Happier with Gretchen Rubin is a podcast from the Cadence 13 network. The following is a curated list of all the "Try This at Home" suggestions related to GETTING STUFF DONE.
Episode no. Try This at Home Suggestion
1. The one-minute rule, as a way to keep clutter under control.
6. Try a weekly “Power Hour.”
17. Have an exact place for everything.
22. Save string — which is a phrase from journalism that means, find ways to save your little bits of ideas.
26. Pick a one-word theme for the year.
29. Lower the bar. In other words — cribbing from Voltaire — don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
32. Raise the bar (yes, you remember that right, in episode 29 we suggested lowering the bar; the opposite of a profound truth is also true). What works for you — lowering or raising the bar, or both?
33. Try a boot camp for yourself.
41. Take one thing with you. A clutter-busting strategy.
44. Have an end-of-the-year ritual.
46. Don’t get organized. If you get rid of that stuff, you don’t have to organize it!
53. Put the word “meditation” after any activity you’re finding dull.
55. Have a system for switching bags.
67. Design your summer.
68. Show up on time. First question: why are you late?
73. Get rid of something as soon as it becomes useless. Harder than it sounds!
77. Go on an “errand date.”
82. Make a to-do list, or a could-do list.
84. It’s often easier to do something every day than to do it some days.
91. Delete or disable soul-sucking, productivity-depleting, creativity-sapping apps.
95. Practice mise-en-place. In cooking, cooks “put everything in its place” — the idea is to get all your tools and supplies together, so that once you start working, you can work easily and well. Preparation is a true stage of working.
97. Start your own happiness project. Gretchen wrote about her own “happiness project” in her book, The Happiness Project.
102. Find the missing puzzle piece from your life — the missing tool, item, or activity that’s missing.
113. Reclaim your dump zones.
116. **Start a side hustle.
118. Design your summer.
122. Tackle a “Power Day.”
125. Plan a virtual move.
129. Remember that September is the other January.
133. Create a place for things in transition.
134. **If you're feeling dragged down by your to-do list, try writing a "ta-da" list.
135. Plan a "virtual move," 2.0. In episode 125, they described one kind of virtual move; a listener wrote them to suggest a way to plan a "virtual move" that's also a great suggestion for boosting happiness.
137. Consider convenience.
143. Say "Down with boredom."
144. Be willing to delegate.
147. Identify your "18 for 2018." Gretchen and Elizabeth's first five
149. **Identify your "18 for 2018." + Roz's Try This at Home tip is to "Try the ukulele."
152. Create a consistent body of work.
158. Create a standardized vacation.
162. Write it down. It's so obvious, but so true, and bears repeating: if you want to remember something, write it down. Secret of Adulthood: Always remember how easy it is to forget.
172. Toss unnecessary papers.
174. Make something by hand that you'd ordinarily buy.
179. Make each day of the week distinctive. This idea was inspired by Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.