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" Take care of difficult calls or emails as quickly as possible. Procrastinating just makes it harder; getting them done gives a big boost of relieved energy. "
Gretchen Rubin
Done
Care
Difficult
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" One thing I wish I could tell my younger self: take photos of everyday life, not special occasions; later, that's what will be interesting to you. "
Gretchen Rubin
Life
You
Wish
" An enormous amount of ingenuity and creativity goes into commercials, and they can be fascinating if you pay attention. "
Gretchen Rubin
You
Attention
Creativity
" 'Potato-chip news' is news that's repetitive, requires little effort to absorb, and is consumable in massive quantities: true crime, natural disasters, political punditry, celebrity gossip, sports gossip, or endless photographs of beautiful houses, food, or clothes. "
Gretchen Rubin
Effort
Food
Clothes
" Take the perspective of a journalist or scientist. Really study what's around you. What are people wearing, what do the interiors of buildings look like, what noises do you hear? If you bring your analytical powers to bear, you can make almost anything interesting. "
Gretchen Rubin
People
Interesting
Look
" If I can do something in less than one minute, I don't let myself procrastinate. I hang up my coat, put newspapers in the recycling, scan and toss a letter. Ever since I wrote about this rule in 'The Happiness Project,' I've been amazed by how many people have told me that it has made a huge difference in their lives. "
Gretchen Rubin
Happiness
People
Up
" Spending hours stressed out in front of the TV isn't the same as volunteering or donating. Feeling a high level of personal distress makes people feel agitated and emotionally drained, to the point that they lack the energy or detachment to help - or the energy to manage themselves. "
Gretchen Rubin
People
Feel
Help
" Keep in mind that to avoid loneliness, many people need both a social circle and an intimate attachment. Having just one of two may still leave you feeling lonely. "
Gretchen Rubin
People
You
Loneliness
" Skillful conversationalists can explore disagreements and make points in ways that feel constructive and positive rather than combative or corrective. "
Gretchen Rubin
Explore
Feel
Positive
" They say that people teach what they need to learn. By adopting the role of happiness teacher, if only for myself, I was trying to find the method to conquer my particular faults and limitations. "
Gretchen Rubin
Teacher
People
Need
" Try to never say 'yes' on the phone; instead, say, 'I'll get back to you.' When you're actually speaking to someone, the desire to be accommodating is very strong, and can lead you to say 'yes' without enough consideration. "
Gretchen Rubin
Desire
You
Strong
" Getting paperwork under control makes me feel more in control of my life generally. "
Gretchen Rubin
Life
Feel
Control
" Whenever I start a new book, I think, 'This is the most interesting subject of all time. It's sad, I'll never enjoy writing another book as much as I enjoy this one.' Every time, I'm convinced. And then I change my mind when I start the next book. "
Gretchen Rubin
Mind
Sad
Time
" For quotes, I have one document for general quotes; the other for happiness-related quotes, which I use for the 'Moment of Happiness,' my daily emails of happiness quotes. "
Gretchen Rubin
General
Moment
Other
" I have a terrible memory of my own past. I can barely remember my childhood. I have few memories from college and law school - though once I got married, I got the advantage of being able to consult my husband's memory. "
Gretchen Rubin
Childhood
Memories
School
" I have a lucky perfume. I love beautiful smells, but I save one of my favorite perfumes to wear only when I feel like I need some extra luck. "
Gretchen Rubin
Perfume
Beautiful
Feel
" If you're impatient while waiting for the bus, tell yourself you're doing 'Bus waiting meditation.' If you're standing in a slow line at the drugstore, you're doing 'Waiting in line meditation.' Just saying these words makes me feel very spiritual and high-minded and wise. "
Gretchen Rubin
Wise
Yourself
Waiting
" While television is a good servant, it's a bad master. It can swallow up huge quantities of our lives without much happiness bang for the buck. "
Gretchen Rubin
Bad
Happiness
Master
" The days are long, but the years are short. "
Gretchen Rubin
Days
Long
Short
" It's easier to get rid of things when you're giving them to someone who can use them, but don't let this kind intention become a source of clutter itself. I have a friend who has multiple piles all over her house, each lovingly destined for a particular recipient. "
Gretchen Rubin
You
Giving
Her
" In 'Before and After,' I identify the sixteen strategies that we can use to make or break our habits. Some are quite familiar, such as 'Monitoring,' 'Scheduling,' and 'Convenience.' Some took me a lot of effort to identify, such as 'Thinking,' 'Identity,' and 'Clarity.' "
Gretchen Rubin
Clarity
Effort
Identity
" Kennedy was president for only 1,037 days, but during his short tenure, he achieved much. At the Cold War's most dangerous hour, he preserved the peace. He improved relations with the Soviet Union and replaced tension over Berlin with a limited test ban treaty. "
Gretchen Rubin
Peace
Dangerous
Cold
" Whenever I'm trying to decide how to spend my precious time, energy, or money, I ask myself a series of questions. 'Will this broaden or deepen my relationships?' 'Will this contribute to an atmosphere of growth in my life?' 'Is this a way to 'Be Gretchen?' and 'Will this help connect me to my past?' "
Gretchen Rubin
Myself
Time
Money
" I collect axioms, paradoxes, maxims, teaching stories, proverbs, and aphorisms of all sorts, because I love to see complex ideas distilled into a few words. "
Gretchen Rubin
Love
See
Words
" Nature is impersonal, awe-inspiring, elegant, eternal. It's geometrically perfect. It's tiny and gigantic. You can travel far to be in a beautiful natural setting, or you can observe it in your backyard - or, in my case, in the trees lining New York City sidewalks, or in the clouds above skyscrapers. "
Gretchen Rubin
City
Travel
Nature
" Many people keep photos in their homes, in their office, or in their wallet, and happy families tend to display large numbers of photos at home. In 'Happier at Home,' I write about my 'shrine to my family' made of photographs. "
Gretchen Rubin
Home
Numbers
Happy
" I do better with routines and predictability. I don't react well when there's a sudden change in the schedule. "
Gretchen Rubin
Schedule
Change
React
" I read a lot, all the time, but often I read books for research, or because they're interesting to me in some way, even if they aren't exactly 'pleasurable.' "
Gretchen Rubin
Research
Interesting
Me
" Don't let yourself fall into 'empty.' Keep cash in the house. Keep gas in your tank. Keep an extra roll of toilet paper squirreled away. Keep your phone charged. "
Gretchen Rubin
Yourself
Phone
Fall
" I'm constantly on the hunt for insights about happiness or ideas about how to be happier - which probably makes me a somewhat tiresome companion at times. "
Gretchen Rubin
Me
Happiness
Ideas
" When we don't get any treats, we feel depleted, resentful, and angry, and we feel justified in self-indulgence. We start to crave comfort - and grab that comfort wherever we can, even if it means breaking good habits. "
Gretchen Rubin
Good
Comfort
Angry