Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 536: Make a Before-&-After Book, Enter the Library, and How to Deal with a Questioner Spouse May 28, 2025

Show notes

We discuss how creating before-and-after photo books of renovations or improvements can bring satisfaction and preserve memories. Our happiness hack suggests visiting your local library (or museum) for the first time; that first visit can be surprising to make. We also share listeners’ strategies for handling a spouse who asks too many questions at inopportune times.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
Read 25 in 25
Bookshop
Pledge to Read 25 on June 25th
Visit The Happiness Project shop for Father's Day gifts
Elizabeth is reading: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (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.

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Little Happier: The Surprising Origin of One of My Favorite Book Titles May 26, 2025

Show notes

I love book titles, and when I finally tracked down the book attached to one of my favorite titles, I was astonished to learn where I heard about it.

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: Our Longest-Lasting Relationships, a New Way to Think About Our Past & a Fun Quiz May 24, 2025

Show notes

We discuss why it’s interesting to consider our longest continuous non-family relationships. We spotlight a tool for spring: the Five-Senses Quiz that helps you discover which of our senses might be neglected. Plus, we explore how authors like Stephen King shape their creative landscapes from personal memories, and how viewing the own past through different literary lenses—Jane Austen, Judy Blume, Tolstoy—can reveal new perspectives on our life experiences.

Resources & links related to this episode:

“Sketch and Paint Brooklyn” with Samantha Dion Baker
Take the Five-Senses Quiz

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. 535: Create Your “Summer of __,” Some Reading Recommendations & Listeners’ Favorite Words May 21, 2025

Show notes

We discuss a fun summer challenge of focusing on a specific theme or goal. We also include a few helpful, fun hacks, and we share some of listeners’ favorite words—a delightful collection of language.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
Read 25 in 25
Design Your Summer Reading List in the Happier app
Elizabeth is reading: When Stars Align by Melissa de la Cruz (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: Aflame: Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer (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: Good Smell, Bad Smell? Context Changes Our Experience. May 19, 2025

Show notes

Our perception of smells depends on context—the same scent is experienced as delightful when labeled "Parmesan cheese" but revolting when called "vomit." Our interpretation of our circumstances often matters just as much as the circumstances themselves.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Life in Five Senses

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: Gretchen Rubin on NPR's Life Kit May 17, 2025

Show notes

We bring you my interview with NPR's Life Kit where I discuss that the key to happiness is actually to know yourself better and what questions to ask yourself. We also discuss my Four Tendencies framework and one of my favorite "try this at home" hacks: the one minute rule.

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. 534: Recognize Your Exceptional Advantage, Don’t Be Fooled by Familiarity & an Empty-Nest Question May 14, 2025

Show notes

We discuss why it's valuable to identify your "exceptional advantages" in both work and personal life—those unique blessings or abilities you might take for granted but actually set you apart. We also share a hack that can save you time and frustration when going somewhere, and a simple, revealing question that can help you know yourself (and other people) better. Plus, we consider a different interpretation of Secret of Adulthood: "Working is one of the most dangerous forms of procrastination.”

Resources & links related to this episode:

Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
Elizabeth is reading: The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: Look Back with Love by Dodie Smith (Amazon)

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: Drifting Through Life: When Not Deciding Becomes a Decision May 12, 2025

Show notes

Drift—the powerful force of making decisions by not deciding—can shape our lives without our conscious participation.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Secrets of Adulthood
If you’re wondering if you’re drifting, I created a checklist

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: How Do We Know Ourselves and Our Values? A Short Quiz Reveals So Much May 10, 2025

Show notes

We talk to the brilliant Suzy Welch about her new book, “Becoming You,” and her Values Bridge quiz which can tells us how we rank fifteen core values—and we explore why knowing our values is such a key element to creating happier lives.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Becoming You by Suzy Welch (Amazon, Bookshop)
"The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver
The Values Bridge quiz
The Four Tendencies quiz
List of some of my favorite graduation books

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. 533: Dust It Off or Let Go, the Power of PT & How to Create Compelling TV Characters May 07, 2025

Show notes

We discuss why it’s useful to dust off unused items--and either start using them or give them away. We also share a happiness hack from a listener who explains why it can be very valuable to give physical therapy another chance. Finally, we explore the Secret of Adulthood about cultivating friendship, and we answer a listener's question about how and why fictional characters often embody the Four Tendencies framework.

Resources & Links Related to this episode: