Try This at Home

To get ready to return to the usual routine after Labor Day marks the official end of summer, clear the decks!

We mention the Calendar of Catalysts.

Do these “clear the decks” tasks as you listen. Stop and start the podcast, and join in. By the end, you’ll have done a lot to clear the decks for #HappierLaborDay.

1. Delete unused apps
2. Make a pile of some worn-out T-shirts, unmatched socks, etc.
3. Answer a tricky email
4. Unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters — if you want to sign up for one of my newsletters, go here
   
5. Book travel for holidays or confirm travel plans
6. Sort through accumulated mail
7. Get rid of any personal-care products you don’t use
8. Add a fun activity to your calendar, to look forward to 
9. Sign up for auto-pay for a bill
10. Make an appointment you’ve been putting off
11. Clear out your wallet, backpack, or purse
12. Jot down five ideas for holiday gifts 
13. Unfollow and delete podcasts you don’t listen to
14. Check your disaster preparedness: air filters, clothes that fit your kids, batteries, etc 
15. Identify one change you can make to reduce food waste 
16. Wash your car (actually, this one takes more than one minutes)
    
17. Donate to an organization you’ve been meaning to support
18. Buy an extra of some small item you often hunt for: charger, earbuds, reading glasses
19. Get a library card (you can sign up online, and you can check out print, digital, or audiobooks)
20. Return 10 misplaced objects to their proper places
21. Take care of any items that need to be returned (by mail or in person)
22. Clean out your car
23. Sell or donate unwanted books
24. BONUS: Forward the Happier podcast, and rate, review, and follow

If you’d like this list in the form of a bingo card, it’s here.

I mention my book Outer Order, Inner Calm—a great resource if you want to de-clutter and organize to make more room for happiness.

This time, we’re using the “Clear the Decks” exercise to help prepare to return to the usual routines after the summer, but of course, it could be used any time we need to gear up for a change or challenge.

Demerits & Gold Stars

We give gold stars to all the listeners who tried the “clear the decks” exercise.

Resource

If you’re looking for more tools to help you tackle your day, we’re offering a special discount on the Tackle Box from the Happiness Project collection. The Tackle Box features five sticky pads to create the types of lists that work best for you, including a Ta-da list, a To-Day list, and even a Ta-Doodle list. Head to the store and enter code HAPPIERTACKLE50 at checkout for 50% off now through August 20th at 11:59pm PT (limit one use per customer).

What We’re Reading

• Elizabeth: Foster by Claire Keegan (Amazon, Bookshop) 
• Gretchen: The Sundial by Shirley Jackson (Amazon, Bookshop) 
  

443 

[Music]

Gretchen

Hello and welcome to Happier. A podcast where we talk about ways to be happier. This week, in anticipation of #HappierLaborDay, we’ll spend the entire episode talking about ideas for clearing the decks. And this episode is going to be different. So to get ready, you want to get yourself listening where you can stop and start the podcast.

Gretchen

So if you are driving, maybe you want to listen to a back episode of the podcast or hang on and listen to this podcast where you are going to be able to stop and start the podcast. All will be revealed very soon. I’m Gretchen Rubin, a writer who studies happiness, good habits, the Five Senses, and Human Nature. I am in my little makeshift studio just outside of New York City.

Gretchen

And joining me today from L.A. is my sister Elizabeth, my sister, the Sage.

Elizabeth

That’s me, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in L.A.. And Gretchen, I am definitely ready to clear the decks for Labor Day. Yay!

Gretchen

Before we launch in, in episode 441, we suggested that try this at home to escape your taste. And we got some interesting responses from listeners. First, a listener points out that, as I often want to say, the opposite of a profound truth is also true.

Elizabeth

Yes, Jane says it’s a great idea to vary your preferences. However, have you ever bought a pair of jeans that fit perfectly and wish that you bought more? I have a number of sun shirts that I love this style and who knows how long they’ll make them. I have four. Staying with our own taste also saves us a lot of time.

Elizabeth

I shop at the same stores because I know the clothes fit and I don’t have to waste time trying things. On being frustrated because their size eight is not the same as someone else’s size eight.

Gretchen

Well Elizabeth, this reminded me of you because you have that pair of exercise pants that are so perfect and you keep trying to buy multiples of them and failing. So I’m sure you very much wish that you had bought them at the time.

Elizabeth

I sure do.

Gretchen

And then another listener was able to escape her taste and also accomplish many other happiness boosting ideas. Try this at homes all in one big fell swoop.

Elizabeth

Yeah. And this comes from Debbie, who says she’s a rebel. In January, a friend suggested purchasing an all season long pass to Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California. It was $200 and only five shows have been posted. Notably, Shania Twain and Janet Jackson were first up in May. My partner and I said yes and purchased the passes. Little did I know that a few weeks later I would be laid off from my medical device marketing job.

Elizabeth

I would not have spent the money if I suspected this was going to happen. Here’s how that single decision has increased my happiness during this challenging time. One Escape Your Taste. My negelcted sense is hearing. I am a heavy listener of public radio, podcasts and audiobooks. Listening to music is counter to my usual taste. Two, behave like a teenager. In my youth,

Elizabeth

Eighties baby. I enjoyed pop and rock and she says music of all kinds. Going to live shows of Cheap Trick, Rod Stewart, Foreigner, Z.Z Top, and Lynyrd Skynyrd makes me feel like a teenager for artists I am less familiar with. We listen to their greatest hits in preparation and get excited when we can sing along. Lyrics are easy to find online.

Gretchen

Number three, design your summer. I am an open door 56 year old with two daughters, 23 and 26. After they moved out, the summers seemed to slip away without notice. Without a normal full time employee work schedule, I attended the shoreline weeknight shows without worrying about the next morning’s productivity. Number four, walking. Yes. #Walk2020. Because efficiency excites me.

Gretchen

We park 1.5 miles away from the venue and walk in and out. We miss the traffic in our home much sooner. Number five, New Me 2023. I want to get maximum value for my $200 entertainment investment. Of the 28 scheduled shows, we plan to see at least 23. A prophetic number making each show $11.50. This is the happiness deal of the century.

Gretchen

So I loved the way that Debbie did one thing, and it turned out to just be this happiness jackpot.

Elizabeth

Yes, It’s amazing. Gretchen.

Gretchen

Yeah. Okay, This week’s Try This At Home is to clear the decks, and this week we’re going to do something in a way that’s a bit different. Yeah.

Elizabeth

Gretchen, to give some context, you and I are big fans of using the calendar as a catalyst for reflection and change. And Labor Day is a great time for that.

Gretchen

Yes. In fact, if you want to get the calendar of Catalyst, you can get that from my website. But just as people use Valentine’s Day to remember to think about their sweetheart or they use Mother’s Day or Father’s Day to remember to feel grateful for their parents, we can use #HappierLaborDay to think about our work life.

Gretchen

And in the United States, our Labor Day is coming up on September 4th, which coincidently is my wedding anniversary. So we can use this time to reflect on our work life. And that could be our paid work or unpaid work, anything that we do for work. It’s approaching and it’s also the end of summer, and it’s kind of that feeling.

Gretchen

We’re getting back to the usual routine. Maybe at school, maybe it’s the workplace. But for many of us, September is the other January. It feels like a fresh start and you sort of want to clear the decks.

Elizabeth

Yeah. So we put together a list of things that will help you clear the decks to feel ready for that fresh start.

Gretchen

So here’s what’s different. We’re going to list these, but we want you to do it with us. Every time we list one, we are going to ask you to pause the show and do this task. And these are things that will take one minute, maybe two, three, four or 5 minutes at the most. But if you do them as we go, by the end, you will feel like you have really made a lot of headway into just getting rid of a lot of those small nagging tasks that can weigh us down.

Gretchen

And do not worry about writing these down as we go or keeping track of them. You can get the whole list at happiercast.com/clear  C L E A R  happiercast.com/clear. It’s in the form of a bingo card. So if you want to do it as bingo, you can do it that way. Or you could just use it as a list.

Gretchen

And of course, Elizabeth, we’re all about trying to use the year date. We use it in the trifecta. So this is a list of 23 plus we added a bonus to complete the bingo card. Bingo card needs 24 and Gretch,

Elizabeth

We realize not everyone is going to start and do this as we are talking about it, but maybe you’ll do a few of them. Yeah.

Gretchen

It’s meant to be fun. It’s a new way to try to make it more fun to do the things that we know will help us clear the decks.

Elizabeth

It’s a power hour.

Gretchen

There we go. Okay, let’s launch in with number one. Delete unused apps. Yes, we all have them.

Elizabeth

We all know how nice it is to have a less cluttered screen. So get rid of those unused apps.

Gretchen

Our father just got a new phone and I was saying to him, you don’t need garage band, let’s get rid of it. So you just have the things you use. And it felt richer because it wasn’t weighed down with a bunch of stuff he was never going to use.

Elizabeth

Yes.

Gretchen

Number two, make a pile of some worn out t shirts, unmatched socks, etc..

Elizabeth

Yeah, Gretch, you and I talk about this all the time. We have what we call gross T-shirt. We do that we can’t bear to get rid of, but we also know we shouldn’t be wearing and I have probably half a drawer full of unmatched socks or socks with holes, socks that are gray. I can make a pile of these, so I should stop this recording right now and go make a big pile of unused t shirts.

Gretchen

And then you regain all that space. That’s the way it clears the decks. It makes you feel like you have that reclaimed space. Yes. Number three answer a tricky email. Just pick one. We all have an email in our inbox that we have been procrastinating about answering because, you know, you have to look something up or you have to make a decision or you have to put something into words that’s hard to say.

Gretchen

Get that thing out of your inbox and off your conscience.

Elizabeth

Yes. Gretchen And one thing to note about the tricky email is that it usually takes much less effort then we anticipate and has less effort to do it than to think about doing.

Gretchen

Yeah, the stewing is worse than the doing for sure.

Elizabeth

So go answer that tricky email right now.

Gretchen

Number four, unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters. Now, Elizabeth, I have my regular five things making Me Happier newsletter. I have my Moment of Happiness newsletter and I have my Tips and Hacks newsletter and I hope people love to get these newsletters and they would never unsubscribe from them. But we all subscribe to things that we end up not wanting.

Gretchen

And again, it’s a way to clean out what’s coming at us.

Elizabeth

Yes, I think I have four podcast news newsletters that I could pare it down because that does clutter the inbox.

Gretchen

Well, the opposite of a profound truth is also true, and it makes us very happy to get newsletters that we want. And so if anybody would like to send up for my newsletters, I love all of them. You can go to gretchenrubin.com/newsletters and you can sign up for exactly what you want. Nothing that you don’t want.

Elizabeth

Okay, number five, everybody stop this podcast and go book travel for the holidays or confirm whatever your travel plans are going to be.

Gretchen

Elizabeth, you told me that you’ve already made your holiday airline reservations, and that made me realize, why haven’t I done mine? I need to get on that. I’m going to do that right now.

Elizabeth

Yes. Gretchen, we had this discussion and I said, you know what? I’m going to do it so that when we record the podcast, I can say I booked mine. Yup. So I have that smug feeling.

Gretchen

It only gets more expensive and more complicated if you know your dates.

Elizabeth

Do it exactly.

Gretchen

Number six, sort through accumulated mail. Now, some people don’t have much mail, and I think we’re all getting less physical mail, but partly because of that, I think it’s easy for it to stack up because you don’t need to manage it as much. So if you’ve got it, get rid of it.

Elizabeth

Yes, this is one of those tasks for some of us, it could take longer than one minute. But you feel so good when you’ve done the task.

Elizabeth

Okay, Gretch number seven, get rid of any personal care products you don’t use. I think I gave myself demerit recently because I had too many personal care products just making my bathroom feel so cluttered and overwhelming.

Gretchen

The thing is, if you’re not going to use something, figure out something else to do with it. Get it off your counter, out of the bottom of your shower or whatever. Again, it’s this clear the decks feeling where you just feel like you have more space and you’re not nagged by all those little decisions and trying to sort through a bunch of stuff that in truth you’re not using and don’t.

Elizabeth

Want. And Gretch this is a good time to mention just like a bonus hack of spend out. If you have that mask you’re saving, it probably won’t last forever. So use

Gretchen

It. Yes. So getting rid of something includes using something up. So that’s an access point.

Elizabeth

So go put on your mask and then come back to the podcast.

Gretchen

Number eight. This is a fun one. Add a fun activity to your calendar to look forward to, right. Clearing the decks means also taking care of something that you’ve been meaning to do for fun. So if there’s, you know, a movie you’ve been wanting to go to look on the calendar and figure out, okay, what would be a good night to go see that movie or make plans with those friends.

Gretchen

Put it on your calendar and off again. Off your conscience.

Elizabeth

Yes.

Elizabeth

Number nine, sign up for auto pay for one of your bills.

Gretchen

Okay. I just did this because, again, I wanted to be able to talk about it and say I did it for our cable bill. Yes, we still have cable and it’s always exactly the same amount. So I don’t have to worry about monitoring it. And I thought, why don’t I just put this on auto pay and save myself?

Gretchen

I don’t know why I didn’t do that ten years ago. So there you have it.

Elizabeth

Well done.

Gretchen

Goldstar Gretch. Number ten, make an appointment you’ve been putting off. Most of us have this. It’s some kind of. You got to get something inspected. You’ve got to get a doctor, a dentist appointment. There’s some skin cancer check. You got to get some kind of shot. Make that appointment that you’ve been putting off.

Elizabeth

Number 11, clear out your wallet, backpack or purse. Now, Gretchen, this one makes me feel nostalgic because this was a try this at home we did live at our live show when we toured before the pandemic, we would have everybody take a minute. We’d put up the lights, have everyone take a minute to clean out their bag.

Gretchen

Yes. Oh, I know. And that was so much fun. Blast from the past. And the reason that we did it then and the reason we’re mentioning it now is you just feel so much lighter and freer when you clear out all that stuff that you don’t need anymore and you’re just left with the things that you actually use.

Gretchen

Number 12, jot down five ideas for holiday gifts. You’re not buying them. You’re not worrying about that. You’re just trying to generate some ideas. Write them down someplace because the day will come when you’ll be thinking, What are my ideas for holiday gifts? A lot of times you have different ideas. If you think about it at different times.

Gretchen

And so if you give yourself five ideas right now, your future self will thank you.

Elizabeth

They will indeed. Okay, Gretch, we’re going to take a short break and then we’ll be back with more ideas for clearing the decks. 

[Music]

Gretchen

Okay. And we are back for the clear the decks exercise, getting ready for #HappierLaborDay and the return to the normal routine after the summer. And I hope everybody is stopping and starting the podcast. Keep up, do these things as we talk about them and you will get so much done by the time the podcast is over.

Gretchen

It is now time for Lucky Number 13, which is to unfollow and delete podcasts that you don’t listen to. This is kind of like deleting the apps that you don’t use. When we get rid of the things that we don’t actually use, it’s easier to find what we’re looking for and we don’t feel weighed down by a lot of information and distractions that aren’t meaningful to us because all sign up for a lot of things and I won’t even remember why I signed up.

Gretchen

But now when I look at my podcast library, it’s all things that I’m actually excited to listen to.

Elizabeth

Also, podcasts take up a lot of room on your phone, so if you need to clear up some memory. Yeah, deleting podcasts is a great way to do it.

Gretchen

Absolutely.

Elizabeth

Hopefully no one will delete Happier.

Gretchen

That’s right. Yes. Yes indeed. And Happier in Hollywood.

Speaker 3

And I give you a little tip on that. Oh, yes. You can also select for podcast episodes to be deleted after a certain number of accumulated in your settings. Hmm. So like, you don’t have every one you ever listen to downloaded to your device, you can say, keep the three latest episodes or the five latest episodes.

Elizabeth

That’s a great.

Speaker 3

Tip. So they don’t accumulate, right?

Gretchen

That’s a great tip.

Elizabeth

Okay, Gretch, number 14, and this is a big one in California. Check your disaster preparedness. So the supplies that you might need for two or three days without power, a bag you can take with you if you have to evacuate quickly, that has clothes that fit everybody in the family. It’s always good to have that updated and refreshed.

Gretchen

Absolutely. Number 15 Identify one change you can make to reduce food waste. In the United States, we have enormous levels of food waste. A lot of times you can find a little practice to adopt that will affect your food waste. So take a look in the fridge, take a look in the pantries and see if there’s any little habit you can change to reduce food waste.

Elizabeth

Okay, Gretch, number 16 and this is going to take listeners more than a minutes for sure. And this is another one big in California. Wash your car. It feels so good to have that clean, fresh car.

Gretchen

That is something that I do not need to do in New York City. Yay! Number 17. Donate to an organization that you’ve been meaning to support. Again, this is something where it might be on your mind. It’s something that you’ve been meaning to do. By going ahead and doing it, you will put that money toward a cause that you believe in and you will get it off your mind.

Elizabeth

Okay, Number 18, buy an extra of some small item you often hunt for examples, charger, earbuds and reading glasses.

Gretchen

Yeah, Sometimes you just make your life a lot easier if you have duplicates of something that you use all the time instead of constantly charging around looking for something or getting it swiped by other members of your family because they don’t have it, sometimes that can be a really good thing to do.

Elizabeth

Side suggestion Gretchen. Label your charger. Yes. Put a sticker or write your name or something so that you can claim your charger.

Gretchen

When they’re like, no, it’s my charger. You can say no because it has the sticker of a rubber duck on it and that means it’s my charger. I have had that argument before. Number 19. Now, listen, I know this one is close to your heart. It’s to get a library card. Remember, these days you can check out print, digital or audio books with your library card.

Elizabeth

Yes. Gretchen, getting a digital library card has changed my life. I tell everybody I know it took less than a minute and it opened up my world to a whole slew of books and I absolutely love it.

Gretchen

And remember, you can sign up online for a digital library card so you don’t even need to go to the library.

Elizabeth

I used the Libby app, but your place where you live may have a different one. You can Google it.

Gretchen

Number 20. Okay. This is one where you get a run around, return ten misplaced objects to their proper places. So just maybe you could do this while you’re listening to the podcast and you’re just roaming around saying, I don’t know why this pair of shoes is on the fireplace mantel. Who knows? But they don’t belong there. So just put them where they go and you just get that feeling of everything just being put away.

Gretchen

And that is a really good feeling. Plus, you can find things when you’re looking for them too, because they are stored where they’re supposed to be.

Elizabeth

Yes. And I don’t know about you, Gretchen, but I might end up with something not in its right place for two years. Oh, yes. Now this is where it is. Oh, yeah, but it was never meant.

Gretchen

To be there. We’ve all done it. We’ve all done it.

Elizabeth

Number 21. Take care of any items that need to be returned by mail or in person.

Gretchen

Yeah. So if you need to get something ready for the mail, get it ready if you need to box something up so you can return it, get that ready. You don’t have to go ahead and return it right now, but just get it ready to be returned so it’s prepared to go on its way.

Elizabeth

Number 22,Gretchen, clean out your car. So now that you’ve washed your car, clean out everything from it that has accumulated over the summer.

Gretchen

A friend of mine says that he signed up for a special service where you pay like an annual fee and they will vacuum out your car as many times as you want. And he does it twice a week because he says he loves that super clean interior feeling. He doesn’t care so much about the outside, but he loves, loves, loves having the inside just be pristine.

Gretchen

And I thought, well, I wouldn’t take it that far, but it just shows that, you know, you you just feel good to clean out your car.

Elizabeth

You really do.

Gretchen

Okay. Number 23. Now, Elizabeth, we have done a lot of talking about the number 23 because we have our annual challenge, Go Outside 23 in 23. We have our 23 for 23 list, part of the Happier Trifecta. And so here we have 23 things on our lists for clear the decks. And number 23 is to sell or donate unwanted books.

Gretchen

We are huge fans of books and reading, but all too often we accumulate books that we no longer want, so it’s good to gather them up and send them along their way so that they can find their fate with someone who is eager to read them.

Elizabeth

And Gretchen, we wanted 23 ideas for 2023, but of course, to complete our bingo card, we need a 24. Here is our bingo card completing suggestion which is forward the Happier podcast to somebody who you think would like it and of course also write, review and follow us.

Gretchen

Yeah. So this last one is a little self-serving, but we decided, hey, let’s throw it in. We need 24 for the bingo card. So we’ll remind listeners to take a minute and do it.

Elizabeth 

Yes.

[Music]

Gretchen

Okay. Elizabeth We gave 24 ideas for clearing the decks, but there’s some other things we thought people could throw in if they’re just on a roll because sometimes you’re clearing clutter, you’re clearing the decks, you’re going, and you just think, I want to do more and more and more. So here’s a few more ideas that can be useful.

Elizabeth

Yes, Change a light bulb that can again go years without happening. Yes.

Gretchen

I’ve done it.

Elizabeth

Clear the kitchen counter. Feels so good.

Gretchen

Yes. De-clutter and rearrange your desk. This can feel great.

Elizabeth

And then make a list of five books you want to read. We all know that feeling of being ready to read a book and not knowing what you want to read. Make a list so you know, down the list.

Gretchen

So if you want the bingo card so you can see if you get bingo or you just want to have a written list of what we talked about, you can get that at happiercast.com/clear for clear the decks. And this is an exercise that you could repeat again and again if you’re enjoying the feeling of clearing the decks.

Gretchen

A lot of these things, you could take several passes at them and clear out more each time you go. So this is something that you can do more than once and you can listen to the podcast more than once, or you can look at the bingo card. Also, if you do love to clear the decks and clear clutter, I have to mention in my book Outer Order Inner Calm, because that is a book that’s just it’s basically just hundreds of hacks and strategies for clearing clutter and getting organized.

Gretchen

I had so much fun writing that.

Elizabeth

Book. And Gretchen were using this, clear the decks, exercise to help prepare to return to our usual routines after the summer. But it could be used at any time that we need to gear up for a change or a challenge, or just want that fresh feeling of clearing the decks.

Gretchen

Right. Because there’s a lot of times where we feel like, you know, I just need to give myself a little bit more space in order to get ready for whatever’s coming my way. So let us know what you would add to the bingo card. What would you say we should have done as part of the clear the decks that we forgot?

Gretchen

If we had a lot of great ideas, maybe we’ll even do a second one, because I do think this is the kind of thing that is, with a few fairly simple actions we can make ourselves feel a lot more energized and a lot more ready for whatever is coming our way. So let us know if you do try to clear the decks how it works for you, what you would have added.

Gretchen

Did you do it in real time? Did you stop and start the podcast or did you wait? Use the list. We want to know. Let us know on Instagram, Threads, Tik Tok, Twitter, Facebook. Drop us an email at podcast@gretchenrubin.com. Or as always, you can go to the show notes if you ever want to know where to find the show notes to any episode like let’s say you’re listening to episode five, it’s always the same way.

Gretchen

Go to Happiercast.com/ the number of the podcast episode. So this is Happiercast.com/443. If you were listening to episode five and one of those show notes, it’s Happiercast.com/5.

Elizabeth

Finally, Gretchen, this week we have just a gold star. No demerits. Yes. You want to give a gold star to everybody who did this exercise with us. Yes.

Gretchen

Clear the decks. If you did it, you get a gold star and you just go do it and then you’ll get a gold star when you’re done. You know how good it will feel to clear those decks. Yes. And the resource for this week, if you’re looking for more tools as you are tackling your day and clearing the decks, we’re offering a special discount on the Tackle Box specifically for happier listeners.

Gretchen

It has five different sticky pads to help you create different kinds of lists, whatever works for you. So there’s the Ta-Da list. The To-Do list, A To-Doodle to list. Go to hapiercast.com/store and enter the code HAPPIERTACKLE50 that’s 5-0 at checkout and you’ll get 50% off now through August 20th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.

Gretchen

And there’s only one per customer, but it’s 50% off, so that’s a big discount. That’s happiercast.com/store, HAPPIERTACKLE50 for the tackle box. I have to say I really love the Tackle Box.

Elizabeth

And it’s so satisfying.

Gretchen

It is. And the way they fit into the tin, I just I love a tin as well. I love like things fitting into a tin. What are we reading, Elizabeth? What are you reading?

Elizabeth

I am reading Foster by Claire Keegan.

Gretchen

And I am just about to start The Sundial by Shirley Jackson. And that’s it for this episode of Happier. Remember to try this at home. Clear the decks. Let us know if you tried it. What did you think of our new approach with the stop and start? Let us know if it works for you.

Elizabeth

Thank you to our executive producer Chuck Reed, and everyone at Cadence 13. Get in touch. Gretchen’s on Instagram and Tik Tok and Threads at Gretchen Rubin and I’m on Instagram and Threads at Liz Craft. Our email address is podcast@gretchenrubin.com.

Gretchen

And you’ve already done this because you did number 24 on our cleared the decks list, and number 24 is to forward the episode to a friend or rate, review, or follow the podcast.

Elizabeth

Until next week. I’m Elizabeth Craft.

Gretchen

And I’m Gretchen Rubin. Thanks for joining us. Onward and upward.

Elizabeth

You know, Gretchen, it might be fun to do this again before the holidays, like a holiday specific clearing the decks so that sort of preparing slash oh.

Gretchen

Clearing maybe it’s not even clearing the decks. It’s some kind of preparation.

Elizabeth

Setting the stage, setting the stage.

Gretchen

I love it. 

[Music]

From the onward project.