Gretchen Rubin is a writer working on The Happiness Project—an account of the year she spent test-driving every conceivable principle about how to be happy, from the wisdom of the ages to current scientific studies, from Aristotle to Ben Franklin to Martin Seligman. On her Happiness Project blog, she reports her daily adventures on her way to becoming happier.

Rubin is a graduate of Yale Law School and was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. She was clerking for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she had the epiphany that she really wanted to be a writer.

Her bestselling Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill and Forty Ways to Look at JFK are succinct, provocative biographies. Power Money Fame Sex: A User’s Guide is biting social criticism in the form of a user’s manual. She also has three terrible novels safely locked in a desk drawer.

Raised in Kansas City, she lives in New York City with her husband and two young daughters.

Blog Entries by Gretchen Rubin

Balanced Life -- Eight Tips for Boosting Your Energy Level.

Posted November 4, 2009 | 01:19 PM (EST)


Avedonspring


Feeling energetic is a key to feeling happy. Studies show that when you feel energetic, you feel much better about yourself. On the other hand, when you feel exhausted, tasks that would ordinarily make...

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Balanced Life -- A Fundamental Secret To Happiness? Get Enough Sleep

2 Comments | Posted November 2, 2009 | 10:55 AM (EST)


Sleepy

Working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch...

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Balanced Life -- A Secret to Happiness: Don't Try to Keep Your Resolution

Posted October 26, 2009 | 06:35 AM (EST)


Welcome_Mat

Working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch...

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Balanced Life: Excellent Tips For Living That My Parents Gave Me

3 Comments | Posted October 23, 2009 | 06:36 AM (EST)


Light_bulb

Sometimes you don't have to go very far or do much research to get advice on how to be happier. Here are eight excellent tips for living my parents gave me.

My mother:...

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Balanced Life: A Secret to Happiness? Don't Get Organized

Posted October 22, 2009 | 05:28 PM (EST)


Cleanshelf

I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up,...

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Balanced Life -- 7 Tips If You're Chronically Late

40 Comments | Posted October 19, 2009 | 09:40 AM (EST)


White-rabbit Feeling as though you're always running twenty minutes behind schedule is an unhappy feeling. Having to rush, forgetting things in your haste, dealing with annoyed people when you arrive...it's no fun.

If you...

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Balanced Life -- A Happiness Lesson From Actors: Find The "Yes."

3 Comments | Posted October 11, 2009 | 08:12 AM (EST)


I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now.

One thing my happiness project has taught me is...

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Balanced Life -- Have Trouble Keeping Your Resolutions? Here Are Six Tips

Posted October 8, 2009 | 09:36 AM (EST)


Accountability

One thing I've discovered from doing my happiness project is - no surprise - it's easy to make a resolution, but it's not always easy to keep a resolution.

I'm fascinated by the...

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A Secret To Happiness: Read For Fun

1 Comments | Posted October 6, 2009 | 11:30 AM (EST)


I've noticed something when I ask people what they're reading: they often name some highly estimable, dense, serious book, and then confess that they've been reading it for months.

I pressed one friend to explain his reading habits. "I just don't have the time," he said.

"Well, your books sound...

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Balanced Life -- 18 Tips That Aren't, It Turns Out, From A Churchyard

3 Comments | Posted October 6, 2009 | 07:25 AM (EST)


I was over at a friend's house - for a meeting of one of my two children's literature reading groups, in fact - where I saw her framed copy of "Desiderata." ("Desiderata" is a Latin word meaning "things to be desired.")...
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Balanced Life -- Ten Tips for Getting Along with Your Mother-In-Law.

4 Comments | Posted September 27, 2009 | 12:40 PM (EST)


Family_tree

I'm extremely lucky with fate as it relates to my mother-in-law and father-in-law. We get along very well, which is fortunate, because we live right around the corner from my in-laws, and I mean right...

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Balanced Life -- Choose the Bigger Life; No Pressure Knitting.

3 Comments | Posted September 25, 2009 | 11:14 AM (EST)


Toolbox_logo

I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch...
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Balanced Life -- Why 'Having a Mission' Can Make You Happier

5 Comments | Posted September 20, 2009 | 06:38 AM (EST)


Star_trek

I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump...

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Balanced Life -- Embrace The Update, Or, Why Is It So Hard To Turn On The TV?

Posted September 14, 2009 | 04:32 PM (EST)


Newleaf

I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump...

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10 (More) Tips To Fight Right With Your Sweetheart

4 Comments | Posted September 10, 2009 | 02:06 PM (EST)


My friend Karen Salmansohn has written several books on happiness -- The Bounce Back Book; How To Be Happy, Dammit; The Seven Lively Sins. Her new book, Prince Harming Syndrome, gives love advice by combining Aristotle's philosophy and modern cognitive therapy, with a kind of post-Sex and the City...

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Balanced Life -- Put on Your Shoes

3 Comments | Posted September 7, 2009 | 07:40 AM (EST)


WearshoesI'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump...

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Are You Happy At Work? 12 Questions To Ask Yourself

13 Comments | Posted September 3, 2009 | 09:25 AM (EST)


WorkplaceEvery Thursday is Tip Day.
This Thursday: 12 tips to create a happier (and more productive) workplace.

I just finished First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. I'd heard about it...

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Balanced Life -- Make Your Bed

10 Comments | Posted August 30, 2009 | 09:16 AM (EST)


Unmade-bedI'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump...

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Balanced Life -- 8 Items To Carry When Traveling With Kids

23 Comments | Posted August 27, 2009 | 09:14 AM (EST)


JetplaneEvery Wednesday is Tip Day.
This Wednesday: Eight tips for what to carry when you travel with kids.

In general, I aim to travel light, but I've learned over the years that this generally isn't...

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The Balanced Life - Learn From The Past

8 Comments | Posted August 23, 2009 | 09:00 AM (EST)


Past-present-futureI'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump...

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