5 Things Making Me Happy This Week (4/4)

Each Friday, I send a newsletter that includes "5 Things" that made me happy that week. Today, I'm sharing last week's list here as well. If you'd like to receive future 5 Things in your inbox, sign up?here.

Hello,

I’ve been working on a?Calendar of Catalysts—a suggestion of dates we might use as catalysts for reflection.

After a listener reported that at her workplace, every May 29, they remind people to think about saving for education (because it’s 5/29), it occurred to me that April 1 could've been a good day to think about savings generally—because it’s 4/01.

Whatever approach a person might take to savings, I think it’s useful to have a catalyst to think about finances. Of course, we could think about money and financial planning at any time—but things that can be done at any time are often done at no time.

Do you have a catalyst to reflect on money matters? I know many people use their birthday.

Onward,

Gretchen Rubin

5 Things making me happy

1. I was so very sorry to hear of the death of architect and theorist Christopher Alexander. His strange, brilliant book?A Pattern Language?is the book I most often recommend, the book that I most often give as a gift—and I think about it all the time. His obituary in the?New York Times?is?here.
2. I love browsing in any art supply store—all those colors, all those supplies! Just look at the beautiful shades of these colored markers. It makes me want to create something, though I'm not sure what. Do you find that holding something in your hands inspires your creativity—whether that’s a guitar, fresh vegetables, postcards, or markers? I sure do.

3. Do you love the word game Wordle as much as my sister Elizabeth does? If so,?here?are some tips and tricks.

4. A?Happier?listener shared the need to have “quiet time” each day, and when my daughters were young, we had family “quiet time.” I’ve been fascinated by the many interpretations of “rest” in #Rest22in2022 challenge. I’m napping each day, when possible — but “rest” doesn’t have to be sleep.

5. I saw the flags of Ukraine and the United States flying outside the Ukrainian Institute of America, which isn’t far from my apartment. I so admire the courageous resolve of the Ukrainian people.

Updates

As an experiment for part of my happiness project—which turned into my book?The Happiness Project—I started?my blog?sixteen years ago. I certainly didn’t imagine that I’d be writing it for so long! It has been such an engine of happiness for me.

Happier podcast

371: A Talk with Matt Damon! And a Complaint-Free Month and Hack for Photo Albums.

Listen >

Blog Post

How April Fool’s day can be a source of happiness.

Read More >

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