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Diet and Health
An Absolute Key to Happiness: Get Enough Sleep
Posted on Feb 19, 2009 6:15:00 PM  |  By GretchenRubin

The more I reflect about happiness, and what factors contribute to or detract from my happiness, the more I’m convinced that getting enough sleep is absolutely crucial. It’s so tempting to stay up late: the time between my older daughter’s...

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Marriage
To Nag or Not to Nag?
Posted on Feb 17, 2009 6:11:00 PM  |  By GretchenRubin

As I do every year, I recently sent out a big batch of Valentine’s cards to our family and friends. (I do this instead of sending holiday cards in December, when everything is so hectic.) As I was starting to...

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Resolutions
How Ben Franklin Can Help You Build Your Own Happiness
Posted on Feb 12, 2009 5:36:00 AM  |  By GretchenRubin

In his Autobiography , Benjamin Franklin explains how he designed a Virtues Chart to track his progress on thirteen moral virtues, and this example was a big inspiration for me when I designed my own Resolutions Chart. Looking at Franklin's...

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Relationships
A Fascinating Term from Psychology: "Situation Evocation"
Posted on Feb 10, 2009 5:31:00 AM  |  By GretchenRubin

From the terrific book Personality: What Makes You the Way You Are by Daniel Nettle, I learned a fascinating psychological term: situation evocation. In situation evocation, we spark a response from people that reinforces a tendency we already have. For...

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Fun
Have You Found Ways to Watch TV Mindfully?
Posted on Feb 5, 2009 5:26:00 AM  |  By GretchenRubin

One of the most popular activities in the world is TV-watching. In the U.S., it’s the most common free-time activity, and people watch for an average of five hours a day. A friend of mine pointed out that many dangerous...

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Fun
Something I Love: "X is the New Y"
Posted on Feb 3, 2009 5:22:00 AM  |  By GretchenRubin

Sometimes it’s the silly little things that make you happy, and I have a collection going that I find ridiculously amusing: my collection of “X is the new Y” statements. Why I get such a kick out of these, I...

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Happiness
What Movies Make You Think about Happiness?
Posted on Jan 29, 2009 6:21:00 AM  |  By GretchenRubin

A great way to boost your happiness is to watch a happy or funny movie. Researchers found that when people watched a funny video, for example, anger and sorrow dropped 98%, and the improvement persisted for more than twelve hours....

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Efficiency
Better to Put Many Items in an Email, or Just One?
Posted on Jan 27, 2009 6:20:00 AM  |  By GretchenRubin

I thought I’d made major progress in a minor but annoying area of life, by making a change in my email habits. Now I’m not sure I actually made progress. For years, if I had several issues to raise with...

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Gratitude
Need a gratitude fix? Check out my one-minute movie, The Years Are Short
Posted on Jan 22, 2009 6:01:00 AM  |  By GretchenRubin

As part of my happiness project, I’ve drawn up a Resolutions Chart that lists dozens of resolutions that I try to keep each day. Using this chart keeps my resolutions active in my mind and also keeps me accountable for...

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Marriage
1. A Great Piece of Advice – from a Friend’s Grandparents
Posted on Jan 20, 2009 5:56:00 AM  |  By GretchenRubin

I love snappy words of advice. At a recent meeting of my book group, after we’d finished talking about the book we’d read -- Isak Dinesen’s Out of Africa , we all loved it -- I asked, “What’s the best...

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