Intro & Update

Try This at Home

Reveal...for 26!

Happiness Hack

Demerits & Gold Stars

Resource

What We're Reading

Wrap Up

We report on our experience with the “Design Your Year” exercise of the annual challenge: Read 25 in ’25. We also reveal the annual challenge for 2026—join us.

Resources & links related to this episode:
Move 26 in 2026 
Visit the Happiness Project shop 
The science-backed trick that soothes an itch better than scratching
Elizabeth: is coming into the end of War and Peace (Amazon, Bookshop) 
Gretchen is reading: Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift (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. 

We report on our experience with the &ldquo;Design Your Year&rdquo; exercise of the annual challenge: Read 25 in &rsquo;25. We also reveal the annual challenge for 2026&mdash;join us.
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/design-your-year-2026-tools/">Move 26 in 2026</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="http://happiercast.com/shop">Visit the Happiness Project shop</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/09/29/how-to-stop-itchy-skin/">The science-backed trick that soothes an itch better than scratching</a></li>
<li>Elizabeth: is coming into the end of War and Peace (<a href="https://amzn.to/3KcNehZ">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9781400079988">Bookshop</a>)&nbsp;</li>
<li>Gretchen is reading: Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift&nbsp;(<a href="https://amzn.to/4pPrUhB">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9781101971727">Bookshop</a>)</li>
</ul>
 Get in touch: <a href="mailto:podcast@gretchenrubin.com">podcast@gretchenrubin.com</a>
Visit<a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/">&nbsp;Gretchen's website</a>&nbsp;to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the&nbsp;Happier&nbsp;app.
Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.&nbsp;

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. 

Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/  

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&rsquo;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.&nbsp;
Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media <a href="https://lemonadamedia.com/" data-stringify-link="https://lemonadamedia.com/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">https://lemonadamedia.com/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

How to Build Happier Habits into Your Daily Life

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Ep. 564: Revealing…the Annual Challenge for 2026! Plus a Report on Read 25 in 2025

We talk about why the realization “I could this this task better myself” can help us identify possible opportunities. We also talk about how to give a bad review in a nice way, and share imaginative accountability strategies. 

Resources & links related to this episode:
Obituary for John Charles Craft
Take the "Four Tendencies" personality quiz
Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill
In Our Time podcast by the BBC
Elizabeth is reading: Full House by Janet Evanovich (Amazon, Bookshop) 
Gretchen is reading: Possession by A. S. Byatt (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. 

We talk about why the realization &ldquo;I could this this task better myself&rdquo; can help us identify possible opportunities. We also talk about how to give a bad review in a nice way, and share imaginative accountability strategies.&nbsp;
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kansascity/name/jack-craft-obituary?id=60219609">Obituary for John Charles Craft</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/quiz/the-four-tendencies-quiz/">Take the "Four Tendencies" personality quiz</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/books/forty-ways-to-look-at-winston-churchill/">Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill</a></li>
<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-our-time/id73330895">In Our Time</a> podcast by the BBC</li>
<li>Elizabeth is reading: Full House by Janet Evanovich (<a href="https://amzn.to/3L8msHO">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9781250887191">Bookshop</a>)&nbsp;</li>
<li>Gretchen is reading: Possession by A. S. Byatt (<a href="https://amzn.to/44CuX4t">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780679735908">Bookshop</a>)&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
 Get in touch: <a href="mailto:podcast@gretchenrubin.com">podcast@gretchenrubin.com</a>
Visit<a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/">&nbsp;Gretchen's website</a>&nbsp;to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the&nbsp;Happier&nbsp;app.
Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.&nbsp;

Ep. 566: Do You Ever Think “This Is Not Good; I Could Do This Better?”  Plus Accountability Hacks

As a gift to listeners, I read O. Henry’s classic "The Gift of the Magi"—a timeless reminder of what really matters most for our happiness during the holidays.

Resources & links related to this episode:
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry (Amazon, Bookshop) 
I read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens (Amazon, Bookshop) 
I read "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen (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. 

As a gift to listeners, I read O. Henry&rsquo;s classic "The Gift of the Magi"&mdash;a timeless reminder of what really matters most for our happiness during the holidays.
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li>"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry (<a href="https://amzn.to/4pvpchd">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780241597019">Bookshop</a>)&nbsp;</li>
<li>I read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens (<a href="https://amzn.to/4iXlCtW">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9781936830886">Bookshop</a>)&nbsp;</li>
<li>I read "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen (<a href="https://amzn.to/4rRmJ2m">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780486781709">Bookshop</a>)</li>
</ul>
 Get in touch: <a href="mailto:podcast@gretchenrubin.com">podcast@gretchenrubin.com</a>
Visit<a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/">&nbsp;Gretchen's website</a>&nbsp;to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the&nbsp;Happier&nbsp;app.
Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.&nbsp;

A Happier Holiday Reading: “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry

When we’re quoting someone who has articulated an important idea, it’s important to make sure that we’re quoting their entire point. Winston Churchill, Stewart Brand, and apocryphally, Harry Gordon Selfridge, are frequently only partially quoted.

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. 

When we&rsquo;re quoting someone who has articulated an important idea, it&rsquo;s important to make sure that we&rsquo;re quoting their entire point. Winston Churchill, Stewart Brand, and apocryphally, Harry Gordon Selfridge, are frequently only partially quoted.
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>
 Get in touch: <a href="mailto:podcast@gretchenrubin.com">podcast@gretchenrubin.com</a>
Visit<a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/">&nbsp;Gretchen's website</a>&nbsp;to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the&nbsp;Happier&nbsp;app.
Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.&nbsp;

Ep. 564: Revealing…the Annual Challenge for 2026! Plus a Report on Read 25 in 2025

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

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