Gretchen Rubin's Blog, page 263

Five Tips for Improving Monday Mornings.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.

One happiness-project exercise I undertook was to consider the different times of day, and days of the week, to see if any particular dayparts were happiness challenges. In my case, I realized that school mornings were no fun, and I took several steps to make school-day mornings more calm and cheery.

Another common problem time? Monday morning -- or rather, the Monday-morning mood, which can strike at any...

Weekly Video: Beware of the Expensive-Gym-Membership Effect.

For those of you following the 2010 Happiness Project Challenge, to make 2010 a happier year – or even if you haven't officially joined the challenge – this month's focus is Money. The relationship between money and happiness is one of the most complicated and emotionally charged subjects within the larger issue of happiness. I really can't do justice to its complexities in such a short video. (For a more nuanced discussion, read Chapter Seven in the book!)

Last week's resolution was to Buy...

I Strive for Better Control of My Temper, or, The Link Between the Desire for Control and Anger.

One of my more disagreeable faults is my irritability. I lose my temper easily; I "speak in a mean voice" as my daughters describe it; I become impatient and act annoyed; I feel anxious about something, so I snap at my family; I feel criticized, so I lash out.

Dozens of my resolutions are aimed at helping me to be more calm, cheerful, and lighthearted – everything from Turn out the light to Make my bed to Quit nagging to Quit drinking (more or less).

One thing puzzles me. When I know I'm...

"Her Happiness...Was Ever in the Future, Never Reached But Always Coming."

"Her happiness, like that of most of us, was ever in the future, never reached but always coming."

--Anthony Trollope

* 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 gretchenrubin1 [at:] gmail [.com:] -- and don't forget the "1". (Sorry about writing it in that roundabout way; I'm trying to thwart spammers.) Just write "Resolutions Chart" in the subject line.

Ask For Help – Buy the Book This Week.

One of my resolutions is to Ask for help. I don't know why it's so hard to follow this resolution, but it is – but I'm always surprised by how effective it is. I'm asking for your help with my book.

If you're inclined to buy The Happiness Project, whether for yourself or a friend, it would be a big help to me if you'd buy it this week.

The Happiness Project has been bouncing around the New York Times bestseller list for fourteen weeks now. It has been as high as #1 (yay!) and is now at #8.

As...

Do You Buy Green? Refrain from Nagging? Embody Virtue? Better Watch Yourself!

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.

One interesting aspect of human nature is our tendency to pat ourselves on the back for being good, and then turn around and do something bad.

This kind of behavior may be caused by the belief that you're so righteous...

"Laughing, Using Facebook, Not Using my iPhone, and Remembering 'This Is Just Now.'"

About a year ago, I met Amy Wilson through a mutual friend. She was working on a book that I thought sounded hilarious -- and today, it hits the shelves! Just seeing the title made me want to read it: When Did I Get Like This?: The Screamer, the Worrier, the Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget-Buyer, and Other Mothers I Swore I'd Never Be.

Amy started out as an actress and has performed on and off Broadway, in movies, and on a lot of familiar TV shows, and along the way, she also started writing her own...

Six Tips for Forcing Yourself to Tackle a Dreaded Task.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.

This Wednesday: Six tips for forcing yourself to tackle a dreaded task.

It's a Secret of Adulthood: Happiness doesn't always make me feel happy. Often, I know I'd be happier if I do something I really don't feel like doing. Making that phone call. Dealing with tech support. Writing that email. Going to the gym.

Those dreaded tasks hang over my head, though; they make me feel drained and uneasy. I've learned that I'm much happier, in the long run, if I try to...

Weekly Video: Buy Some Happiness.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I'm going to start posting the videos for the 2010 Happiness Challenge separately, as their own posts, so look for the new video every Tuesday. In the past, I've been cramming too much material into the posts that included the videos.

For those of you following the 2010 Happiness Project Challenge, to make 2010 a happier year -- or even if you're not officially doing the challenge -- this month's focus is Money.

The relationship between money and happiness is...

Happiness: There's No Place Like Home.

I'm home from vacation. We had a great time, but ah, it's nice to be home!

The return from vacation reminded me of a significant factor in happiness: the hedonic treadmill, or hedonic adaptation.

People are adaptable. We quickly adjust to a new life circumstance — for better or worse — and consider it normal. Although this helps us when our situation worsens (people are astonishingly resilient), it means that when circumstances improve, we soon become hardened to new comforts or privileges...