Gretchen Rubin's Blog, page 257

Stop Talking.

I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now. Each Friday's post will help you think about your own happiness project.

A few days ago, as a treat, a friend and I went to see Sex and the City 2, which was tons of fun.

SPOILER ALERT: I am going to talk about the plot here for a minute, so be warned.

My favorite moment of the movie...

"Oddly, I Am a Naturally Sunny, Optimistic Person Who Has Also Struggled with Depression."

Happiness interview: Maia Szalavitz.

I recently made a new friend, Maia Szalavitz, and I was thrilled when I got my hands on her new book (with co-author Bruce Perry), Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential--and Endangered. Empathy, and the ties that bind people into relationships, are key elementsof happiness.

The book has many fascinating sections. For example, I was struck by this passage:

Throughout life, we need social contact to regulate our response to distress. Of course, exercise...

10 Extremely Simple Tips To Eliminate Stress in Your Day.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.

When I was little, I was always puzzled by the maxim, "A stitch in time saves nine." I couldn't figure out what that meant. Finally, light dawned: a single stitch, made in good time, saves the trouble of making nine stitches later. In other words, a little effort now saves a lot of effort later.

That notion underlies several of the tips below. The other notion: when I have a...

Video: Find an Exact Place for Things. It Saves a Lot of Time--and Is Surprisingly Satisfying.

2010 Happiness Challenge: For those of you following the 2010 Happiness Project Challenge, to make 2010 a happier year – and even if you haven't officially signed up for the challenge -- last resolution was to Follow the one-minute rule. Did you try to follow that resolution? Did it help to boost your happiness?

This week's resolution is to Find an exact place for things.

If you want to read more about this resolution, check out…
Happiness: Putting the flashlight on the second shelf of my...

Tell Other People about What Makes You Happy -- a New Feature of the Happiness Project Toolbox.

A few days ago, I wrote about the happiness of creative collaboration. Another collaborative project which has been a huge source of happiness, novelty and challenge, and fun for me has been the creation of my companion website, the Happiness Project Toolbox.

What is the Happiness Project Toolbox? As I was working on my happiness project, I invented several methods that helped me to boost my happiness. My one-sentence journal, my Personal Commandments, my Secrets of Adulthood, and of course...

"Happiness...Not In Another Place But This Place, Not For Another Hour But This Hour."

"Happiness, knowledge, not in another place but this place, not for another hour but this hour."

* I get a big kick out of the blog Formerly Hot, and I particularly like the new Friday series, where people post about their "formerly."

* Interested in starting your own happiness project? If you'd like to take a look at my personal Resolutions Chart, for inspiration, just email me at grubin [at:] gretchenrubin [.com:]. (Sorry about writing it in that roundabout way; I'm trying...

Find a Vehicle for Creative Collaboration.

I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now. Each Friday's post will help you think about your own happiness project.

A while back, I read Daniel Pink's The Adventures of Johnny Bunko. This short, engaging book is quite striking, because it's a career guide written in the form of a manga comic book. Terrific! It blew my mind.

I...

"There's a Huge Difference Between Pleasure and Satisfaction."

Happiness interview: Tony Schwartz.

Tony Schwartz's new book just hit the shelves this week: The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance. Tony is very interested in the question of how to create a work environment that helps people be not only more productive, but also more engaged, more creative, and happier. He focuses on four areas: sustainability/physical; security/emotional; self-expression/mental; and significance/spiritual.

I'm...

10 Tips for Living a Better Life, One Day at a Time--from Pope John XXIII.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.

One of the most important strategies of my Happiness Project has been keeping my Resolutions Chart. It provides accountability, it prompts me to review all my resolutions once a day, it gives me the gold stars I crave -- when I manage to follow my resolutions. (If you'd like to see a copy of my personal Resolutions Chart, for inspiration, just email me at grubin [at...

Video: Want To Keep Clutter under Control? Follow the "One-Minute Rule."

2010 Happiness Challenge: For those of you following the 2010 Happiness Project Challenge, to make 2010 a happier year – and even if you haven't officially signed up for the challenge -- this month's theme is Order. Last week's resolution was Don't get organized. Did you try to follow that resolution? Did it help to boost your happiness?

This week's resolution is to Follow the one-minute rule. This rule holds that if I can do a task in less than a minute, I should go ahead and do it -- no...