We report on our experience with the “Design Your Year” exercise of the annual challenge: Read 25 in ’25. We also reveal the annual challenge for 2026—join us.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Move 26 in 2026
• Visit the Happiness Project shop
• The science-backed trick that soothes an itch better than scratching
• Elizabeth: is coming into the end of War and Peace (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Gretchen is reading: Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do You Feel Like an Employee of Your Former Self? Renowned novelist Ian McEwan makes a funny observation about book tours that’s applicable to many familiar situations.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Make entertaining easier. These simple hacks take the stress out of hosting and help you focus on what really matters: enjoying the people you’re with.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk about why choosing a one-word theme for the year can be such a creative, constructive, and satisfying exercise. We review our words for 2025 and reveal our words for 2026. Plus we share an original and fun reason to have a party.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Amazing scene in Mad Men
• Work through my new Gift Idea Generator worksheet
• Elizabeth is reading: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Gretchen is reading: Couples by John Updike (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The gap between expectations and reality determines whether we feel happy or disappointed. From empty-nest parents hoping for daily texts to tourists experiencing "Paris syndrome," our expectations shape our emotions. Sometimes adjusting expectations—rather than changing reality—is the key to happiness.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We revisit our long list of hacks to make the holidays a happier time.

Resources & links related to this episode:

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss a know-yourself-better question related to how we conceive of ourselves at different ages. Plus we talk about a way to find excellent book recommendations.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Join the The Happiness Project: Revisited course
• Since You Asked advice podcast
• Shop the biggest journal sale of the year!
• Substack Live with Sari Botton
• "Oldster Magazine" on Substack
• Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis (Amazon, Bookshop)
• All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers by Larry McMurtry (Amazon, Bookshop)
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk about why it’s such a happiness-booster to raise your hand to organize an event or undertaking—to realize that if you don’t do it, no one will. We also share a hack for making it easier to take medication, and why it’s a good idea to “suffer fools gladly.”

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Shop the Black Friday Sale in the Happiness Project Shop
• Use the gift guide for thoughtful and easy gift ideas
• Elizabeth: is catching up on War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Gretchen is reading: Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.