Claim OwnershipHappier with Gretchen Rubin
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© 2026 Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project
Description
Gretchen Rubin is HAPPIER, and she wants you to be happier too. The #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before gets more personal than ever as she brings her practical, manageable advice about happiness and good habits to this lively, thought-provoking podcast. Gretchen’s cohost and guinea pig is her younger sister, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in Los Angeles, who (lovingly) refers to Gretchen as her happiness bully.
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Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/
1312 Episodes
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We talk about why you should treat yourself like a grandchild (or a toddler, puppy, professor, or factory), and we share a helpful tip if you’re trying to do certain things every day. Plus we discuss a listener’s question about meeting inner and outer expectations as an Upholder.
Resources & links related to this episode:
My Four Tendencies personality framework
Take the "Four Tendencies" quiz
Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle
Graduation Gift Guide
Simon Haisells "slow reads"
My book Secrets of Adulthood makes for a great graduation gift
Elizabeth: The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen: ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King (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.
A surprising formula to create a compelling title provides the name for a card deck of creative inspiration.
Resources & links related to this episode:
If you’d like to look at the Muse Machine, and maybe even buy one for yourself, you can check it out here.
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.
As a part of the “Move 26” challenge, podcaster (“The Secret Life of Books”) and professor Sophie Gee joins for a literary walk. We explore the Metropolitan Museum together and look for items related to the iconic children's novel “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.”
Resources & links related to this episode:
Secret Life of Books podcast, hosted by Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (Amazon, Bookshop)
Join the "Move 26" challenge in the Happier app
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.
We’re revisiting a listener-favorite episode from 2015, recorded as we cleared out Elizabeth’s closet. It's a hilarious discussion of many clutter-clearing ideas you can use right away.
Resources & links related to this episode:
Check out the Organization Hub on my website dedicated to my favorite tips, hacks, and advice for getting organized
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.
We explore how asking paired questions can lead to more open, engaging conversations. We also discuss the “end-of-history illusion”; we keep changing more than we expect. Plus we share a simple hack for using photos to reduce worry.
Resources & links related to this episode:
Michael Melcher Writes Substack newsletter
The House by the Sea by May Sarton (Amazon, Bookshop)
Sign up for the "5 Things Making Me Happy" newsletter
Elizabeth: Liars by Sarah Manguso (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (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.
A massive hangover cured someone of her fear of flying. What’s the lesson?
Resources & links related to this episode:
Four Tendencies personality framework
You can take my quiz here to find your tendency.
Happier at Home
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.
We discuss the happiness of connecting with childhood friends and the reemergence of Lena Dunham. We also discuss an easy yet effective April Fools’ prank, and how long it takes to feel at home in a new place.
Resources & links related to this episode:
Check out Spring Bingo in Happier App
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.
We discuss why it’s helpful actually to search for a solution, and we share an easy hack for giving yourself accountability. Plus, we explore an insight about how long it takes to feel at home in a new place.
Resources & links related to this episode:
Watch my Home Makeover video with Clutterbug and check out the resources we created for viewers
Armrest covers
Face Washing Wrist Bands
Ikea Shoe Cabinet
Wall Street Journal article: Has your dream renovation become a nightmare? Maybe you need a ‘house therapist'
Elizabeth: Famesick by Lena Dunham (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen: Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple (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.
Even though it’s absurd to say, there are features of everyday life that do seem oddly anachronistic.
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.
We talk about why clutter causes so much conflict at home—and how thinking about Clutter-Blindness, the Endowment Effect, and the Four Tendencies can help you handle it more effectively. Plus, practical strategies for living with a messy family member and saying goodbye to sentimental clutter.
Resources & links related to this episode:
Visit my Organization Hub for 9 practical tips for deciding what to keep
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.
We talk about a specific, easy way to reduce the unworn clothes in your closet, and we also share a listener’s clothes-related hack for keeping track of lost items. We explore an interesting distinction: are you a nostalgic person or an expectant person?
Resources & links related to this episode:
Take the "Four Tendencies" quiz
Check out my book Outer Order, Inner Calm
Check out the I Want You To Know journal for a Mother's Day Gift
Elizabeth: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen: Nonesuch by Francis Spufford (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.
An ancient teaching story from the Sufi tradition is a good illustration of the fact that sometimes, it’s a good idea to examine a situation closely—and sometimes it’s a good idea to look away.
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.
I talk with professional organizer Cassandra Aarssen, creator of the viral Clutterbug “Organizing Styles” (Bee, Butterfly, Ladybug, Cricket). In her work, she sees the same problem over and over: people can get organized, but they can’t keep it that way. We explore why—and how the Four Tendencies can help.
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.
At the World Happiness Summit meeting at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, we talk to author Jennifer Wallace about her new book, “Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose.”
Resources & links related to this episode:
Mattering by Jennifer Wallace
World Happiness Summit
Take the Four Tendencies Quiz here
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.
We discuss the seven deadly sins of disconnection—the habits that push others away. We also share an easy hack for making an environment more appealing, and answer a listener's question about reality TV.
Resources & links related to this episode:
Try my new "Happiness Helpline" on gretchenrubin.com by clicking the icon in the bottom right-hand corner, or find it in the Happier app.
Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valued Connections by Anna Goldfarb (Amazon, Bookshop)
Dimmer switches for lamps
Use this guide to set up your No-Spend Month
Elizabeth: The All-or-Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work by Eli Finkel (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen: All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore (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.
By reading a novel, I learned to appreciate a celebrated piece of music.
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.
The One-Minute Rule is one of the most popular organization hacks ideas we've ever shared—and if you've used it, you know why. But over the years it's inspired a few other additional rules that are just as useful, including one that kept Elizabeth's closet floor clean for the first time in years. In this episode we bring them all together.
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.
We talk about why it’s a good idea to avoid self-diagnosis. We also suggest an easy hack for people prone to worry, and share our progress on “Design Your Year” aims now that we’ve reached Day 100 of the year.
Resources & links related to this episode:
Visit the Design Your Year hub
26 for 2026 list
Choose your One Word Theme
Join the Move 26 Challenge
Take the Four Tendencies Quiz
Check out my book Forty Ways to Look at JFK here
Elizabeth: The Client by John Grisham (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen: Joyful Anyway by Kate Bowler (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.
I am the laboratory, I am the notebook, and I am the museum.
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.
We discuss the Real Housewives and their lessons in time, hope, and perseverance. Plus we explore a new trend sweeping the world of Hollywood, and a hack for spring cleaning.
Resources & links related to this episode:
Join My Color Pilgrimage on Substack
Check out the Declutter Scavenger Hunt I created with Clutterbug
Mating by Norman Rush (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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Also, Gretchen's April fool's day "prank" was nothing more than sending a lie via text to your family- I don't get how that is funny? it's one thing to construct a ruse with a third person involved, but otherwise this joke doesn't land for me at all.
Ugh, Lena Dunham could be the star of a TV show called People I Don't Care About. She is the definition of mid, and I have no idea how so many people have been enamored with her for so long. She is whiny and incredibly mediocre.
The discussion of being nostalgic vs expectant is insightful!
Not everyone cares about style, especially in jeans.
Love this piece. 🎼
To be a trader from day one, however is ownership guide MRSP?
Re Hungry Root ad -- no sugar is not the same as less sugar, as I am sure you know.
Truly beautiful- the love comes through loud and clear. 💗
Chickens have feelings too.
I understand rewatching Mad Men- I do not get the appeal of Girls at all, one of my least favorite shows. Lena Dunham's continued success is surprising for someone so persistently mediocre.
Sounds fake to me
My favorite podcast. If it gets political, I have to leave. I know I am just one in a million and might be the only one who feels this way. This has been a fun and positive zone for me for years. Divisive issues are everywhere else. That's not what I need here. Thank you.
Up next
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I feel so smart- I already do most of these travel hacks. And shout-out to my Mom, who was organized enough to coordinate a hotel bag for our family growing up. 🧳
The highest compliment would be, "I love you like Stanley loves Pretzel Day." 🥨🤣
interesting... your quince ad is 💯 (or dang close) to a housewives ad. ugh.... won't consider because of either one...
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This brought a tear to my eye as well. Thank you!
Thank you, Gretchen, for posting this today!