drop-Off Hacks & Rebelling Against an Unappreciative Family Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

We talk about why it can be very valuable to question our assumptions, and we also share hacks for helping a child moving into a college dorm. Plus we discuss a listener’s feelings of Obliger-rebellion due to the unacknowledged work she does for her family.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Listen to the new podcast Since You Asked with Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin
Love Life by Rob Lowe (Amazon, Bookshop)
Four Tendencies quiz
"Clear the Decks” bingo card
Elizabeth is reading: We Might Just Make It After All: My Best Friendship with Kate Space by Elyce Arons (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: Marry Him by Lori Gottlieb (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little Happier: Why Is Making Partner in a Law Firm Like Winning a Pie-Eating Contest? Sep 08, 2025

Show notes

A teaching joke from the legal world captures an important lesson: Sometimes the reward for an achievement is simply a bigger helping of the same challenge.

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Happier: Listen In! Recording from Our Reading Retreat (and Closet Clearing) Sep 06, 2025

Show notes

During our recent Reading Retreat 2025, we made voice memos to record our sisterly adventure. We talk about our reading, plus we also report on the evening we spent clearing out a very crowded closet. Listen in and follow along as we report from Los Olivos and Encinco, California.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Read 25 in '25
Elizabeth's same-day book: James by Percival Everett (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen's same-day book: A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute (Amazon, Bookshop)
Happier in Hollywood Substack

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 550: Very Special Episode: Now Is the Time to Tackle That One, Big, Hard Thing Sep 03, 2025

Show notes

Sometimes, to be happier, we need to confront one enormous, daunting goal that we would really prefer to avoid. We discuss what those kinds of intimidating goals might be, offer suggestions for how to approach them, and share many encouraging examples from listeners.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little Happier: Sometimes, Life Feels Like Art. Recently I Felt Like Reciting Poetry to a Crowd Sep 01, 2025

Show notes

Sometimes life achieves the formal perfection of art, or a moment can seem so transcendent that only art can allow us to express what we feel.

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Happier: Get Ready for Fall in Just 30 Minutes [Revisited] Aug 30, 2025

Show notes

Clear the Decks! We revisit one of our most popular episodes to help you prepare for the return to routine after summer—or anytime you’re gearing up for a change.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 549: Make a Love List, Back-to-School Hacks & How to Learn Someone’s Real Opinion Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

We explore the power of creating a "love list" to help us stay connected with the people who matter most. We share a clever way for getting someone’s honest opinions, plus, we dive into listeners' most practical back-to-school tips.

Resources & links related to this episode: