We can accept ourselves and also expect more from ourselves.
In my work, I investigate unexpected truths about everyday life—and identify ways we can take happiness from the transcendent to the concrete.
Ready to Design a Happier Summer?
Gretchen’s award-winning Happier™ app makes it easy to design your summer with tools for choosing a theme, planning your reading, keeping a bucket list of ideas, and more. If you’re not sure where to start, choose a prompt that resonates with you and build from there.
Free • iOS & Android
DESIGN YOUR YEAR
How to Design Your Summer
Summer passes in a flash. Here’s how to design your Summer 2026 with intention—a theme, a list, a focus, and room for play.
MOVE 26 IN '26
Tips for Regular Exercise, Plus How Walking Helps You Think
Gretchen and Elizabeth discuss the biggest obstacles to moving more this summer with Sarah Fain from the “Happier in Hollywood” podcast, and share practical strategies for getting regular exercise.
PARENTING
How to Be a Happier, Calmer Parent: 16 Things to Try Instead of Yelling
Toward the end of summer, have you ever felt that you wished you’d done more with those months? One way we can make this summer distinctive: Give ourselves recess.
MOVE 26 IN '26
Try the Decluttering Scavenger Hunt
Gretchen and Clutterbug teamed up on this clutter-clearing checklist to get you moving—and more organized.
"One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make others happy. One of the best ways to make others happy is to be happy yourself."
GRETCHEN RUBIN
DESIGN YOUR YEAR
This Summer, Design a Daily Recess
Toward the end of summer, have you ever felt that you wished you’d done more with those months? One way we can make this summer distinctive: Give ourselves recess.
THE HAPPINESS PROJECT SHOP
Gamify Your Organization, Productivity, and Creativity
Stuck in a rut or overwhelmed by your to-do list? The Bingo Book is a curated collection of challenges designed to help. Complete a few squares to start building momentum, then reward yourself when you finish a row or the whole card.
ORGANIZATION
Does Getting Organized Feel Better than Vacation?
New research reveals the surprisingly powerful connection between organization, mood, and everyday happiness.
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WHAT'S NEW
Discover the latest articles and podcast episodes.
CURATED COLLECTIONS
Explore Gretchen Rubin’s work on these popular topics.
Tap in to the power of your five senses as a path to a happier, more mindful life.
Unexpected insights and concrete suggestions about how to create a happier life.
Helpful tips, tools, and strategies for building (and breaking) habits.
Understand yourself and others with Gretchen Rubin’s personality framework.
ABOUT GRETCHEN
About Gretchen
Hi, I’m Gretchen Rubin. For more than a decade, I’ve been studying human nature—the science of the soul. My happiness project is to understand myself, the people around me, and how we can move from good intentions to concrete actions to build happier lives.