Happier with Gretchen Rubin

We discuss how to make hosting more fun and less work by reflecting and making notes after each gathering; we include specific tips from our own experiences as well as creative suggestions from listeners. We also answer frequently asked questions about the "Read 25 in 25" challenge to help us all make reading a daily habit in the new year. Plus, we share terrific holiday hosting hacks from listeners.  Resources and links related to this episode: "Habits for Happiness" course Read25in25 Design Your Year Rolling cart Elizabeth is rereading: Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York Maitre D' by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina (Amazon, Bookshop)  Gretchen is reading: North Woods by Daniel Mason (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.

The Fleetwood Mac song “Songbird” illustrates the truth that with a great artwork, its power often lies not in expressing a single emotion, but in speaking to various, and sometimes even seemingly opposite, human experiences. 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.

As a holiday gift to listeners, I’m reading aloud “The Snow Queen,” one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most famous fairy tales. Last week was Part One; this week is Part Two. 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.

As part of “Design Your Year,” each year we announce an annual challenge based on the year—a habit that will help us and listeners to be come happier. We review our experience with last year’s “Write 24 in ‘24” challenge and reveal the challenge for 2025. Plus we discuss some of the tools and strategies we’ll use to help ourselves stick to this excellent challenge.Resources and links related to this episode: "Habits for Happiness" course #Write24in24 #Read25in25 One-Sentence Journal bookshop.org Happier™ app 2025 "War and Peace" Slow Read Four Tendencies Quiz Don't Break the Chain tracker "What's Your Neglected Sense?"  Elizabeth is rereading: Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York Maitre D' by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina (Amazon, Bookshop)  Gretchen is reading: Was She Pretty? by Leanne Shapton (Amazon, Bookshop)  Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.comVisit 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. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the Ship of Theseus to the Grand Shrine of Ise, from the Tin Woodman to our own constantly renewing bodies, humans have long wrestled with a profound question: When something is replaced piece by piece, is it still the same thing? 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.

As a holiday gift to listeners, I reading aloud “The Snow Queen,” one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most famous fairy tales. This week is Part One; next week is Part Two. 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.

We each review our “24 for 24 lists” and report on what we did, what we didn’t do, and why. We also reflect on which items made us happier, which ones fizzled out, and which ones we’ll repeat next year.Resources and links related to this episode: Happiness Project Shop  Tips for making a "25 for '25" list Print your own "25 for '25" list One-Sentence Journal  Happier in Hollywood newsletter sign-up Habits for Happiness quiz: What's the next new habit that will make you happier? Four Tendencies quiz: Are you an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel?  Gift-Giving quiz: What kind of gift makes you happy? "5 Things Making Me Happy" newsletters   Ethan Mollick’s newsletter “One Useful Thing" Hard Fork podcast Muse Machine Gretchen is reading: Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs (Amazon, Bookshop)  Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.comVisit 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. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Willa Cather’s novel “O Pioneers!” a sister and brother never forget the beautiful afternoon when they saw a wild duck playing in the river. 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.

We debate how to decide if a movie counts as a “holiday” movie. We also discuss how the holiday season seems to be morphing into one long celebration, with Halloween flowing directly into Christmas. Plus, we share what's making us happier: the anticipation of hosting a holiday gathering and the special joy of having a child home from college for a long visit. Resources and links related to this episode: #TheHappinessProjectCollection Bob Dylan, Chronicles: Volume One (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.

Choosing a one-word theme is one of the most fun and thought-provoking exercises within the “Design Your Year” set. Here, we review our themes for 2024 and reveal the themes we’ve chosen for 2025. We also share a hack for choosing a powerful theme, and include many of the themes chosen by listeners. Resources and links related to this episode: Habits for Happiness course  Elizabeth is rereading: The Winner by Teddy Wayne (Amazon, Bookshop)  Gretchen is reading: North Woods by Daniel Mason (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.

My reflections about artificial intelligence reminded me of the climactic scene in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, a masterpiece of children’s literature. That scene illuminates a profound truth about the human power of being loved, and also of offering love. 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.

We revisit a conversation with TV writer and producer Mike Schur, who has created some of our favorite TV shows ever including "The Office," "Parks and Recreation," and "The Good Place." We also talk about Derby Names and how to spread birthday cheer through the whole year. Resources and links related to this episode: Don't Break the Chain Habit Tracker "5 Things Making Me Happier" newsletter 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.

We share dozens of excellent hacks from listeners about how to make traveling more convenient and less stressful—plus we include some of our own travel-hack discoveries. Resources and links related to this episode: Black Friday Sale  Life in Five Senses Elizabeth is rereading: We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (Amazon, Bookshop)  Gretchen is reading: The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman (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.

Two teaching stories from very different contexts both illuminate a powerful truth: Our deepest source of resilience often comes from caring for others. 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.

Inspired by a friend, we discuss the question of what we wanted to accomplish in college (a question we never asked ourselves at the time). We also explore some helpful advice for the Metropolitan Museum—which the Met is definitely not interested in receiving. Plus why face-to-face meetings still hold special value in the age of screens. Resources and links related to this episode: Super-Fans  Bookplates  Essays in Idleness by Kenkō (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.