by

Tim Ferriss

Gretchen Rubin — Experiments in Happiness and Creativity (#290)

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Gretchen Rubin.

“I wish I could not wish.” – Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin (@gretchenrubin) is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before, The Happiness Project, and Happier at Home. She has an enormous readership, both in print and online, and her books have sold three million copies worldwide, in more than thirty languages.

On her popular weekly podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, she discusses good habits and happiness with her sister Elizabeth Craft; they’ve been called the “Click and Clack of podcasters.” Her podcast was named in iTunes’s lists of “Best Podcasts of 2015” and was named in the Academy of Podcasters “Best Podcasts of 2016.”

Fast Company named Gretchen Rubin to its list of Most Creative People in Business, and she’s a member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100.

Enjoy!

You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Gretchen Rubin — Experiments in Happiness and Creativity

Want to hear another podcast that will improve your mindset and life? — Listen to this episode with Jocko Willink. Jocko might be the scariest Navy SEAL alive, and in this episode, he shares his thoughts on how to stop laziness and procrastination, behaviors that lead to failure, and much, much more (stream below or right-click here to download):

Discipline Equals Freedom — Jocko Willink

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

  • Connect with Gretchen Rubin:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Show Notes

  • “I wish I could not wish.” Agree or disagree? [05:47]
  • How did Gretchen begin her career in law, and what made her move on to writing? [08:16]
  • What inspired Gretchen’s first book? [11:05]
  • Did Gretchen quit being a lawyer before or after selling her first book? [14:04]
  • In hindsight, what key lessons were learned by the process of writing and selling that first book? [16:29]
  • How did Gretchen decide on her next book, and what ties together her body of work? [21:47]
  • What is Gretchen’s note-taking system? What software does she use for composing a book? [25:25]
  • Why does Gretchen recommend Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language? [31:03]
  • What are the key ingredients to Gretchen’s home office? [34:42]
  • What small changes does Gretchen recommend for people hoping to increase personal well-being and happiness? [40:29]
  • End of day rituals and routines. [44:00]
  • Morning routines. [45:30]
  • Changes Gretchen has made in the past few years that have increased happiness and decreased anxiety and other negative emotions. [48:30]
  • How are Gretchen’s children’s literature groups organized? [52:46]
  • What qualifies a book for the young adult genre? [56:47]
  • How does Gretchen use accountability? [1:00:49]
  • Does Gretchen set new year’s resolutions? [1:10:38]
  • Gretchen’s theme for the year is delegation. How does she plan to act on this? [1:14:07]
  • Does Gretchen have a favorite failure? [1:16:21]
  • One of Gretchen’s most worthwhile investments of time, money, or energy. [1:21:40]
  • How did Gretchen start learning the basics of podcasting? [1:22:12]
  • How has Gretchen gone about turning her podcast listeners into a community? [1:24:34]
  • What would Gretchen’s billboard say? [1:28:29]
  • Quotes Gretchen finds inspiring. [1:29:33]
  • What “try this at home” episode of Gretchen’s podcast has had the strongest response to date? [1:40:30]
  • How does Gretchen regain focus? [1:43:43]
  • Short children’s and young adult titles everyone should try. [1:46:28]
  • Adult books Gretchen has reread the most. [1:48:16]
  • How many hours a week does Gretchen spend reading? [1:49:41]
  • Per Gretchen’s Four Tendencies, what is my tendency? [1:53:21]
  • “Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.” -Novalis [1:59:53]

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