Outer Order Inner Calm

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this lovely, easy-to-use illustrated guide to decluttering, the beloved author of The Happiness Project shows us how to take control of our stuff—and, by extension, our lives. Gretchen Rubin knows firsthand that creating order can make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. But for most of us, a rigid, one-size-fits-all solution doesn't work. When we tailor our approach to suit our own particular challenges and habits, we can find inner calm. With a sense of fun, and a clear idea of what’s realistic for most people, Rubin suggests dozens of manageable tips and tricks for creating a more serene, orderly environment, including: • Never label anything “miscellaneous.” • Ask yourself, “Do I need more than one?” • Don’t aim for minimalism. • Remember: If you can’t retrieve it, you won’t use it. • Stay current with a child’s interests. • Beware the urge to “procrasticlear.” By getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, we free our minds (and our shelves) for what we truly value.

CLEAR OUT CLUTTER AND CONFUSION! Do you ever wonder what's stopping you from parting with it, or how it would feel to let go of the stuff that consumes so much of your time and energy? Decluttering doesn't mean making do with less – it's about creating a space so that you can live your life unburdened by things, obligations, and people you don't really need. THINK ABOUT THINGS IN A NEW LIGHT Declutter Your Life opens your eyes to the effect all the stuff is having on your life. It explains how to let go of the things that don't matter so that you have more time, energy, and enthusiasm for the things that do. With a bonus chapter on building confidence and self-esteem, you'll improve your ability to declutter. The more you believe in yourself, the better your decisions and optimism. This book helps you: Simplify and improve your home and work life Let go of guilt and the emotional obstacles that keep you stuck in the past Feel less overwhelmed and stressed out by information overload Identify and clear out unnecessary commitments Move on from negative relationships

A groundbreaking approach to wellness that will help you cut through the clutter and find the small shifts that create huge changes in your life, from the host of the podcast The Feel Good Effect “An absolutely fresh and insightful guide . . . If you’re looking to create more calm, clarity, and joy, this book is for you.”—Shauna Shapiro, Ph.D., author of Good Morning I Love You What if wellness isn’t about achieving another set of impossible standards, but about finding what works­—for you? Radically simple and ridiculously doable, The Feel Good Effect helps you redefine wellness, on your own terms. Drawing from cutting-edge science on mindfulness, habit, and behavior change, podcast host Robyn Conley Downs offers a collection of small mindset shifts that allow for more calm, clarity, and joy in everyday life, embracing the idea that “gentle is the new perfect” when it comes to sustainable wellness. She then leads you through an easy set of customizable habits for happiness and health in mind, body, and soul, allowing you to counteract stress and prevent burnout. Instead of trying to get more done, The Feel Good Effect offers a refreshingly sane approach that will allow you to identify and focus on the elements that actually move the needle in your life right now. Less striving. More ease. It’s time to feel good.

Tolstoy wrote, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." This is the statement that inspired bestselling author Gretchen Rubin to wonder whether she could foster an even greater happiness in her home. During The Happiness Project, the same questions kept tugging at her. How can I raise happy children? How can I maintain a tender, romantic relationship with my spouse--after fifteen years of marriage? How do I keep my Blackberry from taking over my private life? How can I foster a well-ordered, light-hearted atmosphere in my house, when no one else will lift a finger to cooperate? This book is Gretchen's account of her second journey in pursuit of happiness. Prescriptive, easy-to-follow, and anecdotal, Happier at Home offers readers a way of thinking and being that is positive and life-affirming. With specific examples following the calendar year, an intimate voice, and drawing from science and pop culture, this book will resonate with anyone looking to strengthen the bonds of family.

What if you could change your life--without changing your life? Gretchen had a good marriage, two healthy daughters, and work she loved--but one day, stuck on a city bus, she realized that time was flashing by, and she wasn’t thinking enough about the things that really mattered. “I should have a happiness project,” she decided. She spent the next year test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Each month, she pursued a different set of resolutions: go to sleep earlier, quit nagging, forget about results, or take time to be silly. Bit by bit, she began to appreciate and amplify the happiness that already existed in her life. Written with humour and insight, Gretchen’s story will inspire you to start your own happiness project. Now in a beautiful, expanded edition, Gretchen offers a wealth of new material including happiness paradoxes and practical tips on many daily matters: being a more light-hearted parent, sticking to a fitness routine, getting your sweetheart to do chores without nagging, coping when you forget someone’s name and more.

Run for fun—no matter your size, shape, or speed! Do you think running sucks? Do you think you’re too fat to run? With humor, compassion, and lots of love, Jill Angie explains how you can overcome the challenges of running with an overweight body, experience the exhilaration of hitting new milestones, and give your self-esteem an enormous boost in the process. This isn’t a guide to running for weight loss, or a simple running plan. It shows how a woman carrying a few (or many) extra pounds can successfully become a runner in the body she has right now. Jill Angie is a certified running coach and personal trainer who wants to live in a world where everyone is free to feel fit and fabulous at any size. She started the Not Your Average Runner movement in 2013 to show that runners come in all shapes, sizes, and speeds, and, since then, has assembled a global community of revolutionaries who are taking the running world by storm. If you would like to be part of the revolution, this is the book for you!

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Are you an Upholder, a Questioner, an Obliger, or a Rebel? From the author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project comes a groundbreaking analysis of personality type that “will immediately improve every area of your life” (Melissa Urban, co-founder of the Whole30). During her multibook investigation into human nature, Gretchen Rubin realized that by asking the seemingly dry question “How do I respond to expectations?” we gain explosive self-knowledge. She discovered that based on their answer, people fit into Four Tendencies: • Upholders meet outer and inner expectations readily. “Discipline is my freedom.” • Questioners meet inner expectations, but meet outer expectations only if they make sense. “If you convince me why, I’ll comply.” • Obligers (the largest Tendency) meet outer expectations, but struggle to meet inner expectations—therefore, they need outer accountability to meet inner expectations. “You can count on me, and I’m counting on you to count on me.” • Rebels (the smallest group) resist all expectations, outer and inner alike. They do what they choose to do, when they choose to do it, and typically they don’t tell themselves what to do. “You can’t make me, and neither can I.” Our Tendency shapes every aspect of our behavior, so using this framework allows us to make better decisions, meet deadlines, suffer less stress, and engage more effectively. It’s far easier to succeed when you know what works for you. With sharp insight, compelling research, and hilarious examples, The Four Tendencies will help you get happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative.

From the author of the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers The Happiness Project and Happier at Home comes a book that tackles the question: How do we make good habits that are easy, effortless, and automatic? Habits are the invisible architecture of our lives. Rubin provides an analytical and scientific framework from which to understand these habits--as well as change them for good. Infused with her compelling voice and funny stories, she illustrates the core principles of habit formation with dozens of strategies that she tests out on herself and others. In doing so, she discovers answers to questions such as: • At times, I've picked up a habit overnight, but other times, it's taken years to develop. Why? • Why do some people resist habits, while others adopt them eagerly? • I want to help my child/spouse/colleagues make a change. What can I do? • Why do I resist other people's advice on how to change, even if I think they are right? • How do I make good habits convenient and easy? Rubin provides tools to help readers better understand themselves, and presents a clear, practical menu of strategies so readers can take an individualized approach. She tackles each strategy herself, and in doing so shows us the importance of knowing ourselves, and our own habit-tendencies. Armed with self-knowledge, we can pursue the habits in ways that will truly work for us, not against us. Going to the gym can be as easy, effortless, and automatic as putting on a seatbelt. We can file expense reports, take time for fun, or pass up that piece of carrot cake without having to decide. With foundation of good habits, we can build a life that reflects our values and goals. — Included in Oprah's Super Soul 100 list