On the Side Table: Happier at Home

I picked up the book Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin at the library from the Express Bestseller shelf. I hadn't heard anything about it but I had heard of the author's previous book, The Happiness Project. I ended up going into the bookstacks to dig out The Happiness Project as well (haven't read it yet, though).

Is it a trend now to take on a project and write about it? Is that what everyone's doing now? I keep reading books about people heading off to Italy to learn Italian, living in France and learning to eat like the French, et cetera... Do I need a project like this?

Gretchen Rubin decided to seek a happier life at home over the course of 8 months, tackling one theme/project a month. She declutters shelves in her apartment, though she finds they don't stay uncluttered (I hear you on that one, Gretchen!). She schedules weekly outings with her daughter, exploring New York, in order to spend some quality time together. She faces her fear of driving, coming to terms with the fact that she may never like driving, but at least she can drive. I understand this completely, because for me driving is a necessary evil.

I found this an interesting book. In essence, it's about being happier with what you have, with the life you lead, just tweaking it to make it better. I liked her take on achieving happiness, that "Happiness doesn't always make me feel happy." The point is that you might have to do some work you don't like in order to achieve the end goal of happiness. I can tell you that the act of cleaning out my office does not make me happy, but the end result will.

She vows to " 'Suffer for fifteen minutes' each day on a long-postponed task." This sounds suspiciously like my office decluttering project. Rubin suffers with digital photos instead (I am dreading this one - it might be my next next project).

Another thing I took to heart was the idea of later. Which, if you know me, is when I do everything (unless it involves eating chocolate or baking). However, I am trying to remind myself that doing everything later isn't so great. Eventually, I'm going to run out of years (this logic is how I justify vacations). I was heartened to know that apparently I'm not alone in my procrastination. Rubin quotes Elias Canetti, "One lives in the naive notion that later there will be more room than in the entire past." Ah, good point! (Note: this paragraph took me a week to write. Procrastinate much?)

Verdict: Recommended, as long as you don't mind a little naval-gazing (geek out and use a big word: omphaloskepsis). I didn't LOVE it but there are some useful ideas here.