Ep. 587: Design Your Summer! We Share Our Plans—Plus the Fun of Creating a Signature Drink

Summary

Podcast Summary: Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Episode 587: Design Your Summer! We Share Our Plans—Plus the Fun of Creating a Signature Drink
Original Air Date: May 20, 2026
Hosts: Gretchen Rubin & Elizabeth Craft

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Overview

In this lively episode, Gretchen and Elizabeth revisit their beloved annual tradition of “designing your summer,” sharing both lighthearted and meaningful ways they’re making the most of the season. They discuss how intentional planning makes summer more memorable, unveil their individual themes and goals, and cap off the episode with a happiness hack: the creation of a signature drink. Woven throughout are practical tips, philosophical musings, and signature sisterly banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of "Designing Your Summer"

• Intentionality matters: The hosts emphasize that planning summer activities in advance ensures you make the most of the fleeting season.
  • “When we make a plan, when we go into something intentionally, we are far more likely to get out of it what we would like to get out of it.” —Gretchen Rubin [05:46]
• Avoiding regrets: They discuss the disappointment of reaching summer’s end with unrealized intentions, and how simple planning can prevent that.
• The "theme" approach: Whether whimsical or practical, personal themes add fun and structure.

2. Elizabeth's Summer Themes

• "Off White Delight": Elizabeth is embracing a playful, concrete goal—making off-white her signature color all summer.
  • “Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, I'm gonna wear all off white, slash cream, ivory slash white. But really going for the off white.” —Elizabeth Craft [07:54]
  • She reflects on the whimsy and practicality of a single-color wardrobe, mentioning decision fatigue and the chance to be creative with accessories.
• Setting aside worry: Elizabeth aims to spend the whole summer without fretting about everyday problems, experimenting with a season free from rumination.
  • “I want to set aside worry for the summer, which is a big goal.” —Elizabeth Craft [10:33]
  • They discuss the “just in time worry” approach vs. all-out worry reduction and brainstorm the idea of a mantra or physical reminder.
• A New York City summer: Elizabeth excitement about upcoming New York trips, soaking up her favorite city during the hot but magical summer months.

3. Gretchen's Summer Plans

• A Reading Project: The Summer of Virginia Woolf’s Diaries:
  • Continuing her tradition of themed summer reading, Gretchen will dive into Woolf’s collected diaries, potentially reading all volumes straight through, and will assess whether to pace herself or go all in.
  • “This year I am having the summer of Virginia Woolf's diaries. ...I've always thought ...I should go back and read all of it. But it's many volumes and I sort of never found the time. And so I thought, okay, well, this summer I'm just going to plunge in.” —Gretchen Rubin [15:26]
• Driving every day: To conquer her anxiety around driving (a rare necessity for a New Yorker), Gretchen commits to daily practice at their weekend house, even prioritizing it over her treasured kayaking.
  • “Boredom and repetition drive out anxiety. And I think I just need to do more driving because I want to remind myself I'm a perfectly good driver.” —Gretchen Rubin [17:13]
• Photo album captions: She aims to finish documenting family memories by adding overdue captions to photo albums.
• Watercoloring—Doodle Sketching: Gretchen will experiment with doodle sketching classes to mix up her creative pursuits.
  • “I want to do that this summer.” —Gretchen Rubin [19:40]
• Watching "Girls": Gretchen also looks forward to finally starting the TV series “Girls,” a goal from her “24 for 2026” list.

4. Listener Stories & Updates

• Sarah’s solution for snoring (03:40): Using an app to track snoring, leading to an effective anti-allergen nasal spray and better sleep.
• Kristen’s life-changing experience with "paired questions" (03:49): Being asked to both talk herself into and out of a grad program led to an epiphany, a new direction, and ultimately meeting her husband.

5. The Joy of a Signature Drink [24:25]

• The Fresca Fizz: Gretchen shares a happiness hack—creating a unique, group signature drink: one part vodka or reposado, three parts Fresca, with a citrus twist.
  • “It is very fun to make. It's very fun to drink. It's very refreshing...I think the most fun thing about it for me was brainstorming the name.” —Gretchen Rubin [24:49]
• Connection through ritual: Both hosts share how marking an occasion with a signature drink creates lasting memories, referencing Andy Cohen’s “Frescila” and Elizabeth’s espresso martini cruise—“A signature anything marks a time or an event or a memory and makes it more memorable.” —Gretchen Rubin [26:49]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On intentionality:
  “You've gotta be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there.” —Gretchen Rubin quoting Yogi Berra [05:46]

• On summer's fleeting nature:
  “I feel like when we were young, summer lasted forever, and now it lasts for, like, a long weekend.” —Elizabeth Craft [07:08]

• On worry:
  “I spend a lot of time worrying. ...And I want to just see what happens if I just set aside the worry. Now, that doesn't mean don't take action. ...But I'm hoping that life is more enjoyable if I make a point of not worrying about [it].” —Elizabeth Craft [11:36]

• On delighting in a theme:
  “There's something energizing about that.” —Gretchen Rubin on concrete summer themes [09:57]

• On household chores:
  “Is there a chore, like a daily household chore, that you particularly irrationally dislike?...Sometimes you sort of have a particularly strong antipathy to sort of just an ordinary chore of life.” —Gretchen Rubin [27:03]

  • Elizabeth: “For me, it's dealing with wet dog food. ...It absolutely disgusts me. I'm reviled by it.” [27:39]
  • Gretchen: “For me, it's greasy pans I just am like, I can't handle this.” [28:08]

• On containers that are “too nice for what they are”:

  • “The Altoid tint, where you're like, the Altoid tin is so great...But how many Altoid tins can one person have? ...They feel too good and yet they're not good enough.” —Gretchen Rubin [32:21]
  • Discussion includes other “too nice” objects: jewelry boxes, shoe boxes, and the shift toward less packaging for environmental reasons.

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Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |---------|------------------------------------------------------------------| | 05:46 | The case for intentional summer planning ("Design Your Summer") | | 07:40 | Elizabeth introduces "Off White Delight" summer theme | | 10:33 | Elizabeth’s goal: a summer without worry | | 13:34 | Discussion on mantras and worry management | | 15:26 | Gretchen’s “Summer of Virginia Woolf’s Diaries” | | 17:13 | Gretchen’s plan to conquer driving anxiety | | 19:40 | Goals: photo album captions, doodle sketching, and TV show | | 24:25 | Happiness Hack: The joy of creating a signature drink | | 27:03 | Know Yourself Better: Most-disliked household chore | | 32:21 | Happiness Stumbling Block: “Too nice for what they are” items | | 39:30 | Demerit: Elizabeth’s struggle with scheduling plans | | 40:32 | Gold Star: Jamie’s successful travel-plan follow through |

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Call to Action

• Try designing your summer! The hosts invite listeners to be specific, intentional, and whimsical with their own summer plans—whether it’s picking a color, establishing a seasonal ritual, or making time to read or adventure.
• Share your theme or summer design: Listeners are encouraged to connect via Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, email, or the episode page to share their own ideas.
• Mantra ideas wanted: Elizabeth requests fun, rhyming, or alliterative mantras to help keep worry at bay during her summer experiment.

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Episode Tone

Upbeat, supportive, and practical, with the hosts’ signature warmth and humor. The episode weaves together concrete strategies and playful ideas with deeper reflections on happiness, habits, and savoring the season. Both hosts balance the philosophical with the everyday and model vulnerability by sharing their own challenges and aspirations.

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Related Resources

• Happier App: Now features a tool for “Design Your Summer,” including a summer bucket list and one-word theme section ([41:52]).
• Books discussed:
  • Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke [Elizabeth]
  • Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard [Gretchen]
  • A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf’s husband, Leonard Woolf (cited)

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Closing

A charming outro as Elizabeth commits to expanding her off-white wardrobe and Gretchen celebrates the delight of summer themes:
"If you like the show, tell others you know." —Their favorite rhyming reminder [41:55]

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Onward and upward to a summer with more intention, less worry, and maybe even a Fresca Fizz!

Transcript

[Gretchen Rubin]

Lemonade Amazon Health AI presents Painful Thoughts I I can't stop scratching my downtown. Yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown. Some things you'd rather type than say out loud. There's no question too embarrassing for Amazon Health AI. Just chat your symptoms and get virtual care 24. 7 Healthcare just got less painful

[Elizabeth Craft]

summer it's when we share more time, more memories, and more photos. And at, at and t, the iPhone 17 Pro is your summer essential. Its center stage front camera auto adjusts the frame to fit everyone into group selfies. You don't even have to turn your

[Gretchen Rubin]

phone and ATT makes sharing those pics with everyone easy. Right now at, AT and T ask how you can get iPhone on them with eligible iPhone trade in any condition requires trade in of iPhone 15+ or higher. Excludes iPhone 16e and 17e requires eligible plan terms and restrictions apply. Subject to change. Visit att.comiphone or visit an ATT store for details. Hello and welcome to Happier, a podcast where we talk about how to become happier. This week we'll talk about why you might design your summer and what we're planning for our own summers. And also an ordinary thing that bothers me more than it should. I'm Gretchen Rubin, a writer who studies happiness, good habits, human nature. I'm in my little home office in New York City and joining me today from Los Angeles is my sister, Elizabeth Craft. And Elizabeth, you just had a birthday. Happy birthday.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Thank you. That's me, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in la. And Gretchen May is my favorite month, partly because it's my birthday month.

[Gretchen Rubin]

That's so fun. First, before we jump in a few updates, one thing is we've heard from some fans who have been using the ad free version that they've had issues. Now, Lemonada was transitioning platforms and they know that there were issues. Those issues should be resolved if you continue to have issues which you shouldn't be having them. But if you do, go to heymanadamedia.com to report any difficulties and they will help you get it figured out.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Good. Glad that's fixed. Then we heard from Sarah who said, I really enjoyed your recent episode about searching for a solution. I'm 31 and recently I decided to do something about my snoring. I'd always assumed I was just a snorer. It bothered me when I had to share rooms with other people and worried that I would be keeping them awake. But I thought there was Nothing I could do. I thought about trying nasal sprays or different pillows, but as my partner doesn't notice my snoring, I had no way of knowing whether I was snoring or not, so I couldn't test if they worked. But then I realized there's probably an app for that. I downloaded a free app that measured my snoring at night and gave me a recording each morning. Then I tried a range of different solutions and checked my snore score each morning to see which one worked. It's two weeks later and I found an anti allergen nasal spray that massively reduces my snoring. Looking for a solution allowed me to avoid so much anxiety and my friends who share rooms with me on holiday will get much better sleep too. Well, that is a perfect example.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yeah, there's an app for that, you know, for so many things and it just doesn't occur to us.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. So good job finding a solution there.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yes, absolutely. And this comes from Kristen. She writes, I wanted to share my life changing experience with a paired question. In high school, I knew I wanted to be a counselor, specifically a marriage and family therapist. Fast forward to college where I majored in psychology and began researching graduate schools where I could earn my master's in family therapy. On May 1, 2013 in 2006, five days before I graduated college, I interviewed in person with the director of a graduate program whom I had been talking to for months. He asked me the paired question, talk me into accepting you to the program and talk me out of accepting you to the program. I was a little flummoxed at first, but I gave a decent response about why I would be good for the program. Then, as I started to answer the second part, saying I'm not sure I want to be pigeonholed into only ever being a marriage and family therapist, I had a huge physical reaction and knew instinctively I did not want to do this program. I made it through the rest of the interview, but I was shaken for sure. The previous six years of my life I had been on the path to this specific thing and then I suddenly realized it wasn't what I wanted. I'm not sure I would have come to this realization if I hadn't been asked this pair of questions. Ultimately, it worked out so much better than I could have imagined. I went on to a different counseling program where I met my husband within a week of starting it. My career has been amazing because of the shift focus of my master's and now I get to tell this story to college freshmen Every year through my job. So that's a great point where if you ask one of the questions, you elicit certain kinds of information, but if you ask the pair of questions, well, then a whole new range of responses becomes possible. And as Kristin experienced, that can be extremely illuminating.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. And it's just an example of how once we have an idea about something, we just move forward and sometimes never even think about it.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Craft]

So glad that it all worked out.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yeah. A great example of period questions. So this week, our try this at home is something that we do every year because it is such a valuable try this at home suggestion, and that is to design your summer. We have done it for several years, and at the core of it, it's just the truth that when we make a plan, when we go into something intentionally, we are far more likely to get out of it what we would like to get out of it. You know, I love an aphorism. I love a great line. And Yogi Berra is fam for saying, you've gotta be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there. And I think that that can really happen with the summer.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Oh, for sure. It can pass by in the blink of an eye.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yeah. No. And it's such a bad feeling when you get to the end of the summer and you just are kicking yourself and you're thinking, well, why didn't we do picnics? Or why didn't we go to the pool every weekend? Or why didn't we go to the library? And, of course, you could do this for any season or any month however you want to set it up. But there's a special quality to the summer.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Oh, ye.

[Gretchen Rubin]

It's the longer days. It's the weather. It's leftover from our days in school where it was the vacation days. And I don't know about you, Elizabeth, but the thing that I find about summer is looking into it. It feels limitless, like, well, I just have so much time. But then, in fact, it goes really fast.

[Elizabeth Craft]

It goes so fast. And I feel like when we were young, summer lasted forever, and now it lasts for, like, a long weekend.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yes. Memorial Day to Labor Day passes in a flash. So that's why it's really helpful to design it, because then you can really. If there's something you want to do every week, you're like, okay, I got to put it on the calendar. If there's some adventure you want to have or there's a trip you want to take, where does it Go and do you want to have a theme? Do you want to have some whimsy? Like, there's so many things we can do with our summer. So let's talk about how we're designing our summers.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes.

[Gretchen Rubin]

So, Elizabeth, tell me, how are you designing your summer?

[Elizabeth Craft]

What I guess I would call a theme for my summer, but it also has actual applications, which is I've decided to have a summer of off white delight.

[Gretchen Rubin]

A rhyming theme.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. Which means between Memorial Day and Labor Day, I'm gonna wear all off white, slash cream, ivory slash white. But really going for the off white.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay.

[Elizabeth Craft]

As much as possible.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay.

[Elizabeth Craft]

So, you know, I picked bone for my signature color, and I've never really done anything with it. So I decided this summer is going to be the summer I lean into my signature color. This was partly inspired by. I think you had a friend who picked pink one summer. Like, more pink all summer. I thought that was just so delightful. But I would never wear pink all summer. That's just not who I am. But I have some off white, and I have actually bought some pieces of off white for the summer. And I am really going to just make this my summer of off white.

[Gretchen Rubin]

You know, we haven't talked about the sort of the power of having a signature color in a while. There was like a while where we were really focused on color. Part of my color pilgrimage preoccupation, probably. But one of the things is it's whimsical. It feels like it's because you're sort of committing to a color, and that's kind of fun. Yeah, it's projecting your identity because, like, you chose this color, which is a very particular color. And so now every time I see something in that color, I think of you. But I think it also helps with decision fatigue. Right, Elizabeth?

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. I think it'll be really fun to just always be reaching for that and not having to worry about what to wear at the same time. I also think it'll force me to be a little creative to try to make these outfits seem like something, you know, like, I think I'll wear more of my sandals, like, variations of my sandals, because I want the outfits to look different or a different belt. Thinking about jewelry. So I think it'll just be fun and light hearted.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Well, Elizabeth, one of the things I like about. Well, first, I like that it rhymes because I like any rhyming reminder because of the fluency heuristic. But also I like that it's very concrete. It's like your number six.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yeah.

[Gretchen Rubin]

I think it's fun when things that we choose like this aren't just sort of vague aims or atmospheres that we want to live in renewal or something like that. But Off White Delight, it's like, that's very specific. There's something energizing about that.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. So I don't know. I'll have to post some photos on Instagram and show my Off White Delight outfits. But, Gretch, I do have another more, I guess, philosophical idea for summer from designing my summer. And this is a big one, and it's profound if I can accomplish it. Okay.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Craft]

I want to set aside worry for the summer, which is a big goal.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay.

[Elizabeth Craft]

We talk about setting aside time to worry. I think we've done that as a. Try this at. So if you're going to worry, just worry these 10 minutes of the day or whatever.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And the idea there is you make time for it. You sit down and you worry. And then you don't worry in other times because you're like, it's not time for me to worry. I worry at 4pm and you don't do it, like, right before bed. But often people find that they can manage their anxiety more easily because they're not pretending like they're not worrying. And sometimes worrying can be useful because it leads us to take action in productive ways. But when it leaks out into everything and it's just rumination, it's not helpful. So the idea is, say, every other day from 4 to 4:15, I'm going to worry. This is something that can help people manage worry. So how are you taking this?

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. So what I am doing is just setting aside worry for the whole summer. I'm just going to try not to worry.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay.

[Elizabeth Craft]

About anything. I spend a lot of time worrying. I am the person who will start worrying about getting to a party the day before. I worry about my career constantly. I worry about Jack's test prep and Jack, everything.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Craft]

I worry about Adam's allergies. You know what I mean? I just worry, worry, worry.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Craft]

And I want to just see what happens if I just set aside the worry. Now, that doesn't mean don't take action. Right. That doesn't mean.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Right.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Don't do things for my career, obviously.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Right.

[Elizabeth Craft]

But I'm hoping that life is more enjoyable if I make a point of not worrying about.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yes. Well, this is so bold. I love this, and I wonder if you're gonna be able to stick to it. But, Elizabeth, here's something that I do. You can't use it this summer, because it's not the summer of no worry, but it's a different kind of worry, which I think of just in time worry. So you know how there's like just in time fulfillment where like factories do this to manage their overhead and their inventory and stuff is like, you do things just in time. Because I would find that I would be worrying about something in advance and I would say it's too early. In law, we say it's not ripe, meaning something isn't yet ready be dealt with. And I would just say I've got to do just in time worry. And sometimes this gets. I cut it a little close. If I have to prepare for something, I'm like, well, I'm not going to start the day before because I have plenty of time in the morning. I have hours in the morning to prepare. So I'm going to wait till I'm just in time to do that prep now. Then if something happens and the dog has to rush to the vet, then I'm in trouble because I've just done it just in time. But usually it works out fine. And I do this because otherwise you can just start to worry far before it's productive. And then you're just having more worry, worry, worry. And that starts to turn into rumination. Anyway, that's how I think about it lately. But with the summer of no worry, what are you going to say to yourself when you catch yourself worrying? Are you going to have a mantra or just sort of not this summer, or that's for, you know, Labor Day or whatever?

[Elizabeth Craft]

That is a good question. I should have a mantra. I should try to think of a fun like worry mantra, Some alliteration about not worrying that I say to myself.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Did you ever read that children's book? I think it's by Hankie Rumberly. Worried, worry, worry, worry. It sounds like a little mouse that just worries all the time.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Oh, that's.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Maybe I'll get you that picture book when I see you in the summer. Because, Elysia, you have a summer of New York City.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. So I am going to New York, Gretchen, at least twice this summer, maybe three times spending fourth of July with you. So I am just thinking of this summer as a New York City summer, which, you know, I love New York. I love in the summer. It's not as crowded, although it is extremely hot. And so I'm just going to get my New York City on, which is one of my favorite things in the world, of course, is to be in New York. And also I love Staying at your apartment. So, yeah, this is my New York City summer.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay. Well, maybe listeners, if you have an idea for a rhyming mantra, an alliteration mantra. Yeah, just like a good catchphrase for

[Elizabeth Craft]

Elizabeth, I need one.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Set aside the worry for the summer. I love that. I think that's very bold.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. I probably what I should do is get like a bracelet or something also to remind me not to worry. Not that it says no worry, but like just something I wear every day. So I don't know. I'm excited about this.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yeah.

[Elizabeth Craft]

And the interesting thing will be, Gretchen, if I manage to set aside worry for the summer.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Do I then realize that in general, I'm spending way too much time worrying and I need to worry less?

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yes.

[Elizabeth Craft]

But anyway, we know I won't be worrying about what I'm wearing because I'll be wearing off white.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yeah, that's off white Delight. That's great.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Okay. How about you, Gretch, design your summer. What's happening?

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay, well, I fear that I may be a little bit over ambitious with my design your summer, but this is my plan. So every summer I have a reading theme. So I had my summer of Proust, I had my summer of rereading, and this year I am having the summer of Virginia Woolf's diaries. So Virginia Woolf is one of my very favorite authors, and she kept extensive diaries throughout her life. There's a wonderful book called A Writer's Diary where after her death, her husband, Leonard Wolf, went through and pulled out all the sections where she's explicitly writing about her writing process or about her books. And so I've read that many times. It's just absolutely fascinating. And so many passages of that are just in my head. I think about them all the time. And so I've always thought, well, these are just certain themes. And Virginia Woolf is this towering genius of writing. I should go back and read all of it. But it's many volumes and I sort of never found the time. And so I thought, okay, well, this summer I'm just going to plunge in. I'm going to read the first one and then say, is this the kind of thing where I'm better off reading them one right after the other, or should I take a break? Because I do think that with certain authors, with Proust, it was good to read it straight through. There's a lot to be gained by reading it straight through. Or like with Knauskaard, I wish that I had read his My Struggle series straight through. I loved them. And I think I would have understood how they fit together better if I had read them without a break. But sometimes it doesn't work like that. Like Iris Murdoch, you're better off taking breaks. She's that kind of writer. So I'm gonna read the first diary, and hopefully I will just, like, continue through. That's what I suspect I'll do. But if it's the kind of thing where I'm like, okay, I need to put this down and give myself a little bit of change of pace before I go back, I might do that. I want to start watching Girls. We are almost at halfway day. Elizabeth, and I have not started watching Girls yet. I'm dying to get into that.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay. This is not fun, but it's important. Okay, Elizabeth, you and I do not like to drive, right? I am a fearful driver, and you were a fearful driver, but you now drive all the time because you live in Los Angeles. But because I live in New York City, I rarely drive. And boredom and repetition drive out anxiety. And I think I just need to do more driving because I want to remind myself I'm a perfectly good driver. I'm fine driving. I'm much less anxious when I'm actually driving than when I'm thinking about driving. But I haven't been driving as much as I could. And so this summer, when we're at our weekend house, I want to drive every day. Now, one of the things I have now is that I kayak every day that I'm at the weekend house, and I love doing that, but it's another thing to do every day. And I have a lot of things that I do every day, right? And even to me, it starts feeling like, oh, my gosh, I just want to have. I need hours to sit on the sofa and read Virginia Woolf's diaries. So I'm thinking that for this summer, I'm going to say the driving takes precedence over the kayaking, because this is something that really weighs on me. The fact that I am a fearful driver bothers me. I would like to feel more free. I would like to feel more confident. I would like to feel like it doesn't stress me out to jump in the car. And one of the ways that I do that is just by doing the reps. And so I'm gonna do that. And really, yeah, I'm gonna do that. Photo album captions. So I made a bunch of photo albums. I let myself get way behind. Then I caught up. But now I need to go through and write the captions, which I just need to like turn on reruns of the Office and spend a few nights writing captions. That's part of what I do to maintain these photo albums is like a family diary. I don't mind doing that, but it does take concentration, and I sort of have have to sit down and do it. So I really want to get that done this summer. And then finally, for my watercoloring, which I love to do, there is something called doodle sketching. I joined Skillshare, and I take watercolor classes on Skillshare and doodle sketching as a way of, like, doing quick sketching. And I'm always surprised by how well my things turn out. So I thought, okay, well, this summer it's related to watercolor. Cause a lot of times you'll doodle sketch and then watercolor with it. So it's not straight watercolor. But I thought that would be fun for a couple months to kind of switch things up and build out the skills. It's not the most advanced kind of drawing, but I am not the most advanced kind of drawer. It feels like it's kind of at my level. So I want to do that this summer.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Oh, that's fun. I want to see a doodle sketch. So you do that just with a pen or what do you do?

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yeah, you use this pen and then you just quickly sketch things. Now, when I do the class, they have a sample image and then take you through it. So it's much easier because you see somebody modeling for you what you do. But my hope is sometimes I'll just like, if I was on vacation, I might do it myself. Or every other day, maybe I'll start doing it myself so that I get in the practice of doing it without a teacher guiding me. But at least at the beginning, I'm going to listen to a lot of teacher instruction.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Okay, I love a class.

[Gretchen Rubin]

I love a short watercolor class.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Okay, so this is fun. I like our. My summer plans, I feel like, aren't as ambitious as yours, but that's okay. Or in a different way.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Well, they're all things that I really want to do well. And girls is kind of double dipping, because that's on page 26 for 26 list. And so. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see. Okay, well, listeners, let us know if you do try this at home, what you're doing to design your summer. It's so fun to hear what people do. So many great ideas and whimsical ideas, surprising ideas. Let us know on Instagram threads, TikTok, Facebook, as Always. You can drop us an [e-mail] or you can go to happiercast.com 587 for everything related to this episode.

[Elizabeth Craft]

All right, coming up, we have a fun, very summery happiness hack. But first, this break.

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[Gretchen Rubin]

Losing weight is one thing, but keeping it off, that's where it gets really frustrating. There is so much advice out there and it's hard to know what actually works works. It can feel like you're trying everything and not seeing the results you want. That's why weight loss by hers is so interesting. They now offer access to an affordable range of FDA approved GLP1 medications, including the WeGovy pill and the WeGovy pen.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Plus you get support beyond medication like messaging with your care team and tools for nutrition, fitness and sleep. Ready to reach your goals? Visit fourhers.com happier to get personalized affordable care that gets you. That's F O-R-H-E-R-S.com happier for hers.com happier weight loss by hers is not available in all 50 states. WeGovy is a registered trademark of Novo Nordisk as to get started and learn more, including important safety information, WeGovy clinical study information and restrictions. Visit fourhers.com before we had Skylight, I

[Gretchen Rubin]

felt like our schedules were living in six different places. Texts, paper calendars, random reminders, and somehow everyone was still asking, wait, what's happening today? And the mental load of keeping track of everything is exhausting. That's why we love the Skylight calendar. It puts everything together in one Place and syncs with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, everything. So now everybody can actually see what's going on.

[Elizabeth Craft]

I also love the chores and routines feature. It makes things much easier with kids because they can see what they need to do instead of constantly being reminded. And you can color code, family members, manage grocery lists, all of it. It just removes so much friction from everyday life.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And if your brain already feels overloaded, having one clear place for schedules and tasks makes a huge difference. Families are better when they're working together. Right now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch calendars by going to myskylight.com happier. Go to myskylight.com happier for $30 off your 15 inch calendar. That's my s k y l I g-h t.com happier.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Okay, Gretch, we are back with this week's Happiness Hack.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay, this hack comes from me, but it's very unlike me because I am not a big drinker. I'm such a lightweight. I can't really handle liquor very much at all. But when I was with my high school friends because we were recently together, I somehow got it into my mind that we needed a signature drink. I was on a mission and I came up with the Fresca Fizz.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Oh nice.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Which is one part vodka or reposado and three parts Fresca with a twist of citrus. It is very fun to make. It's very fun to drink. It's very refreshing. We went on a special trip to the grocery store to buy our Fresca. I have to say that I think the most fun thing about it for me was brainstorming the name.

[Elizabeth Craft]

I love the Fresca Fizz.

[Gretchen Rubin]

The Fresca Fizz just sounds so fun. We have that thing like what's the least you thing you do? The least you thing about my father in law is that he loves jewelry. Which we were all astonished when we learned this. Creating a signature drink is one of the least you things I have ever done. Which maybe is why it's super fun. I love the Fresca Fizz. Yeah.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Gretchen, when you told me this, I was shocked. I would not have expected you to come up with the Fresca Frizz. Although if you were gonna come up with a signature drink, I am not at all surprised Fresca was involved. I probably could have guessed that.

[Gretchen Rubin]

I love Fresca.

[Elizabeth Craft]

This reminds me of what Andy Cohen loves to drink. Gretch, you know, I love Andy Cohen. Which is Frescila. Which is Fresca with tequila. Specifically?

[Gretchen Rubin]

Well, happy minds think alike. And I don't want anybody to think that I think this is original. This is like in the office when Michael Scott that says, like, oh, I mixed vodka and orange juice, and it's amazing. And everybody's like, oh, my gosh, what a creation. Now, this is very obvious, but it was just sort of like the fun as a group. Let's come up with a name and what part should it be? And is it better with vodka or Reposado? And I was very proud of myself that I know the difference of Reposado and knew to say that, which I'm probably not even pronouncing correctly. And you don't have to have alcohol too. You could have different kind of mixtures. People have all kinds of mixers now. It's like a very fun thing, and it's a fun bonding thing for a group.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. And, Gretchen, it reminds me of when Sarah and I went on our cruise. We didn't come up with a drink, but we chose espresso martinis as espresso. I remember that drink for the cruise, and it still is. One of my favorite things about it is remembering all of our yummy espresso martinis.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And I got a big kick out of that from afar. So, yeah, it's just fun. Like a signature. Anything marks a time or an event or a memory makes it more memorable. It's the life in five senses thing. By tapping into our senses, we deepen the experience. So it's fun.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And now for a know yourself better question. Okay. Is there a chore, like a daily household chore that you particularly irrationally dislike? So there's all sorts of things that we do and that you're like, no, it's not fun to do the laundry. No, it's not fun to sort through the mail. No, it's not fun to unload the dishwasher. But sometimes you sort of have a particularly strong antipathy to sort of just an ordinary chore of life. So, Elizabeth, do you have a chore that you particularly dislike?

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. And that is dealing with wet dog food, like giving the dogs dinner, which includes wet dog food. It absolutely disgusts me. I'm reviled by it. If I have to do it, it bails me to the floor. I hate it.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And how about Adam and Jack? How do they feel about it?

[Elizabeth Craft]

Adam doesn't seem to mind it whatsoever.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Jack has yet to give the dogs their dinner, but Adam does not seem to mind it.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay, how about you? For me, it's greasy pans I just am like, I can't handle this. I don't mind loading the dishwasher, I don't mind unloading the dishwasher, I don't mind doing dishes, but I do not like a greasy pan. And it is that disgustingness to it. Yeah, but that's not always an element of disgust. Like for Jamie. Jamie, as I've talked about many times, he had hepatitis C, which he's now miraculously cured. But for many years he was on clinical trials which often made him very sick. And there was a lot of testing and like, okay, he's got to have a biopsy, he's got to go in for a test, there's a lot of appointments. And Jamie just dislikes anything to do with anything kind of health related like that. And so I always pick up his prescriptions and drop off his prescriptions. We do it the old fashioned where, like, we really take it to a drugstore and pick it up. For a while I was like, why am I doing this? Because it's no more efficient for me to drop it off than for him to drop it off. But then I realized I don't really care. For me, it's just another chore. For Jamie, there's a lot of very negative associations and memories. I think every time he's sort of like in that zone, just like holding it in his hand is unpleasant. And so this gets to my point, which is it's a useful know yourself better question because. Because if you know that something is particularly bothersome to somebody else, you can just say like, well, why don't I just pick that one up? Because I know you really don't like it. Or you can say to somebody else, I know it doesn't seem like a big deal to you, like, wet dog food, dry dog food, who cares? But for me, it's particularly difficult. So can we put that on your to do list and I'll pick up something else else?

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes. No. It's a really good way to have a trade off where both people, in theory could end up happier than they were before because they're both getting something off their list that they hate.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And I think it's good to talk about it because you might think it would be very easy to think like, oh, everybody's grossed out by wet dog food. And it's like, no, actually some people aren't. And so you just need to have that explicit conversation. And I think related to this is how this comes up with morning people and night people. And I think sometimes people don't Think enough about is something really hard for me to do in the morning, and therefore I should do it at night or vice versa. Now, something like walking the dogs. Jamie and I have to do it first thing in the morning, and we have to do it last thing at night. But I always do the first one because I'm a morning person. And Jamie does the last one if it's too late and I'm already asleep. Or sometimes I go with him just because it's pleasant to go out at night if it's not too late and I'm not too sleepy. But it's not that the task itself is difficult. It's that doing a task at a certain part of the day might feel less onerous or more onerous to a person, just depending on their inner psychic makeup. And so it's just good to be really open about this because, like you say, maybe there's a trade off you can make where both people end up better off than they were or worse off than they were to everyone's benefit.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes, I do very much feel grateful that Adam knows how much I hate wet dog food. And he does do it every night unless there's some extraordinary circumstance. I feel very lucky for that.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And Jamie, when I leave a greasy pan, he just does it. He knows that's just my thing. Boy, Elizabeth, now I have a happiness stumbling block. Okay, okay, now, we've talked about this before, I think, but it just came up again in my life, and I have to share. Some things are too nice for what they are. The classic thing is the Altoid tint, where you're like, the Altoid tin is so great. It's so cunning, it's so strong, it's so well made. What can I do with this Altoid tin? I feel like I can't get rid of this Altoid tin. But how many Altoid tins can one person have? Or like, cookie tins? I love a cookie tin that's colorful and bright and it looks like a merry go round or it's so whimsically decorated for the holidays. But how many empty cookie tins can one household gainfully support? Not that many. And then do you give them away? Like, does the world want all those cookie tins? I mean, I do give them away, but I don't know what. How. You know, it's frustrating because they feel too good and yet they're not good enough. Right.

[Elizabeth Craft]

And there's also, Gretchen, jewelry boxes. Like, if you get a pair of earrings or something, they might come in a really nice Box, whether it be a nice cardboard box or one of those actual boxes that hinge, which, at the end of the day, you probably don't need.

[Gretchen Rubin]

I mean, you've got a little pair of earrings. You've got this big box. It's got the name on it. It's too nice. But it's not nice enough. Like, I wish they would do it. So it's like, ooh, I could actually use this as a. Like a trinket box.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yeah.

[Gretchen Rubin]

But it's like, it's not really designed to be a trinket box. It's designed to hold one pair of earrings one time. But it's too nice. I feel this way, even about, like, a really good. A shoe box, where you're like, this is really well made. This is really nice, but I don't have a need for all these shoeboxes. So anyway, it just frustrates me. And I know people come up with all these creative and whimsical ways to use the Altoid tin, and it's like, use it to create a miniature watercolor palette. So when you're on the go, you can do that for a while. But at a certain point, I feel like I run out of ideas. One thing about a cookie tin is, for some reason, the cookie tins I get are always circular. And often things are more useful when they're rectangular. I'm like, if this cookie tin were rectangular, rectangular, I would put sharpies in it. But I can't put my Sharpies in a round tin, because then they just feel like they're in the wrong shape box. Anyway, this is just my quirky thing as I go throughout the world. This is a happiness stumbling block for me. And maybe my thing is I should just be grateful that the world has so many beautiful things and give them away and lets other people figure out how to make the most of them.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yeah. And I do think, Gretchen, as time goes on, there's gonna be less of these, because I think environmentally, people are moving toward less packaging. For instance, I bought something from a store the other day. I bought a pair of sneakers and a pair of jeans, and I just walked out of the store carrying the jeans and the sneakers. No tissue paper, no bag, just carrying them. Which is better environmentally. But I did have to adjust. In my mind, it was very different.

[Gretchen Rubin]

I think that's really a positive step, like, do things that can be recycled or eliminate them altogether or try to get them into the hands of the people who can make good use of them. For sure.

[Elizabeth Craft]

All right, Gretch. Coming up, I give myself a scheduling is life demerit. But first, this break. Guys, we gotta talk about your secret late night Internet searches. You know the ones. Bumpy leg rash, hair loss, itchy bum. Trying to figure out your body by endlessly searching for answers. We all do it, and it never works. Thankfully, there's Amazon Health AI.

[Gretchen Rubin]

It can connect your symptoms with your medical history to offer personalized care 24. 7. So call off the search. Amazon Health AI is here. Healthcare just got less painful.

[Julie Louis-Dreyfus]

Hey, it's Julie, Louis Dreyfus from Wiser Than Me, et cetera. Just popping in with a little reality check. Food waste shouldn't exist. There is no reason that our leftovers should end up in a landfill. But that's the final destination for about a third of the food we grow. Our ancestors would be confused. They use their food scraps as compost or as animal feed or in weird soups. All the stuff we did before garbage was invented. But composting is hard work. Living with a bucket of rotten food on your counter is gross. Most food goes in the trash because it's easy. And these days, we'll take any easy we can get. But now there's something easier. Drop your scraps in a mill food recycler. It looks like a kitchen bin and an iPhone had a baby. It takes nearly anything, even meat and bones. It works automatically. You can keep filling it for weeks and it never smells. When you finally empty it, you've got these nutrient rich grounds. Use them in your garden and pour them in your green bin. Or have Mill get them to a small farm so the food you don't eat can help grow the food you do. Just like it should be. It's why I own a mill, why I invest in mill, and why I'm still obsessed with my mill. If you want to get obsessed too, go to mill.com wiser to get $75 off. That's mill.com wiser for 75 off.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Amazon Health AI presents Painful Thoughts. I. I can't stop scratching my downtown. Yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown. Some things you'd rather type than say out loud. There's no question too embarrassing for Amazon Health AI. Chat your symptoms and get virtual care 24. 7. Healthcare just got less painful. Okay, Elizabeth, it's an odd numbered episode. So this is your opportunity to talk about a demerit.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Okay, Gretch, like I said, this falls under the category of scheduling is life And I am not doing a good job with it. The ball is in my court for several different plans that I need to make. In other words, I'm supposed to get back to someone about a date. I said I would throw out a date for something I need to follow up. And these are, you know, people I want to have lunch with or dinner with or go to a sound bath with or whatever it may be. And I have not followed up.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And is this because you feel like your schedule isn't certain? So you're like, if I wait, maybe I won't have to go into reschedule, reschedule, reschedule. Or is it just. I can't face looking at my calendar and trying to figure out what a good day would be to have lunch?

[Elizabeth Craft]

I think it's more of that. It's. I just don't feel like figuring it out. I think I also have a lot on my calendar right now, so it feels onerous to add things, even though I know I want to do these things. It's just a classic. I know that I'll be happier if I see people and do things, and yet it seems burdensome to have to plan to do it and do it. So I just kind of need to forge ahead. And I'm hoping that, you know, as always, by saying this stuff merit out loud, it will inspire me to follow through with the plan. Making that very much is my duty at the moment.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Well, one thing is, this is the kind of thing that might be good to batch, because when you're in your calendar and really focusing on it, it might be easier. Like, okay, here are these three things. Let me slot them in. Rather than having to re. Enter into the zone of scheduling at different times, because you do sort of have to get into that hypnotic state where you're projecting yourself into the future and thinking about travel times and weekends. And that person never does anything before noon. Well, scheduling is life. I hear you. That is just. It's hard. It's hard.

[Elizabeth Craft]

It's a hassle.

[Gretchen Rubin]

It's a hassle.

[Elizabeth Craft]

But how about you, Gretch? What is your gold star this week?

[Gretchen Rubin]

Well, this is a scheduling gold star. Very much related. So Jamie and I have this couple that we're really good friends with who live in Cambridge, and we have been saying we should make plans because last year we went on a weekend together. We had so much fun, and we've been saying we should do it, we should do it, we should do it. But. Okay, okay. So our friend was here, and we were saying this and she said, well, when are we gonna do this? And I did pull out my calendar and say, what about this date? And she looked on her calendar. She goes, that is the only date for the next several months. I think that would work for us. So I did that. But the much bigger gold star goes to Jamie, because Jamie was like, okay, that's what we're gonna do. We said, we want to go here. Here's the place. How would you get there? This is how you fly there. Okay, when would we leave? And he just went ahead and, like, got some reservations. Like, he put it into place so that now we're sort of all forced to fill in the blanks. You know how there's all the different moving pieces, like, are we gonna rent a car or not? And it's like, yes, we are. You so often get halfway there.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Yes, yes.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And then it fizzles. And then it's like, oh, we talked about doing this date, but now it's two weeks away and we don't really have enough time. So he really picked up the ball and did the things to make sure that we're gonna follow through. And now it's really something fun to look forward to to in the summer. Design your summer. Go follow through with those plans. So that is really great.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Gold started Jamie.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Yes, Gold started Jamie. And the resource for this week, in the spirit of design your summer, I am so excited to announce that for the very first time, in the happier app, you can design your summer. In the app, I worked with a terrific team to build a new tool to help people design summers. There's a summer bucket list. You can choose a one word theme for your summer. We didn't do that. Well, you sort of picked a one word theme. Elizabeth, you picked a one phrase theme, but I didn't. But that's a fun thing to do. You could pick all the books you want to read. Like I could put in all of Virgin Holt's diaries. You can start designing your summer on the tools page of the happier app. You can download the [e-mail] and Elizabeth, what are we reading? What are you reading?

[Elizabeth Craft]

I just finished Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And I'm reading Casting off by Elizabeth Jane Howard, which is part of the Cazalet Chronicles. And that's it for this episode of Happier. Remember to try this at home. Design your summer. Let us know if you tried it and if it worked for you.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Thanks to our executive producer, Chuck Reed and everyone at Lemonada.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And here's your rhyming reminder. It's our favorite. If you like the show, tell others you know.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Until next week. I'm Elizabeth Craft.

[Gretchen Rubin]

And I'm Gretchen Rubin. Thanks for joining us. Onward and upward, Elizabeth. I'm so excited for Off White Delight. Every time I see something that's bone, I think of you. So now I know. Like, imagine you decked out in bone from head to toe.

[Elizabeth Craft]

I know. And I have realized I need to get at least a couple of more off white T shirts because I really only have two, and that's not enough. So.

[Gretchen Rubin]

Okay.

[Elizabeth Craft]

I am still getting a few pieces to fill out my summer capsule wardrobe.

[Gretchen Rubin]

The perfect white T shirt. Whether it's off white or regular white or whatever, that is the hardest thing to find. I think if you find one, I'll buy one, too.

[Elizabeth Craft]

Always a challenge.