Podcast 158: Create a Standardized Vacation, a Deep Dive into Wearing “Clothes,” and Unpairing a Bad Habit.
Try This at Home: Create a standardized vacation.
Happiness Hack: Nicole writes:
I have used your pairing technique with great success, and wanted to share a small spin on it. I have fallen into the habit of winding down at the end of my day with a glass of wine while watching TV. While I am not looking to entirely eliminate either of these, I am aware that it's not the healthiest combo. So I've employed "unpairing." I can have a glass of wine, but not while I watch TV, and I can watch TV, but only if I don't also have wine. This has made me more mindful of my choices and has cut back a bit on both habits, while still giving me the end-of-day wind-down that I'm looking for.
In Better Than Before, my book about habit change, I write about the Strategy of Pairing -- this is a brilliant twist on harnessing the power of pairing.
Deep Dive: Elizabeth and I discuss what we learned from our own experiences, and from listeners, about the challenge and rewards of wearing "clothes" every day for a month. It was great to hear that many people share this challenge -- it's not just the two of us.
Elizabeth's Demerit: Elizabeth is bringing home the stress she feels while shooting the pilot.
Gretchen's Gold Star: Elizabeth and I both earn a gold star for learning to use Google Docs. Like so many tech-related things, it's easy -- once you understand it. And now we do.
Resource:
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I do a weekly live show on Facebook called: “Ask Gretchen Rubin Live.” Usually, I do it on Mondays at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. To join the conversation, check the schedule.
