Update
Atlanta and Dallas, I’m coming your way for an event for Life in Five Senses!
- June 6, 2024 in Atlanta: 7 pm with Charis Books & More at First Baptist Church of Decatur
- June 7, 2024 in Dallas: 7 pm at Interabang Books
Try This at Home
Try these hacks for summer — we collected great suggestions from listeners.
If you missed the “Sweep the Deck” episode, with prompts for preparing for summer, listen here.
Happiness Hack
I realized that a family celebration was unusually pleasant because I held it in a very quiet room, which made conversation among fifteen family members very easy.
Four Tendencies Tip
An Obliger asks how to handle the Upholder who is renting half her office, and also overstepping boundaries.
Don’t know about the Four Tendencies personality framework? Take the quiz, discover your Tendency, and learn more here.
Listener Question
After the “Sweep the Deck” episode, a listener asks, “What is the proper way to remove a tick?”
According to the Mayo Clinic:
Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Gently pull out the tick using a slow and steady upward motion. Avoid twisting or squeezing the tick. Do not handle the tick with bare hands. Do not use petroleum jelly, fingernail polish or a hot match to remove a tick. Secure the tick and take a picture.
Demerits & Gold Stars
Gretchen’s Demerit: I decided to to add more reading time to my days by reading before bed and reading on the subway, and I need to be more consistent.
Elizabeth’s Gold Star: Elizabeth gives a gold star to her writing partner Sarah, for bringing her out of her funk.
Resource
Father’s Day is on June 16th, and many people like to give Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill for Father’s Day. If you’d like to give a copy of that or any of my other books for Father’s Day, learn more at happiercast.com/books. Also, you can request a free, personalized, signed bookplate (US, Canada only).
What We’re Reading
*This transcript is unedited*
[483]
[music]
Gretchen
Hello and welcome to a happier of podcast where we talk about ideas for how to live, happier, healthier, more creative and more productive lives.
Gretchen
This week we’ll share listeners hacks for Summertime and we’ll talk about the problem facing a listener who has a very inconsiderate officemate.
Gretchen
I’m Gretchen Rubin, a writer who studies happiness, Good habits. The Five Senses Human Nature. I’m in my little home office in New York City. And joining me today from Los Angeles is my sister, Elizabeth Craft. And Elizabeth, one of my hacks for summer is to see if that smile.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in L.A. and yeah, Gretch, I think I’m going to be seeing you a lot this summer.
Gretchen
I hope so. And Elizabeth, I have a big announcement. I’m excited to hit the road for the paperback release of my book Life in Five Senses. And I wanted to let everybody know that on June 6th, I’ll be in Atlanta, Georgia, with Carris books and more at First Baptist Church of Decatur. And on June 7th, I’ll be in Dallas, Texas, at interrabang books.
Gretchen
I will talk about how the five senses contribute to happiness. The secret chapter I wrote, of course. Why Ketchup is Magic. You can get all the details at happier cars.com slash book events. I’m excited.
Elizabeth
Amazing.
Gretchen
But before we jump in, first, a few updates from listeners.
Elizabeth
Yes, Gretchen, this comes from Don. She says, Gretchen’s too married of recent indecisiveness. Struck a chord with me a few years ago. I left an abusive relationship. After the initial fear and depression resolved, I experienced that same kind of indecisiveness for months. Just like you described a simple decision that didn’t matter but should be paralyzing. This is very unlike me.
Elizabeth
After a few more months of healing, it faded. Even if you’re not currently recovering from a significant trauma, I wonder if your struggles within decisiveness are related to extra stress or a life transition in some way. Maybe your brain needs some time to heal from something and it will fade on its own. In the meantime, flipping a coin for such decisions sounds like a good strategy.
Elizabeth
You can ask Siri to flip a coin if you have an iPhone or Apple Watch if that’s more convenient than tracking down a physical coin.
Gretchen
I thought, this is such a great idea. And I tried it. I just said, Flip a coin and I got heads. Yeah. And I think this could be good if you had children, too, who are arguing, like, who gets this slice of pizza versus that slice of pizza or whatever, if you want to just feel like, okay, we’ll flip for it.
Gretchen
That makes it easy. You don’t have to hunt down a coin.
Elizabeth
Fun. And Gretch, we also wanted to remind everyone that we are going to be talking to the amazing Anne Lamott in an upcoming book club episode. Read her number one New York Times best seller Book of essays Somehow Thoughts on Love or her book about writing Bird by Bird, which has become a classic. Or wonderful, thought provoking memoir operating instructions.
Elizabeth
A journal of my son’s first year. Read one. Read to read all. Send us your questions and comments.
Gretchen
Plus, she has 17 other books. So if you want to keep going, keep going. Yeah. We’re starting to gather the questions and comments. That’s going to be such a fun conversation. And speaking of questions, we are going to do an ask us Anything episode. We are getting such funny, interesting questions from listeners, so keep those coming. That is going to be a really fun episode.
Gretchen
We haven’t done one of those in a while, so I’m looking forward to that. This week are try this at home. Suggestion is to try some hacks. We’ve been collecting hacks for summertime from listeners. We’ve got so many great suggestions, lots of things that it never occurred to me or that I’d sort of forgotten about. There’s a lot of great stuff here.
Elizabeth
Yeah, and we want to remind everyone. Speaking of summer, you can listen to our Sweep the deck episode of More Happier If You Missed It, where we go through things to do to get ready for summer, to prep for summer.
Gretchen
Yeah. These are more hacks. That’s about prep. But also we’ve got a great suggestion from a listener in Australia who reminded me and you there. Winter is our summer and vice versa. So she said, Hey, it would be great if halfway through the year, if we remind people that we have these things available, if you’re heading your summer at a different time.
Gretchen
So I put a note to try to remind myself to do that, because that’s right. It’s not necessarily summer where you are. But hopefully these hacks come in handy.
Elizabeth
Yes, that is very true. Okay, let’s dive in. Erin wrote in with a few hacks. She said one car rides with kids take cake pans. It holds pens or stickers or crayons and doesn’t roll around. Good idea to store plastic bags in the glove box on trips for garbage bags in the car, swimsuits, etc..
Gretchen
Good idea.
Elizabeth
Three If you’re only stopping overnight in a hotel and then leaving early pack everyone’s pajamas and toiletries the next day, clothes in one bag so you don’t have to go through. Everyone’s just to go to bed and get moving early.
Gretchen
Yeah, that’s a great idea. Janine says I keep a lawn chair in the trunk of the car. I’m ready to sit at any time, at any park. So that’s just sort of like being at the ready for a spontaneous summer of pleasure.
Elizabeth
Tracey said One of my favorite summers I assigned each week a theme, a very, very generic theme, like water or music or food. That week, any decision we made was led by the theme What to Eat Water Week Watermelon Make your own popsicles, Have fun creative play outdoors with melting ice. Go to the beach. It was great. Reduced decision fatigue.
Gretchen
Well, we love a theme. That’s a great idea. Love that idea of the theme. Yes. Lindsay says I keep sunscreen all over a basket by the garage door, a drawer by the front door in both cars in my purse. That’s great. You know, when you need it, you need it.
Elizabeth
Angie said if your plans include any air travel, get TSA precheck. Kids in a TSA line can be super challenging. This typically equals less hassle with taking shoes off and shorter lines. Yes. Gretchen that is, I think, one of the best hacks of all time. Yes. That is money I spent that I felt was worth every penny.
Gretchen
Yes. And the fact is. Yeah, the lines are shorter and it’s easier to go through the lines because there’s just less taking shoes on and off opening bags. It’s really worth making the effort to do that. I completely agree. Kendra said We do a summer bucket list. I think I got the idea for it from the podcast. That’s great.
Gretchen
That would be great if we could take credit for that. Everyone in the family gets input so we can be sure that everyone will get to do something they want. That’s a really good idea because as we often say, like the summer can speed by and you just forget to go to the amusement park even though you’ve been intending to do it all summer.
Gretchen
If you don’t plan for it, it can slip away.
Elizabeth
Yes. Lauren said, I have an end of the year hack for teachers or anyone who might be moving soon. Every year we have to pack up our rooms for the summer, and I in particular, have to clear my room because a summer program put on by the city utilizes my room all summer. Everything has to come off the walls.
Elizabeth
My desk has to be cleared, instruments put away, I’m a music teacher, etc. I have come up with a way to make my beginning of the year easier. I pack away in one gallon size, bag my essentials for getting my room started. Everything I need to get my room ready to go is in this bag, my stapler masking tape, scissors, pens, push for putting up posters, staple remover and extra staples.
Elizabeth
I pack this away in my desk and at the beginning of the year, when everything else is packed away, I just pull out that bag and I am ready to get started. This would work well for someone moving to. They could make an essential box with everything they need for the first night in their new place TV, remote bowls and spoons, towels, etc..
Gretchen
Well, this is very much like the packing suggestion from the other listener, which is have the basics so you don’t have to open up everything just to get the few things that you need. So that’s a little planning can save you a lot of time and effort. Now, here’s something I had never heard. Amy says, I get hot very quickly.
Gretchen
I carry bio freeze or equivalent roll on in my purse and put it on my lower back during the peak summer heat, and it helps me cool off a bunch. I never thought of using bio freeze that way.
Elizabeth
Yes, Amber said carry a little finger pump spray bottle with plain water as long as it’s not too humid. Missing pulse points like the ricin, that really helps to cool the whole body.
Gretchen
Kind of a similar idea with water. Lindsay says our city has a park bucket list you can print out and then check off each park as you visit it. This is motivation for us to go to different parks throughout the city. I love this idea because, you know, be a tourist in your own hometown. And we talk about that.
Elizabeth
So fun. And it’s always nice to have a quest.
Gretchen
Yes, a quest is more fun than a jaunt.
Elizabeth
Sandra says slice of banana and fur pieces in the freezer. Take it out whenever you crave ice cream, Puree it in a blender until creamy voila. You can also mix it with other fruits. Yummy.
Gretchen
There you go. Luke says if there are items of clothing you only ever wear on vacation or on a plane, you can store them year round in your suitcase or carry on. Now, this is a great idea, but I will say our mother was recently packing to go on a trip and she couldn’t find her packing cubes because of course we’re both big converts to packing cubes.
Gretchen
So she has some too. She was looking and looking and looking for the packing cubes. Finally, she gave up, opened up the suitcase, and there they were. So if you do that, make a mental note. Okay, I’m keeping these things in the suitcase so that you remember that. That is where they are.
Elizabeth
Yes. Samuel says We always go to the same rental in Humboldt County in California for a week. We each make a list of five things we want to do while we are there. Each person gets one thing a day. Plus, we get ice cream every day. Such a relaxing vacation with empty beaches and redwoods.
Gretchen
Yeah, that’s again. With a little planning, you make sure that everybody gets to do what they want. Amanda has. I’ve never heard of this key baby powder in the car for beach trips. It helps get the sand off feet and legs after. I have never tried that.
Elizabeth
Neither have I. Claire said mosquitoes love me. And a few years ago, I saw a product called the Bug Bite thing on Shark Tank. I’m willing to try anything, so I ordered it. It’s somehow S.C. itch out of the bug bite. It doesn’t keep you from getting the bites, but it relieves a huge amount of itching, which is a win for someone who is covered with bites all summer.
Elizabeth
$10 on Amazon and I recommend them to everyone I talk to.
Gretchen
I will put in a link. Brian says For the beach, I have found wrapping your phone in cellophane or a closed Ziploc bag will allow you to use your phone at the beach and not worry about getting sand or water in it. Here’s another use for the Ziploc bag. I think this is a great idea.
Elizabeth
Yes, April said I had to send a thank you for talking about packing cubes for years now.
Gretchen
There we go.
Elizabeth
I know. All thanks to my writing partner, Sarah Gretchen. She introduced us to packing.
Gretchen
Seeds, and.
Elizabeth
My 10th grader went on a school trip to Italy for April break, and I had given her a set of packing cubes for a Christmas present in anticipation of the trip. Upon her return, she told me that they made a world of difference, especially since they were changing cities slash hotels every 2 to 3 days. She said she felt so organized and her friends were just smushing piles of clothes back into their suitcases.
Elizabeth
Each time it was time to pack. So glad you turned me and many others, no doubt, onto them.
Gretchen
We love our packing cubes.
Elizabeth
Can I just say an aside, Gretch, What I love about packing cubes is you can put dirty clothes, then back into the packing cube, and so it keeps them separate from clean clothes. Yes. Packing cube hack.
Gretchen
Mary says sundae sundaes. We do ice cream sundaes each Sunday evening in the summer. My young daughters love this. So that’s fun. Sundae. Sundae.
Elizabeth
And finally, Carol says, for our family, renting camping gear minimizes the clutter of storing items year round that we really only use a few times each summer. Renting outdoor gear is a bonus rebel hack, too, because we’re not locked into one type of trip due to investing in one type of expensive gear. Last summer we rented a heavy two burner camping stove for car camping and also an ultralight stove and sleeping bag and pads for a backpacking trip to a year.
Elizabeth
Finally, rental shops are a great place to ask an expert. The folks who work at our local REI for the discount are excited to ask where we’re headed and guide us to the right equipment for that journey. What a fantastic idea.
Gretchen
What a great idea, because that way you get exactly what you need, but you can do all different things. You don’t feel like you’re locked into one thing just because that’s where you’ve made the investment. So that’s a great idea. Yeah, well, let us know if you do try any of these summer hacks this summer and how they’ve worked for you.
Gretchen
Let us know on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok threads. Drop us an email at podcast@gretchenrubin.com. As always, you can go to the show notes. This is happier. Cars.com slash 483 for everything related to this episode.
Elizabeth
Coming up, you have a hack about how to have a pleasant family gathering or any sort of gathering. The first this break.
[music]
Elizabeth
okay gretch We’re back with our happiness hack and I love this.
Gretchen
Yeah, well, I was thinking about it because graduation period is coming up in last year. Of course, as you know you were there. My daughter Eleanor graduated from high school and we planned a family lunch out and I was thinking later like, why was that such an unusually pleasant lunch? We were all seated around one roundtable. It was 15 people, and I thought, that might feel awkward, but it was actually great.
Gretchen
And a few times we even all of us talked in one conversation. It just felt very intimate. It felt warm, like it just felt like the conversation was really flowing among all these family members. You know, we have a close, happy family, but but this just felt really good.
Elizabeth
It really was such a great afternoon.
Gretchen
Yeah, it was really. And I was thinking, well, why was that? Because sometimes you want to try to put your finger on. It’s sort of the opposite of identify the problem. It’s like identify what worked. And I realized that the room that I got for this was very quiet. It had no music. It was set off by itself, so you couldn’t hear other people eating, you know, some restaurants now they’re sort of the kitchen is open, so there’s the clatter of the kitchen.
Gretchen
It was just very, very quiet. And you might have thought like, well, maybe that would feel sort of lifeless or like, you know, there wasn’t the energy that you get from all of the life around you. It’s like we had plenty of life ourselves. We were making plenty of noise with our own conversation. But I just think it meant people could speak to each other without shouting or raising their voices.
Gretchen
You didn’t have to keep saying to people, What was that? Say that again. Everybody at times could have one conversation very easily and it just made me realize that’s one advantage of being at home. But if you’re doing something out of your home, it’s something to think about because it really did contribute to, I think, an unusually enjoyable experience more than other kind of similar experiences I’ve had.
Elizabeth
I agree. See, quiet.
Gretchen
And now for a for Tennessee step, this is from a listener who has a dilemma and is seeking a for tendencies angle to lead her to a good solution.
Elizabeth
Yes. And her name is Julie and quote. So I’m guessing that’s a pseudonym. Yes. And Gretchen, if someone doesn’t know their tendency, they can take the quiz. Yeah.
Gretchen
If you don’t know what we’re talking about when we’re talking about Upholders questioners, obliging rebels, she talks about upholders and obliges in this question. Go to Gretchen Rubin, dot com slash quiz. Take the quiz. It will tell you what you are and give you a little report on the forehead tendencies. But assuming that you understand the word, you don’t even really need to understand the word Tennessee’s is still an interesting question.
Elizabeth
Yes. So okay. From quote Julie, the question is I write out half of my offers to someone I think is an upholder. I am an obliger we have separate businesses. Our agreement is that she is renting the space. I already had it furnished and had everything I needed for my day to day, but intended that anything she needed to run her business, she would by herself.
Elizabeth
However, she is always asking me, can I use your printer and can I borrow some tape, etc. She’s asking to use the space more often than we agreed upon, which cuts into my time and does not benefit me. I think she’s just. Well, it doesn’t hurt to ask kind of person, but I hate conflict and feel like I’m the bad guy.
Elizabeth
If I say no and I know I’m approaching obliger rebellion and I’m going to snap. If I say I don’t want to share a printer with you. She asks if she can borrow a screwdriver. If I say please don’t ask to borrow my tape, she’ll ask if she can borrow a sharpie. I’m flashing back to when Gretchen said I didn’t even think that sending emails on the weekend would stress someone else out.
Elizabeth
Can you teach an upholder to empathize with and obliger?
Gretchen
Well, this so much rings true for me. Okay, so I will own it. I am an upholder and I can exactly imagine myself in that situation because the thing about an upholder is they’re really good with clear rules, but when there’s not a stated rule, they will because they will push back. If something is too much, they often are not good at imagining that other people will not push back or wouldn’t feel good pushing back.
Gretchen
And so they’re kind of like, well, I’ll look out for me and you look out for you and then it’ll be fine. And so what I would say is the problem here is that you don’t have clear rules. And so the rules should be very, very clear about what the expectations are about who’s going to be using what.
Gretchen
And the problem is when you are starting to say this is okay and that’s okay, then to the upholder, that’s like, well, that must be what the rule is. It’s okay for me to ask to borrow these things because she’s saying, fine, this is a thing that obligers have as they don’t understand why other people aren’t more considerate.
Gretchen
And yet the signal that they’re sending is they’re saying, okay, so and I think Julie realizes that there is sort of this ambiguity. She’s saying one thing, but inside she’s very, very resentful. So the upholder, though, is looking for that clear rule. And so I would say the problem is now that you’ve started making feels a little aggressive to post a rule like a list of rules on the wall.
Gretchen
But I would say from the get go, that’s good practice, is to always have the rules be very explicit because upholders are really good. Like if it were me and there were rules, I would be reading them and reading them and rereading them to make sure that I knew the rules. But if I didn’t exactly know what the rules were, I would definitely probably be saying, this seems okay.
Elizabeth
Well, Gretch, as a fellow obliger because I’m also an obliging one thing I would suggest she could do now that she’s already in the situation is say, yeah, you know, this is the first time I’m rinsing out half the office. And now that we’re in it, I realize I needed to add $50 a month, $25, $100, depending on the price range for supplies and equipment.
Elizabeth
Yes. So this way, Yes, she’s using your printer, but at least she’s contributing to the toner and she’s contributing to the staples and all of that or maybe she’ll say, you know what? I don’t want to pay extra. I’ll just use my own.
Gretchen
Stuff, you know? And I think that’s a really good thing to say, and this is the first time I’m doing it. So now I’m realizing that this is an issue that’s something that’s like very we’ve all done that where it’s sort of like, you know, I didn’t really think through about this, but I think you’re exactly right.
Gretchen
Yeah. Charging for it would either change her behavior or at least make it worth your while, because now you’re like, okay, well, I’ll charge her for a Sharpie. So then maybe you’ll feel less resentful because it won’t feel like an imposition. It’ll just feel like part of the deal.
Elizabeth
And along those same lines, if she says, can I have a Sharpie, you could say, Yes, you can have it. I’ll just add it to your rent. Yes, that that might be a bit of a pain because you have to keep track. But again, it will point out to her that she’s not just getting these things right.
Elizabeth
She’s paying for them. Is that worth it for her?
Gretchen
Right. No. And one thing, too, is, I mean, talking about a of rebellion, one thing that might help you as you’re dealing with the uneasiness of having this conversation or imposing these rules is to think like, look, if it gets to the point of obliged rebellion, I’ll probably kick her out. And it sounds like it’s working for her.
Gretchen
In fact, it might be working for her too. Well, since she’s using too much of this more of the time than than you thought she would. And so to say, like, well, really, to meet her expectation, I have to draw a clear line or else this whole thing is going to come to an end. And so really the thoughtful, considerate thing to do is to set it up so that we can continue this relationship.
Gretchen
And again, back to the thing about using the authors too much, I can see from an upholder an employer might be like, Well, if no one’s using it, I’ll use it because why not is just sitting empty. Maybe the upholder doesn’t realize that for some reason that’s not working for you. So again, you just want to be very clear about expectations.
Gretchen
I mean, even if you just want it to sit empty, you could just say like, you know, just want to remind you, you have this time and I have that time. And I really need to know that that time is free because I might have something come up unexpectedly or whatever.
Elizabeth
Yes, you could post a schedule.
Gretchen
Yes. Right. The more clarity, the better. And I think this is just good practice in general. You might think that you’re being clear, but often people just don’t have the same ideas about what is meant. And if you have a bunch of stuff sitting out on your desk, somebody might think like, I’ll just go over and grab your sharpie.
Gretchen
That’s fine. So maybe you’re like, Well, I’ll put it in a desk drawer too, because to go into someone’s desk drawer is much more invasive than just grabbing something from a pencil cup off their desk. Part of it is thinking through how to make lines clearer and providing that information. But I hope listeners have a lot of suggestions because I think this is the kind of thing that comes up often in all different kinds of contexts.
Gretchen
It’s kind of boundary drawing where you want to be polite and you want to be helpful, but you also don’t want to be taken advantage of and you don’t want to be resentful.
Elizabeth
Yeah, Gretch, I’ve never had anyone madder at me than on when I let a friend sleep in my roommate’s bed when he was out of town.
Gretchen
yeah.
Elizabeth
He was mad. I didn’t think twice about it. Yeah, just goes to show people have different ideas about what’s appropriate.
Gretchen
Yes. Good one. Good. One more now for a listener question. Not related to the forehead tendencies, which is it’s a very useful thing to discuss as we’re heading into summer.
Elizabeth
Yes. Gretchen we mentioned tics in our Sweep the deck episode, so Sonia said there was a mention of having tweezers for tic removal on the 24 things to do to get ready for summer. Some people believe a tic should be removed by freezing and not squeezing. What is the proper way to remove a tic? So you looked it up.
Gretchen
I went to the Mayo Clinic website and this is what it says I will read most Tick bites are painless and cause only minor signs and symptoms, such as a change in skin color swelling or a sore on the skin. But some ticks spread bacteria that cause illness, including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In general, to spread Lyme disease, a tick needs to be attached to a person’s skin for at least 36 hours.
Gretchen
Where I live, Lyme disease is very, very serious. Like this is a very, very serious thing. We take ticks very, very seriously here. So this is the instruction for removal. Remove the tick promptly and carefully. Use fine tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Gently pull out the tick using a slow and steady upward motion.
Gretchen
Avoid twisting or squeezing the tick. Do not handle the chick with bare hands. Do not use petroleum jelly, fingernail polish or a hot match to remove a tick. Secure the tick and take a picture. A picture of the tick can help you and your health care provider identify what type it is and whether you are at risk of a transmitted disease.
Gretchen
You can trap the tick in a piece of tape for disposal in the garbage. Your provider may want to see the tick or a photo if you develop new symptoms. And then finally, wash your hands and the bite site. So I will post a link to people if they want to read more about ticks and how to remove ticks.
Gretchen
But the answer seems to be that tweezers is the recommended way of removing ticks of Sonia. Thank you for asking a follow up question. It’s good to have that spelled out.
Elizabeth
Very useful. All right. Coming up, Gretchen gives herself a reading related demerit. That’s not the first time. But first, this break.
[Music]
okay grudge we’re back with demerits and gold stars this week you are up with the happiness demerits.
Gretchen
Okay so yes this is sort of a building on demerits. So one of the things I really want to do is to read more. I love to read reading is my cubicle and my tree house and I always want more time to read. And so one of the things that I wanted to work on was just to find more time to read in everyday life.
Gretchen
So one of the things I want to do and I haven’t been doing it as consistently as I want, so that’s why I’m giving myself this demerit, because it is that by giving ourselves a demerit, we kind of reinvigorate ourselves. We recommit ourselves. So one of mine is to read in bed many people. That is their main time to read.
Gretchen
I often am really sleepy when I get into bed, but I’m really trying to say like I just want to read for even five or 10 minutes before I turn out the light. Because sometimes I end up, you know, reading for 15 or 20 minutes. I sometimes go to sleep too early. I already get up at like 5 a.m..
Gretchen
I don’t want my bedtime to start creeping earlier and then got up even earlier in the morning. So I want to stay up to a decent time and it’s just a good time to read and even 10 minutes a night adds up. And then I also want to read on the subway, I’ve gotten into the habit of listening to a podcast on the subway, partly because I like to read a physical book, and then I have to kind of carry around a physical book, you know, whatever I’m doing.
Gretchen
And so it’s sort of like, I just want to be hands free. I’ll just listen to a podcast. But I’m realizing that is really valuable time and it’s not a big deal to carry a book. What don’t you know, What am I complaining about? So I want to read before bed every night and I want to read on the subway when I’m traveling on the subway because that time adds up.
Gretchen
That’s great. We have time. And that just means more books to read.
Elizabeth
Yes. Well, you can report back.
Gretchen
I will. And how about you? Also, what is your gold star?
Elizabeth
Well, gosh, I am giving a gold star to my writing partner and co-host of Happier in Hollywood. Sara. Yeah, because the other day she really brought me out of my funk. So I was feeling very defeated about something. And I talked to Sara and she just said the right things. And listen and gave me just what I needed to get back on track, get out of my funk and feel better.
Elizabeth
And that’s a great thing for a friend to do. And we’re a partner.
Gretchen
Yeah, well, in Happier in Hollywood, you all often talk about the challenges and benefits of being partners, being writing partners, and that’s certainly a great one because you’re in a tough, tough industry and it’s great that you have somebody who cares as much as you do, understands the situation. And it’s great that she’s able to like, find the right words to comfort you when you’re feeling low.
Gretchen
Yes.
Elizabeth
So gold star to Sara.
Gretchen
Gold star to Sara. The resource for this week, Father’s Day is coming up on June 16th. And I have found from previous years that people like to give my biographies. I wrote two short, unconventional biographies, usually people give 40 ways to look at Winston Churchill. Every year I hear from many people got 40 ways to look at Winston Churchill, and then coming up in second place, 40 ways to look at JFK.
Gretchen
Also a popular Father’s Day gift, not as common, I would say, just from my antique data of what I hear afterward. But it gives me very great pleasure to think that it makes a good Father’s Day gift. So if you want to order a copy or read more about them, you can go to happy, happier cars.com slash books.
Gretchen
There’s a lot of information and links there. And then as always, if you would like to have a signed person sized free book plate for to make the book more special, you can request a book plate. Remember, these are for U.S. and Canada only because it’s a thing that I have to mail. So it’s mailing guys and ask early because there’s a little bit of a process.
Gretchen
So for me to make sure that I give it to you in time, for you to have it for Father’s Day request as soon as possible, just so that I am not pushing the limits there and you can request those that have your cars.com slash bookplate, you can ask for as many as you want within reason. I will mail those off to you and Elizabeth, speaking of books that people are reading, what are you reading?
Elizabeth
I am reading Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout.
Gretchen
And I am reading Forbidden Notebook by Albert de Cespedes. And that’s it for this episode of Happier. Remember to try this at home. Try our hacks for summer. Which ones are you going to try and let us know how they worked for you.
Elizabeth
Thank you to our executive producer, Chuck Reed and everyone at Odyssey. Get in touch. Gretchen’s on Instagram threads, Facebook and Tik-tok at Gretchen Rubin and I’m on Instagram and threads at Liz Craft. Our email address is podcast to Gretchen Rubin dot com.
Gretchen
And here comes your rhyming reminder. If the show sparks joy in your soul, nudge others to enroll, or in other words, to follow great or review the show, we really appreciate it.
Elizabeth
Until next week, I’m Elizabeth Craft.
Gretchen
And I’m Gretchen Rubin. Thanks for joining us. Onward and.
Elizabeth
Upward.
Elizabeth
Gretchen, I’m thinking when it’s time to do the summer hacks for Australia, we could also do winter hacks.
Gretchen
Yeah, we’ve.
Elizabeth
Been summer hacks, but I don’t know if we’ve done winter Hacks yet.
Gretchen
And a listener suggested that we do a clear the Decks episode for winter. That was not holiday related, but just sort of general winter related. So yeah, that would be something that would be fun to do. Let’s make a note of that.
Elizabeth
Right.
Gretchen
From the onward Project