There are about 100 days left in the year, and we discuss why starting your 100-day countdown can make you happier. We also explore a hack that will help you read, learn, and get entertained, and we share interesting responses from listeners about the power of engaging.

Resources & links related to this episode:
For the Happier Podcast Book Club: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon, Bookshop)
Joshua Rothman's New Yorker article "A.I. Is Coming for Culture"
Listen to the new podcast Since You Asked with Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin
Happier in Hollywood Substack 
Secrets of Adulthood Substack 
"Fall in Love with Your Next Novel" Quiz
Elizabeth is reading: Actress of a Certain Age by Jeff Hiller (Amazon, Bookshop) 
Gretchen is reading: The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman (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. 

There are about 100 days left in the year, and we discuss why starting your 100-day countdown can make you happier. We also explore a hack that will help you read, learn, and get entertained, and we share interesting responses from listeners about the power of engaging.
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li>For the Happier Podcast Book Club: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (<a href="https://amzn.to/4nB9DU8">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780593540985">Bookshop</a>)</li>
<li>Joshua Rothman's New Yorker article "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/01/ai-is-coming-for-culture">A.I. Is Coming for Culture</a>"</li>
<li><a href="https://www.thesinceyouaskedpodcast.com/">Listen to the new podcast Since You Asked with Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin</a></li>
<li><a href="https://happierinhollywoodpod.substack.com/">Happier in Hollywood</a> Substack&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://secretsofadulthood.substack.com">Secrets of Adulthood</a> Substack&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="http://happiercast.com/nextnovel">"Fall in Love with Your Next Novel" Quiz</a></li>
<li>Elizabeth is reading: Actress of a Certain Age by Jeff Hiller (<a href="https://amzn.to/4mbERjq">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9781668031858">Bookshop</a>)&nbsp;</li>
<li>Gretchen is reading: The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman&nbsp;(<a href="https://amzn.to/4guWQjO">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780553510706">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. 552: Start Your 100-Day Countdown, Try Substack & the Power of Engaging

I learned something surprising in law school: To a great extent, we can’t be forced to follow the law; we must decide to follow the law.

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 learned something surprising in law school: To a great extent, we can&rsquo;t be forced to follow the law; we must decide to follow the law.
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;

A Little Happier: A Very Surprising Truth that I Learned in Law School

For many people, money is a source of anxiety and guilt. In this Roundtable conversation, we explore why the subject of money is so challenging, and also the small, realistic changes that can make money management feel easier.

Resources & links related to this episode:
Mrs. Dow Jones
Reema Khrais


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. 

 

For many people, money is a source of anxiety and guilt. In this Roundtable conversation, we explore why the subject of money is so challenging, and also the small, realistic changes that can make money management feel easier.
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.mrsdowjones.com/">Mrs. Dow Jones</a></li>
<li dir="ltr"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-uncomfortable/id1466681015">Reema Khrais</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;
&nbsp;

More Happier: Does Money Stress You Out? Mrs. Dow Jones & Reema Khrais on What Helps

We talk about how we’re using Determination Day (February 28) to reengage with our “26 for ’26” list. We also share listeners’ excellent suggestions for “Move 26 in ’26,” as well as an example of how understanding someone’s Tendency reduces conflict in a marriage.

Resources & links related to this episode:
Are you a Lark or an Owl? 
Strategy of Distinctions
Strategy of Pairing
Strategy of Accountability
21 Strategies for Habit Change
Download the free Determination Day PDF here
Lady Gaga singing "Won't You Be My Neighbor?"
Give yourself permission to lower the bar. 
Elizabeth is reading: Unspeakable Things: Silence, Shame, and the Stories We Choose to Believe by Brooke Nevils (Amazon, Bookshop) 
Gretchen is reading: The School of Night by Karl Ove Knausgaard (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 how we&rsquo;re using Determination Day (February 28) to reengage with our &ldquo;26 for &rsquo;26&rdquo; list. We also share listeners&rsquo; excellent suggestions for &ldquo;Move 26 in &rsquo;26,&rdquo; as well as an example of how understanding someone&rsquo;s Tendency reduces conflict in a marriage.
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/2021/09/are-you-a-lark-or-an-owl">Are you a Lark or an Owl?</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/2016/12/want-to-keep-a-new-years-resolution-how-to-make-it-right-for-you">Strategy of Distinctions</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/2014/11/video-try-pairing-one-of-the-easiest-ways-to-strengthen-habits">Strategy of Pairing</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/2009/10/tips-to-hold-yourself-accountable-for-keeping-your-resolutions">Strategy of Accountability</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/2014/07/my-new-book-about-habit-formation-as-distilled-in-21-sentences">21 Strategies for Habit Change</a></li>
<li><a href="http://happiercast.com/resource">Download the free Determination Day PDF here</a></li>
<li>Lady Gaga singing "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3o5FIXoK84">Won't You Be My Neighbor?</a>"</li>
<li>Give yourself permission to <a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/podcast-episode/podcast-29-why-elizabeth-and-i-lower-the-bar-use-the-clean-slate-to-change-habits-and-try-to-stop-wasting-food/">lower the bar</a>.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Elizabeth is reading: Unspeakable Things: Silence, Shame, and the Stories We Choose to Believe by Brooke Nevils&nbsp;(<a href="https://amzn.to/4kpMnbo">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9781984880185">Bookshop</a>)&nbsp;</li>
<li>Gretchen is reading: The School of Night by Karl Ove Knausgaard&nbsp;(<a href="https://amzn.to/3MsGfSZ">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780593832806">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. 552: Start Your 100-Day Countdown, Try Substack & the Power of Engaging

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