Sometimes you need to listen to the quiet voice inside of you. And sometimes that voice gets so loud you can’t ignore it. It’s time for a pivot. I’ll explain in today's episode.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and this is our very last daily podcast episode. We’re delivered 668 episodes in almost two years, never missing a day. The team has been more incredible than I ever imagined. It takes a group effort and Chelsey, Blessy, Richelle, Jeimy, and Jeff are a 5-star team and make all of the magic happen behind the scenes.

Now, before we get into the why and the way forward. The podcast episodes will still be live and you can listen to them at any time. You can search key topics on my website, or start from the beginning on your favorite podcast player.

We started this during covid, at a time when we were all at home. I had created space. I was obsessed with this new creative outlet.

I heard someone say, “don’t be afraid to quit the things that are no longer working for you in your business or your life”. For me, this was a thoughtful decision because this is working for my business. But it wasn’t working for my life to have a daily podcast. Instead, the vehicle is changing, it’s a pivot to a bi-monthly email instead of a daily podcast. I think it’s the happiest email in your inbox.

Scientists sometimes use the term Identity Foreclosure. Meaning, it can be so hard to leave behind something that you think is so closely tied to your identity. I am a podcast host. I have a daily micro-podcast. What I realized through some quiet time with my thoughts and conversations with my bestie, Jenna, was that podcasting is the vehicle. And the vehicle can pivot. This vehicle is pivoting to email.

I love happiness. That isn’t changing. The way I show up for the people that I am blessed to have join the email community is with quality content, inspiration, and a behind the scenes peek into life.

Have you ever felt like you had too many irons in the fire or too many demands on your time? I often say there is a mental bandwidth to saying “yes”. I am feeling the need to zone in on my kids, my husband, the people I love so deeply, and that feels right - right now. This season will change. They always do. Living in my word of the year - CARE, I am choosing to care for my body, my mental bandwidth and the friends and family that I love. I am living my priorities and choosing social connection, which we all know, is the cornerstone to fulfilled happiness.

Let’s face it, we are all on this path of life. We are all in a different season. We can be busy and balanced if we are living our priorities. I am still busy. And, I am living my motto of Intentional Margins. I have consulting work that brings me incredible purpose, satisfaction and fulfillment. I am a rep for Rodan + Fields, which brings me great joy to not only have the best skin and hair of my life as I age, but also to help others.

I invite you to join us in our email community. Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the happiest email in your inbox, delivered with a smile only twice a month right now. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email No spam. Just happiness.

What I am seeking comfort in, is that I am choosing to put my foot on the break, but I know where the gas is and how to accelerate when the time is right. And that feels good.

I invite you to reflect on how you could use that break pedal in your own life. What could you say “no” to that would allow you space to flourish?

Until next time, whenever that is, you can always connect with me, in our email community, join at www.katiejefcoat.com, on social @katiejefcoat and remember, kindness is contagious. I know that our small acts of kindness make an impact and that continues to inspire me to do this work. I’m cheering for you and I believe in you. Bye for now.

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Happiness is not one size fits all. We get to do it our way,not the way of the experts. There is no right or wrong way. This is one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcast episodes. Tune in to learn more.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and as we close out this podcast, we invite you to join our happy mail email community, where you’ll continue to get happiness and kindness content delivered straight to your inbox. We think it’s the happiest email in your inbox. You can join at www.katiejefcoat.com

Today, I share one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcasts. Happiness is not one size fits all. We get to do it our way, not the way of the experts. There is no right or wrong way.

Yes, I can give you a long list of things that "may" work scientifically to improve your habits for happiness, and I will throw some ideas your way in a minute. However, if you are not in that head space, you will feel unproductive, discouraged, and even less happy than you were before when they inevitably fail.

I am a firm believer that we have to do what works for us, and there is no one size fits all solution. If you hear a guru telling you the five things to do without any discussion of what works for you, they are just throwing spaghetti at the wall. We must actively participate in the quest to boost our happiness.

So how does one find what works best for them?

I often think about how people make chicken soup as an excellent comparison to building habits for a happiness routine. In chicken soup, some add rice; some add noodles. Some add corn, and some add peas. Some use stock broth from the store; some make it from scratch. There is no “right” way to make chicken soup; everyone simply makes the version they enjoy best. You certainly aren’t going to force yourself to eat a chicken soup recipe you hate merely because someone told you it was the “right” way to do it!

We have to apply the same concept to happiness habits. If writing in a gratitude journal makes you dread it, but you think you need to do it because everyone says it will make you happy - it won't. That's crazy!

Instead, trying out different happiness habits (like ingredients) to see which ones you like the most and which actually work for you would be better. Then you can combine them to create a meaningful, impactful happiness routine you enjoy!

Some ingredient ideas include:

1: Practicing Gratitude

2: Performing Random Acts of Kindness

3: Getting Out to Exercise

4: Building Social Bonds

5: Letting Go of Unnecessary Drama

6: Being Kind to Our Bodies

7: Creating Intentional Margins®

I have a whole list of ideas on my January 2023 blog at www.katiejefcoat.com/blog - I will also link in the show notes.

I also want to remind you that this happiness habit soup that you are making changes as you need it to. Maybe you are in a space where a gratitude journal feels right. And maybe next season, you will send cards in the mail instead.

I highly encourage you to try out a variety of habits to see which flavor suits your taste before building your soup. If one doesn’t work, throw it out and try something new! Remember, your habits for happiness are about you and only you. Try to skip comparing yourself to others or thinking someone else’s soup is “better.” Focus on you, your happiness, and your life!

The insight is simple. Do you, boo. Happiness is not one size fits all. We get to do it our way. And that is the best, perfect, most aligned way.

So today, remember, kindness is contagious. Go out and spread some kindness today.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness; email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Blog: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/post/why-that-list-of-amazing-happiness-habits-doesn-t-work-for-you-what-you-need-to-do-instead

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Who we spend time with is the most influential decision we can make to influence our happiness. This is one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcast episodes. Tune in to learn more.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and as we close out this podcast, we invite you to join our happy mail email community, where you’ll continue to get happiness and kindness content delivered straight to your inbox. We think it’s the happiest email in your inbox. You can join at www.katiejefcoat.com

Today, I share one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcasts. The most influential decision we can make to determine our happiness is who we spend time with.

Social connection is the cornerstone of happiness and life longevity. So, of course, this has to be one of my biggest takeaways.

Science indicates that people mispredict their own happiness when engaging in social connection. So, you might think a random social connection at the coffee shop won’t make you happier, but your intuition is just wrong about that most of the time. And this can be a smile, exchanging pleasantries; it doesn’t have to be this big thing.

But even more interesting is that your intuition is wrong if you think it doesn’t increase the effect of the other person’s happiness too. We think we’re annoying, or the person will think I’m a weirdo for chatting them up in line, but the science indicates that’s just another way our brains, our intuition, are just playing tricks on us and getting it wrong.

If we want to improve on the happiness scale, the research is overwhelmingly clear, one of the best and easiest ways is to improve social connection. Be present in real life, talk to a stranger, call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while.

Social Psychologist Nick Epley says, "Social connection can be almost anything, from making eye contact with another person, or smiling at another person to being in a long term romantic relationship with somebody. And it turns out that social connection across this entire spectrum tends to be pretty darn good for people.”

What is really fascinating about Epley’s work is that he’s looked at these tiny micro-connections, even with strangers, that can happen on the daily which can be as small as when people smile at one another.

You could be excited to hear this and be thinking this is so easy for you; you will start right away..

But for others, it seems easier to grab the remote to Netflix and Binge. If you are more of an introvert, I will invite you to take one step. Make a phone call to someone you enjoy, but it’s been way too long since you’ve talked on the phone or seen them in real life. Listen to the voice on the other side of the line. Be present and intentional in that conversation. You will quickly feel those bursts of happiness.

The insight is simple today. Social connection matters when it comes to happiness in the human species. We were not designed to walk through life alone, and when we choose those social connections wisely, our happiness is magnified.

Remember, kindness is contagious.

Life is heavy enough; we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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How we THINK about time matters. It’s less about the amount of time we have and more about how we process the concept of time that leads to greater happiness. This is one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcast episodes. Tune in to learn more.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and as we close out this podcast, we invite you to join our happy mail email community, where you’ll continue to get happiness and kindness content delivered straight to your inbox. We think it’s the happiest email in your inbox. You can join at www.katiejefcoat.com

Today, I share one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcasts, and that is how we think about time and how it influences our happiness.

The way I have always thought about time has dramatically affected my happiness. Until recently, I didn’t even know it!

As a backstory, and if you have listened to my podcast (especially episodes 38 or 39), you know that sleep is one of my highest priorities, and I get a lot of it. I get my rest, no matter what. In reflection, I think it’s made me think about time in a way that I believe there is always enough time in the day for sleep, a solid 9 hours, no matter what. I am not time famished because I indulge in this ritual of sleep - which many people cut to “get more done.” When you think there is not enough time in the day, it stresses you out - you are less “happy.” However, there is a difference between time affluence and time poverty.

Time is such an exciting concept. We think about it in the sense of being present (mindfulness - this moment in time) and productivity (how much I can get done in an allotted amount of time).

How do we subjectively trick our brains into thinking we have more than enough time when we’re running on the hamster wheel of to-do’s, and the list gets longer every day? I get it. That’s the million-dollar question, right?

Let’s dig into time affluence v. time poverty, so we know our guardrails for this discussion.

Time Affluence isn’t about the amount of time you have. It’s the subjective sense that you have time. This is excellent news. This means we can HACK time affluence without objectively giving ourselves more time. Plus, you don’t need to clear the calendar to feel like you have more time.

I heard that 80% of Americans say they are time-poor - too many things to do and not enough time to do them. When you are in time poverty, it feels like you are wearing the busy badge. It steals our joy because we feel so pulled to continue doing the next thing, and we feel defeated because so much hasn't been done. Usually, time poverty is caused by constant connection to technology, and even when we have leisure, it’s fragmented by checking email, social media, or the ding of the incoming text message. It’s the mindset that there is never enough time. The to-do list is too long. The commitments on the calendar are too overwhelming.

It looks like going to a museum or event with your kids and constantly checking your phone. Time poverty is a goal conflict. You want to be present with your kids, but your mind is always running to the other things that might be on your phone, drawing you away from being present.

This is where I think you can have a tangible impact on your happiness because you can change how you think about your tasks and time.

I go into a lot of detail in my March 2023 blog about Time Affluence. I’ll post a link in the show notes, or you can head over to www.Katiejefcoat.com/blog.

The gist of it is that part of happiness, gratitude, appreciation, joy, contentment, whatever you want to call it, is the reflection and identification of the time when you felt joy, meaning, or satisfaction in the day; all of those feelings contribute to our happiness.

Time affluence can be magic. It can be the first step to unlocking your happiness boost because it’s tangible and practical. The basic idea is that time is subjective, and instead of running around thinking we don’t have time to do the things that are required of us, we take a step back and zoom out and recognize when we have more time than we think. That’s where the magic is.

If we can diversify our time portfolio with meaningful and pleasurable activities, even a few Intentional Margins®, we may do less doom scrolling on social media (non-pleasure) and instead call a friend that brings us joy.

I invite you to protect your time by adding leisure time to your calendar, building in breaks, boundaries, and transitions into your day.

We often think we need these big chunks of time to do things that bring us joy, but in reality, we’re just stealing moments. We don’t need to wait for the weekend to be happy - we can start today and boost our happiness.

The insight is simple. Consider thinking about time as abundant and prioritize what matters most. Yes, we can be busy and balanced. Shifting our perspective on time becomes one of time affluence, allowing us to feel like we have more time, lowering physical and mental health risks. Again, you can dive deeper in my March 2023 blog on this subject.

And until next time, remember, kindness is contagious.

Life is heavy enough; we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Good news! We have some control over our happiness, and we know how to boost it. Listen in today as we discuss the definition of happiness and what scientists think about how much DNA matters. This is one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcast episodes. Tune in to learn more.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and as we close out this podcast, we invite you to join our happy mail email community, where you’ll continue to get happiness and kindness content delivered straight to your inbox. We think it’s the happiest email in your inbox. You can join at www.katiejefcoat.com

Today, I share one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcasts. It’s the definition of happiness and where we can get the biggest impact for our effort to boost our happiness.

So many of us think we'll be happy when we work hard and achieve success. But the fact is, that will never work. Our brains are designed to move the goalpost to the next thing. If fulfilled happiness is on the other side of achievement, we’ve already lost because we will never get there.

Now, you get the job promotion, and you feel happy - for a moment. But soon, your big job promotion is just your job. That fancy new car, the new car smell has worn off, and it’s just your car. Scientists call this the hedonic treadmill, always trying to achieve the next best thing.

Most scientists agree that happiness is really a two-pronged definition. The first prong is happiness in emotions. The second prong is satisfaction and purpose. You need both prongs to be fulfilled to achieve well-rounded happiness.

Emotions, such as joy, contentment, love, and other positive feelings like peace, gratitude, satisfaction, pleasure, inspiration, hope, curiosity, and love, fall into this first prong. In her 2007 book The How of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky describes happiness as "the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one's life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile." These emotions stem from the positive experiences we have in life.

The second prong has two parts. Purpose and satisfaction.

Purpose is how you feel when you are doing the thing you love. This can be academic research, your work, building a business, being involved in the community, being a parent, and more.

Arthur Brooks says that long-lasting happiness comes from human connection and productive work. He found in his scientific research that it was overwhelmingly clear that a “productive human endeavor creates a sense of purpose in life.”

Satisfaction is appreciating what you have more than pining for what you want.

Many of us think we will be more satisfied, happier even, if we get more of what we want. However, the scientific theory of hedonic adaptation tells us that we get comfortable with what we have, and we always want more. Satisfaction is elusive and doesn’t last with that mentality; it’s like running on a treadmill and never getting to the destination. So, it's basically impossible to "get more" and be happier long term. This is why the gurus tell you that gratitude is so important to achieve happiness. It is bringing you back to the here and now.

Satisfaction is not a function of what you have; it's actually an equation of what you HAVE and what you WANT. Think of it like a fraction: the top is what you have, and the bottom is what you want. So you want to appreciate what you have more than pine for what you want.

This all seems easy enough, but I was curious, how much is actually in our control?

Arthur Brooks says that happiness is 50% genetic, 25% circumstantial, and 25% in your control.

Sojyna Lyubomirsky has similar findings. Although it’s never a neat and tidy pie chart, experts agree that we humans have some control over our happiness and it’s not all left up to DNA or chance. The researchers from the 2005 Lyubomirsky paper later said that “Happiness can be successfully pursued, but it is not ‘easy,’” In other words, happiness for many people will simply be something that is hard won. For others, happiness may feel like a natural state.

The insight is simple, and it’s good news. This means that happiness is deeper than our emotions and we have some control over our happiness. The bonus is that we know how to enhance our happiness through simple tiny habits like savoring, gratitude, kindness and so much more.

Remember, kindness is contagious, go out there and spread some kindness today.

Life is heavy enough; we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Inspiration from:

https://arthurbrooks.com/art-of-happiness/
2005 paper
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_much_of_your_happiness_is_under_your_control

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Our brains will always be mistaken about how happy something will make us in the future. As humans, we almost always mispredict the duration of how good or bad a feeling will be. This is one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcast episodes. Tune in to learn more.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and as we close out this podcast, we invite you to join our happy mail email community, where you’ll continue to get happiness and kindness content delivered straight to your inbox. We think it’s the happiest email in your inbox. You can join at www.katiejefcoat.com

Today, I share one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcasts. It starts with a lecture from Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos who introduces the work of researchers and professors Tim Wilson at the University of Virginia, and Dan Gilbert at Harvard. They coined this fantastic term called MISWANTING. The definition of this is “this act of being mistaken about what and how much you're going to like these things in the future.” The problem is that our brains deliver to us this idea that we want certain things, but we are often wrong about it. We are constantly miswanting.

So why does this miswanting occur, and what can we do about it? Well, the researchers seem to think that just being aware of our biases is the way to counterbalance miswanting. It can be as simple as wanting a doughnut. I want a fried dough ball with sugary frosting, it will taste good, and it will make me happy. I eat the doughnut, and although it tastes delightful at the moment, now, I am no longer happier - the feeling didn’t last. I miswanted.

This all comes down to the perils of us humans predicting our future feelings, and people specifically mispredict the duration of how good or bad a feeling will be.

This means that our intuition, and our minds, are playing tricks on us and making us think things that are just false. We see this with algebra problems, vision exercises - which table is longer - on social media. We think it’s one thing, but the fact is, it’s definitely the other.

You think that if you walk out of your house and get hit by a car, you will be unhappy for the rest of your life. But that’s also just not true.

You think that if you are in school and you get better grades than you expect, you will be happier. You think that if you win the lottery, all of your worries will disappear, and you will be the happiest ever. But all of this is just not true. It’s not how happiness works. The data says you will go back to baseline. Scientists call this hedonic adaptation. It’s when you get that job promotion, and you think that’s all you’ll ever need, and a few years later, you want another promotion.

This is fascinating because we can see how our brain tricks us into choosing material items or goals that are just wrong. We think the bad thing will be so much worse than it is, and we think the good thing, winning the lottery, will be so much better than it is. We humans get it wrong - almost all of the time.

We also know that our mind compares our wants against reference points instead of absolutes, and then, our minds have this terrible tendency to get used to stuff, and we don’t even realize it. But, the good news is that if we are intentional, we can overcome these human biases.

When we think about the ways we try to make ourselves happy, Dr. Santos says the first way is to not invest in awesome material stuff. Even if we think it’s the coolest thing. The new car just becomes the car. Being aware of it is half the battle. We get used “stuff” and over time, there just isn’t that much happiness to derive from it.

On the flip side, forget about the stuff and, instead, consider investing in experiences. Experiences don’t stick around, we don’t have time to adapt to them. So what we are left with is this wonderful memory of the experience.

The science indicates that people who invest in experiences are, in fact, happier. So instead of thinking about how you might treat yourself with stuff, change it around and think about experiences instead.

Also, it’s hard to have a social comparison when you are talking about a trip versus a new pair of shoes or your car versus someone else's car. So if we are the type of people that invest in experiences, we are more likely to not compare ourselves to other people’s awesome experiences.

The insight is simple. As humans, we will overestimate almost all of the time how happy something will make us. Be aware of that the next time you want something. Consider experiences over things and push against social comparison. Being intentional about our thoughts, with this piece of knowledge, is one way we can boost our happiness.

Life is heavy enough; we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Do you ever feel like your gratitude practice gets stuck? Rather than feeling unsatisfied repeating yourself, check out this episode on daily gratitude prompts to give you an inspirational boost in the right direction.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and today, we are talking about daily gratitude. Science has determined that gratitude has exponential benefits for the mind and body as it activates feel-good neurotransmitters that promote feelings of trust, increases social bonding, and improves happiness.

Many individuals have taken to practicing gratitude daily or weekly, depending on what works best for them. I, too, practice gratitude on a regular basis. Sometimes, I do a flurry of appreciation in my mind while I brush my teeth in the morning. Sometimes, I sit down with my gratitude journal and write out a few thoughts. I am even considering making a gratitude jar for my whole family to enjoy.

However, there are days when I get stuck. It’s not that I am not grateful for anything; I have so many things to be thankful for every day. BUT, on occasion, I run out of ideas and don’t feel satisfied repeating myself. I want something new to acknowledge that I may not have thought of before to expand my gratitude practice and see more of the good things around me.

So, I did a little digging into daily gratitude prompts, and, of course, I am here to share them with you. If you are a little stuck or think getting stuck may happen, save this episode or write them down to use later, or see our March 2023 blog post. Are you ready? Here we go!

Did I do something nice for someone today? What is something nice that someone did for me?
What is something stressful that happened today? What did I do to overcome that?
What is one physical attribute about myself that I appreciate?
What is something that put a smile on my face today?
What are three things that I love about my home?
What was something yummy that I ate today?
What is my favorite thing in my town?
What is my favorite quality of my best friend?
What is one thing I am looking forward to this weekend?

Did any of those questions light your hair on fire? Let me know in the comments! AND what’s your favorite daily gratitude prompt? Share it on socials and tag us over at Everyday Happiness!

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Blog: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/post/daily-gratitude-journal-prompts-to-improve-happiness

Downloadable 100 Gratitude Journal Prompts: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/gratitude

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Introducing a free, printable resource you can utilize to improve your gratitude practice and increase your happiness. Find out more by tuning in!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and over the past few years, it has become common knowledge that gratitude practices can aid in increasing a person’s emotional, mental, and even physical health with long-term positive results.

While we often have a massive list of things to be grateful for, pinpointing them can sometimes be tricky. This can be especially true when we have been practicing daily gratitude for a while and run out of ideas or don’t feel like repeating ourselves. That is why I have compiled a list of 100 daily gratitude journal prompts to help spark your creativity, engage those happy feelings, and recognize all there is to be grateful.

There are a few caveats, of course.

First, you have to find a rhythm that works for you. For some people, attempting to write daily gratitude journal prompts may be overwhelming. You may be better off writing three ideas once a week. I encourage you to find a practice that best suits your lifestyle and capabilities.

Second, gratitude takes time. Yes, you will likely get a little jolt of happiness after writing your daily gratitude journal prompts, but long-lasting gratitude benefits take time to accrue. It could take months for those good feelings to sink in, so stick with it.

Third, you don’t have to share if you don’t want to. Some people choose to write and send gratitude letters, but if you want to keep your gratitude private, that is perfectly fine. Studies show that sharing or not won’t affect how much happiness someone can get from the practice.

Where are these prompts, you ask? You can access them in my brand new blog post, which I have linked in the show notes. PLUS, if they light your hair on fire, you can download the FREE printable pdf to make it easy to write your ideas!

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Blog Post: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/post/daily-gratitude-journal-prompts-to-improve-happiness

Downloadable 100 Gratitude Journal Prompts: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/gratitude

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Science says that gratitude practices are good for your physical, mental, and emotional health. Tune in to find out how!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and today, I want to revisit our conversations on gratitude and take a brief moment to share the science of gratitude – the “why” behind the numerous benefits of this practice. Studies have shown that gratitude practices aid participants in various mental, physical, and emotional benefits.

Mayo Clinic reports that gratitude can decrease depression, anxiety, and difficulties with chronic pain and the risk of disease. Greater Good magazine, published by the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at the University of California, Berkeley, reports that gratitude helps people detach from negative emotions and connect with positive emotion words.

Another source, Mindful.org, reports that gratitude practices can boost self-esteem and enhance life satisfaction. As you can see, the data supporting gratitude practices is both deep and reputable.

Sometimes the concept of gratitude can trip people up, though. Rather than getting caught up in the concept of gratitude, you can replace it with appreciation. Entrepreneur made an excellent comparison that I want to share with you.

“Gratitude is simply defined as "the state of being grateful." It is a social emotion that expresses our appreciation for what others have done for us.

On the other hand, appreciation can be defined as recognizing the value and meaning of something. It can be an event, a person, a behavior or an object. Feeling a positive emotional connection to it shows appreciation toward the thing.”

Tomorrow, I have a fun announcement about how you can become more grateful or appreciative to improve your happiness, so make sure to tune in!

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Did you know that sugar reacts in the brain the same way as cocaine? In this episode of Everyday Happiness, we teach how sugar and happiness mix…and how they don’t!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and did you know that sugar reacts in the brain the same way cocaine does? As glucose, sugar provides the body with energy while connecting direct stimulation to the brain by releasing dopamine, that “feel good” neurotransmitter we’ve discussed in past episodes. To put it simply, you get a time-constricted sugar high. Unfortunately, too much sugar isn’t good for you, but studies show the average American consumes almost 17 teaspoons of added sugar daily! That’s 34 pounds of sugar a year, folks!

Too much sugar has been linked to the development of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, fatty liver disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, and other problems. Extended sugar abuse turns that fun sugar high into a psychological condition. Psychology Today states that it can perpetuate craving, increase negative emotions over time, and reduce the ability to produce serotonin. It can even go on to increase anxiety, depression, ADHD, and other conditions. Not so fun anymore, huh?

So how can we consume sugar properly and teach our children to do the same?

First, sugar is not a substitute for happiness. It can be tempting to want to shove one’s face full of cake when we are stressed because it triggers that feel-good hormone. But it doesn’t last, and the long-term effects can be detrimental. Rather than looking to sugar for a quick spike in happiness, I recommend finding an alternative source of joy, such as exercise, reaching out to a friend, writing a gratitude list, or anything else that makes you happy.

Second, minimize artificial sugars. While I’m not saying you can never have ice cream or cookies again, it is essential to reduce artificial sugar consumption. If you are craving something sweet and you’re hungry, I suggest trying blueberries, bananas, carrots, and other forms of natural sugar.

Third, ditch sugar as a reward. It can be tempting to place sugar as a reward for an accomplished task, such as getting an A on a school project or completing a tough challenge at work. But this theory doesn’t teach healthy processing. Rather than using sugar as a reward, we suggest experiences like going outside to play, going out with a friend, or trying something new to use as a treat for a job well done.

Until next time, I encourage you to be the sugar in someone else’s life by doing something sweet for them. Remember, kindness is contagious!

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Inspired by these articles:

- https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/science-of-happiness/exercise/nutrition/#:~:text=Sugar%20leads%20to%20direct%20stimulation,%2C%20ice%20cream%2C%20etc.
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-modern-brain/202303/how-sugar-and-sweeteners-may-affect-your-brain
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-healthy-journey/202105/sugar-may-be-stealing-your-happiness

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Coffee is happiness. Enough said. Just kidding! Tune into this episode of Everyday Happiness to see why that black liquid gold makes us so happy!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and I love coffee. As you have likely heard me say countless times throughout my podcast episodes, one of my favorite moments in life is sitting in my comfy chair and sipping my morning cup of coffee. Well, this morning, I happened upon a funny and validating article by Arthur Brooks, renowned happiness scientist and writer for the Atlantic. The whole piece was on how coffee makes you happier. If you have been trying to justify having another cup of coffee, this episode is for you.

First, let’s talk about why coffee makes you happy. As you know, caffeine is a component of coffee. When caffeine is ingested, it goes up to the brain to boost a natural chemical called adenosine out of its spot. Adenosine is the chemical that makes you feel tired throughout the day, winding you down over the daylight hours to encourage your body to go to sleep at bedtime. Caffeine essentially takes over the spot in the brain where adenosine sits, so coffee doesn’t actually make you hyper; it just takes away the lethargy.

Second, why does this make us happy? Caffeine, in proper moderation, makes you feel less tired, which in turn can release tension and make us feel calmer with a clearer mind. Combined with exercise, caffeine can improve cognitive performance, increase reaction time, and enhance logical reasoning skills. Such features have aided humanity throughout time by increasing productivity, safety, and even innovation. Brooks cited in his article that studies show that long-term caffeine use can have health benefits.

So, should we drink coffee all day, every day? Despite Brooks’ obsessive love of caffeine, that isn’t advised. Like anything, too much coffee isn’t good for you. The more your drink, the higher your tolerance to caffeine will get, leading you to drink even more for the same effects. It’s all about moderation! So, have your morning cup of coffee or two, but try to prevent drinking coffee all day. If you see signs of minimized effects, consider a caffeine detox to restart your system; just make sure everyone knows you will be cranky for a week or two!

Also, I highly suggest reading the original article by Arthur Brooks, as it is hysterical! I’ve left you the link in the show notes. Until next time, grab that cup of coffee and do something kind for someone else. Better yet, make your kind act buying a coffee for a stranger.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Inspired by this article

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2023/02/coffee-caffeine-happiness-health-benefits/673158/

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Does life ever feel boring, repetitive, and tedious? We are not bound to a Sisyphean life; tune in to find out why!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and do you ever get the feeling that everything is futile? You do the dishes to have another sink full of dishes the next day. You wash the laundry to have another three loads to do by the end of the week. You go to work every single day, just to have to do it again and again for decades on end. When life is phrased in a Sisyphean nature, it can seem beyond tedious, but my favorite happiness scientist, Arthur Brooks, disagrees.

As a quick note, the word “Sisyphean” refers to Sisyphus, the king from Greek mythology who angered the gods by cheating death and got sentenced an eternal life in the underworld to push a boulder up a hill, to have it roll back down and need to start over again. Therefore, any task combining struggle, stress, boredom, and futility can be categorized as “Sisyphean.”

As I mentioned, many tasks in life may feel Sisyphean in nature, which can be frustrating. However, in an article published in the Atlantic, Brooks takes inspiration from Albert Camus, a philosopher and creator of absurdism. Camus challenges people to redefine Sisyphus as being happy, which completely warps the idea that daily struggles are tedious.

Camus cites that people experience true joy and happiness even though they lead Sisyphean lives filled with monotony and struggle. Brooks quotes, “Even Sisyphus was happy, according to Camus, because ‘the struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart.’ Simply put, he had something to keep him busy.”

So, what does this mean? Rather than falling into the trap of a futility mindset, embracing each moment for what it is will serve you better. We should laugh as we complete little daily tasks and be happy in spite of them. By embracing a mindset shift, we can redefine the moments that bug us the most into something positive and fulfilling.

Rather than washing the dishes because they are dirty, you are washing dishes to achieve a beautiful home. Rather than doing laundry again, you are providing your children with their favorite clothes. Rather than going to work every day, you are providing yourself with the core necessities of life AND creating opportunities to do something you love. Be fully present in what you are doing and just relax into it.

Plus, Brooks suggests looking for little opportunities to do good. While we can’t influence wars and natural disasters, we can do acts of kindness for others that will bring both them and ourselves happiness. Remember, kindness is contagious.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Inspired by this article

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2023/03/finding-joy-happiness-in-absurd-boredom-stress/673248/

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Learn how to write a reverse bucket list with us in this episode of Everyday Happiness!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and over the past two episodes, we have discussed Arthur Brooks’ theory of the reverse bucket list. Today, I am going to teach you how to write one!

Writing a reverse bucket list is incredibly soothing, and there is a wide range of ideas that you can include. For example, you can keep it simple and write down concepts such as:

I have this chair in my living room. It brings me so much joy to sip warm coffee in this chair.
I have a body that serves me. Hands that work, legs that allow me to walk.
I have a mind that sees lightness through the dark that innately searches for positivity when life feels hard.
I have a family that I am obsessed with. Kids who are healthy. A marriage where we prioritize one another and a husband who is kind, patient, generous, and who loves me. I get to give and receive love with the people that I love.

Alternatively, you can think bigger about the significant life milestones you have achieved, such as:

I graduated from university with a degree I am passionate about
I bought my first home/apartment/car/boat/camper
I traveled to 10 countries
I married the person that I love
I got a job that I enjoy going to each day
I started a business/side hustle
I completed a major task
- Writing a book, starting a blog, learning to play an instrument, joining a community sports team, etc.
I paid off my credit card debt/car loan/school loan/home loan

I am fortunate that my reverse bucket list is beautiful and long. It shows me that my wants are nice but not what will truly make me happier. I have everything I need to be as happy as I can be right now.

I want to note that it is important to remember that the above ideas are just basic ideas built off general life concepts, but it is vital to address happiness outside of societal norms. Just because I didn’t list an accomplishment here doesn’t mean that it isn’t an accomplishment. Anything that makes you happy and feels like a positive attribute of your life belongs on this reverse bucket list!

I’m curious if you have any ah-ha moments when you start writing out your haves list. If so, please share them in the comments or on socials and tag me at @everydayhappinesswithkatie!

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, the happiest email in your inbox, delivered with a smile twice a month. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Did you know that satisfaction is one of the key components to happiness, but writing a traditional bucket list won’t help? However, a reverse bucket list will! Tune in to find out more!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and yesterday we discussed Arthur Brooks’ concept of the reverse bucket list. What Arthur Brooks is trying to achieve with a reverse bucket list is for you to feel more satisfied with the dreams you've accomplished and the things you already have. He says it can solve that satisfaction problem!

What is the satisfaction problem? Satisfaction is not a function of what you HAVE - it’s actually an equation of what you HAVE and what you WANT. Think of it like a fraction: the top is what you have, and the bottom is what you want. When you don’t manage the denominator, the bottom, the wants will expand and sprawl. This is your traditional bucket list.

Instead, we have the reverse bucket list. You write a list of your haves and try to detach yourself from the wants by focusing on those haves. Then, your denominator will fall, and satisfaction will rise. That is the reverse bucket list exercise.

Now, how does satisfaction and that reverse bucket list play into hedonic adaptation?

Perhaps, you remember from previous blog posts or podcasts on hedonic adaptation prevention? As a reminder, hedonic adaptation is the natural process where heightened happiness due to some new circumstance inevitably loses its shine, and your happiness levels return to where they were before the change occurred.

When we achieve something new on a traditional bucket list, the joy behind it fades quickly away, and it just becomes another check mark. However, the Hedonic Adaptation Prevention theory assumes that hedonic adaptation is not inevitable as long as you continue to interact with the new circumstance in a positive way that continues to boost your happiness. That is where a reverse bucket list comes in! When writing a reverse bucket list, you get to revisit that happiness and satisfaction all over again.

Tomorrow, we are going to dive into the details of writing a reverse bucket list, so make sure to tune in!

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, the happiest email in your inbox, delivered with a smile twice a month. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Do you have a traditional bucket list? How about a reverse bucket list? Studies show a reverse bucket list may be better for your health. Check out it in this new podcast episode!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and I want to travel back to Australia. I want to buy a shiny white sports car. I want to travel first class. I want to make millions. See what I did there? I just made a traditional bucket list.

Do you have a bucket list of everything you want to do in life? You may even have multiple lists categorized by meaning, such as career, familial, or travel. Bucket lists are a creative way for us to dream big, think about future goals, and get our butts in gear to pursue those ideas.

However, they aren’t all sunshine and roses. All those “wants” screaming in our brains can have a negative effect on our long-term happiness and satisfaction. Therefore, having a Reverse Bucket List may be a healthier alternative.

Okay, Katie…what the heck is a reverse bucket list? The Reverse Bucket List concept was created by Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor, PhD social scientist, #1 bestselling author, and columnist at The Atlantic, which is where I first learned of this concept. If you are an avid listener, you have likely heard me talk about his ideas before!

The reverse bucket list meaning is to improve satisfaction, which in turn, enhances happiness. How does it do that? Brooks says, “The fewer wants there are screaming inside your brain and dividing your attention, the more peace and satisfaction will be left for what you already have.”

The reverse bucket list is essentially writing a list of your haves. In the process, you are trying to detach yourself from the wants (a traditional bucket list) by focusing on those haves. In doing so, you aren’t pining for what you don’t yet have but are taking satisfaction from what you have already accomplished.

I’m not done yet! We will continue talking about the reverse bucket list over the next two episodes, so don’t miss out!

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, the happiest email in your inbox, delivered with a smile twice a month. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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An unfortunate reality of happiness practices is that sometimes people can go too far and fall into the toxic positivity trap. Today, we discuss how to prioritize emotional validation over toxic positivity and why it is important.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and today I was reading a fascinating article from Very Well Mind, and it led me to want to talk to you about utilizing emotional validation over toxic positivity. First, let’s break it down.

Toxic positivity is forced positive thinking when the situation isn’t appropriate. Unlike general positivity, which encourages us to notice the good things in life, toxic positivity comes at the risk of denying our actual emotions or the emotions of others. An example would be when a friend is telling you that they lost their job, and you respond with “look at the bright side” or “everything happens for a reason.” What happens here is that the person sharing is invalidated in their feelings of sadness, anger, or guilt.

The article explains that emotional validation is when people allow themselves and others to experience their feelings in their entirety and acknowledge that having negative emotions is both real and important. By taking the time to learn, understand, and accept our own emotions and experiences, and those of others, we can genuinely process what is going on. Toxic positivity pushes those feelings aside, never allowing them to be processed, and often making someone feel even worse for having them in the first place.

So, how can we practice emotional validation over toxic positivity?

First, when someone is telling you about a hardship, take a moment to reflect on what they have said and acknowledge their pain. People want to be listened to; they don’t always need an “it’s gonna be okay” immediate response. Start by responding with something like “I understand that you feel sad/upset/angry” to acknowledge their emotions.

Second, be supportive and encourage them to elaborate. We never know what’s going on in someone else’s mind, so encouraging them to be honest and reflect on the situation and their feelings is critical.

Lastly, validate what they are feeling. Validating someone’s emotions, even negative ones, can go a long way in their recovery process. By saying things like “I see why you feel that way” and “that sounds super tough,” you can support them in their emotional processing. Now, this doesn’t mean to egg them on; it is simply to acknowledge that what they feel is valid.

Until next time, remember that kindness is contagious. Spread a little joy in the world by doing something nice for someone.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, the happiest email in your inbox, delivered with a smile twice a month. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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A picture is worth a thousand words, but it can also boost your happiness! Tune in to find out why pictures make us happy and how you can add more to your life!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and today I found myself staring at a family picture on my desk. This picture captured that moment of happiness, and now I get a little boost of joy every single time that I look at it. That got me thinking, do pictures make us happier? The answer is yes!

After the evolution of photography went from getting film printed to having everything right at your fingertips on your phone, I will admit there was a lull in my picture printing frequency. I had all these “older” photos from years in the past on my walls, but nothing recent. Why? Because it was all on my phone. However, I noticed that those lovely pictures of the happiest moments in life often got swept away in the massive online photo album with random images of food, cat memes, and screenshots of purchases delivered long ago. So, there I was thinking, “Katie, you should really get some recent pictures printed.”

According to a post from Psychology Today, pictures do make us happier for these reasons.

First, pictures remind us of the people, places, and activities we love. When you look at all your favorite things in life, it brings a smile to your face.

Second, pictures help us to remember the past. Maybe the image is of a departed loved one or a special moment. Photos are a wonderful way to prompt our memories to remember those happy moments.

Third, pictures can save space. There are times in our lives when it can be hard to let go of an item, like an old car or bookshelf, because of the memories associated with it. You know you don’t need it, so taking a picture of it can still preserve that memory while clearing the space for new ones.

Fourth, pictures can condense childhood. The writer gave an excellent example that I may try myself. She used a company called Plum Print (no affiliate here, folks) that took photos of all of her child’s childhood artwork and school projects and condensed them into one slim photobook. Now, the writer and her child can lovingly look through all those memories without getting attacked by glitter and stray macaroni.

Finally, pictures can curate the things you love, foster creativity, and even act as a diary. Many use photography to express themselves and gather the things they love. Whether you love making Pinterest boards, enjoy posting Instagram pictures, or use photographs as a diary, those pictures make you happy.

Now, I am going to search through my endless photos for the brightest memories and send them off to get printed! What’s your favorite photo in your home? Let us know in the comments, or tag us over at Everyday Happiness with Katie. Want more happiness tips? Sign up for our newsletter! You can do that over at www.katiejefcoat.com/email

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, the happiest email in your inbox, delivered with a smile twice a month. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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It’s time. I’ve been thinking about this pivot for months. Contemplating every twist and turn. With clarity, I know that right now, this is the right next step.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and at the beginning of January I wrote a post in our membership community about feeling overwhelmed. But overwhelm wasn’t the word. Busy wasn’t the word either. You see, every new year I “come in hot” with piles of ambition, goals, ideas, clarity, priorities and to-do lists.

This year. I’m not. I just can’t get there. That’s what I wrote in January.

I continued by sharing that I have a really strong urge to slow down and hunker down in 2023. Something is pulling at me. My intuition is screaming at me to be still and to stop chasing the next thing.

I don’t know what this will mean - but I’m listening.

This is where I shared my word of the year, we do this as a group and it’s really fun. My word this year is: CARE

My theme this year, the feeling I want to lean into this year is: more FREE TIME

I am obsessed with my consulting work like never before. I see so much value in Everyday Happiness and our COMMUNITY has been the backbone for support and the catalyst for change for me and so many others. We have coffee chat on Zoom once a week and it’s so great to connect with other women.

I’ve always thought it’s amazing what one person can do when they have a group of women cheering them on.

So as 2023 goes … I’m holding strong to what we’ve built, nurturing the pillars that got us to where we are.

With so much reflection and thought, this looks like a pivot for you listening right now. At the end of this month, the Everyday Happiness podcast will transition to a bi-monthly email. The email has already started. I think it’s the happiest email in your inbox and it will be filled with kindness, happiness, insights and a note from me. I hope you join me.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. You can get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox when you visit https://www.katiejefcoat.com

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Did you know there are two types of happiness? Natural and synthetic happiness! Today, we wrap up this mini-series by diving into how we can manufacture our happiness ourselves.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and for the past two episodes, we have been talking about natural versus synthetic happiness. Today, we are diving into creating it ourselves. While natural happiness is excellent, it doesn’t always happen. That’s okay. We can manufacture the very thing we are chasing. So, how do we do that? The main factor is allowing yourself to recreate a negative situation (or what you think is a negative situation) into something beneficial.

So you didn’t win the race, but getting second pushes you harder to work for 1st.
So you couldn’t afford the fancy restaurant, but you had a blast with your spouse by doing a picnic.
So you didn’t get a promotion, now you have more time to spend with your kids.

Allow yourself to spin the situation, to hedonically adapt to the case, and remember that unhappiness is always temporary. But what about buying it? Can you purchase synthetic happiness?

We all remember the studies about whether or not money buys happiness. In summary, if your basic needs are met, excess money doesn’t create greater satisfaction. So, what should you do?

First, spend money on experiences over material things. Rather than buying another pair of shoes, an item for your collections, or a random décor item, spend that money on an adventure. It could be as big as going on vacation, but it doesn’t have to be. It could be taking the kids for ice cream, going bowling, taking your spouse on a fun date, taking an overnight mini trip with your bestie, or literally anything else that gets you out and building memories.

Second, spend money on the future. Studies have shown that investing in long-term happiness is one of the best actions you can take now, lasting into your 70s, 80s, and longer. Seven categories make up long-term happiness: not smoking, moderating alcohol consumption, maintaining a healthy body weight, consistently exercising, improving emotional resilience, continuing education (i.e., lifelong learning), and building relationships. Investing now could look like this:

Attending exercise classes
Hiring a personal trainer
Taking healthy cooking courses
Taking a class on an engaging subject you enjoy
Seeing a therapist
Making occasions to see loved ones

Again, you are looking at experiences!

Lastly, if you do want to spend money on stuff, spend it on others over yourself. Spending money on loved ones or for charities you feel strongly about helps build long-term relationships with your inner circle and your community.

I want to leave you with one message at the end of all this. You are in charge of your happiness, and you have the power to adjust it all on your own.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, the happiest email in your inbox, delivered with a smile twice a month. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Did you know there are two types of happiness? Natural and synthetic happiness! In the second part of this mini-series, we discuss how to utilize synthetic happiness.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and I wanted to share something Sir Thomas Brown wrote in 1642. He said, “I am the happiest man alive. I have that in me that can convert poverty to riches, adversity to prosperity, and I am more invulnerable than Achilles; fortune hath not one place to hit me.”

Powerful, isn’t it? Our episode yesterday discussed the difference between natural and synthetic happiness. Today, we are diving into how we average Joes often utilize it without even realizing it. One example is how we do this all of the time with the stock market. We see our stocks rise 7%, and we’re happy. That would be natural happiness. Then, at some point, if you’ve been in this game long enough, you see your portfolio drop, maybe even 10%. You will likely think, “that sucks, but at least it wasn’t 20%.”

We, humans, try to find the silver lining. Some of us are better than others. Some of us get there quicker than others. No matter what, though, we all have the capacity to see the silver lining due to those big ole’ brains in our heads. They allow us to see the glass as ½ full, and frequently, we don't even realize we are doing it.

I’ll give you a personal example as well. As an adolescent, I didn’t feel like I belonged. I grew up in a small town in MN, 2006 people in the middle of a cornfield. I felt like I had no way out. As humans, we yearn to BELONG. It is scientifically in our DNA.

The emotional trauma of not feeling like you had good friends or people that really understand you can be devastating. Unbeknownst to me at the time, what I did was manufacture synthetic happiness. I did that by dreaming big about the world beyond the scope of my small town. My way out of a place I didn’t feel like I fit in was law school. I thought that if I made enough money, I would have more choices. I wasn’t necessarily wrong, and I did achieve my dream of becoming a lawyer - but I had this tug on me; there was something else.

As Dr. Daniel Gilbert puts it, “...we have within us the capacity to manufacture the very commodity we are constantly chasing when we choose experience” over materiality. That commodity is happiness, and with practice, he says, we can find more happiness through choice than we ever will through selfish pursuits and material acquisition.

I found out that being a lawyer didn’t make me happy. So while it was a means to an end, to a chapter of life closed, I stopped. I mean, now, I’m here, with you, talking about happiness, which completely lights my hair on fire.

Therefore, if happiness is not a thing, but a state of mind, then we can create synthetic happiness. Now, I am not talking about toxic positivity, which is a whole different thing and one we don’t have time for today. What I am saying is that happiness science indicates that we can synthesize happiness - we don’t have to wait for happiness to happen to us, and we don’t have to chase it or find it like some magical rainbow where you have to shake down some poor leprechaun. Instead, you can create it yourself. Tune in tomorrow to learn how!

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, the happiest email in your inbox, delivered with a smile twice a month. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Did you know there are two types of happiness? Natural and synthetic happiness! In this mini-series, we discuss happiness science, the difference between the two, and how we can use both to our advantage.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and while I certainly wish that happiness science was a subject they taught in school, it is something we tend to have to learn all on our own. In this and the next couple of episodes, we will be exploring the science of happiness, synthetic vs. natural, and how you can create a happier life for yourself in a straightforward manner.

Let’s start with the difference between natural happiness and synthetic happiness. Natural happiness is what we get when we get what we want or work for. It’s like winning the lottery, getting a perfect parking spot, winning the race, and receiving a promotion - when we get what we want, we get a jolt of happiness.

On the other hand, synthetic happiness is what we make when we don’t get what we want. It is basically the glass ½ full analogy where you redefine the situation to turn the results in your favor. So, you didn’t get the job you wanted, but because you didn’t take it, another job came by after that made you very happy. Had you taken that first job that you wanted, you wouldn’t have often gotten this one.

Harvard professor and scientist Dan Gilbert gave a TED Talk in 2004 where he explained “The Surprising Science of Happiness.” In his talk, he shares stories of people who had terrible experiences but said they were happier for them. Let’s take a look at a couple of them.

After a scandal forced him to resign in disgrace as Speaker of the House, former Congressman Jim Wright was quoted saying: “I am so much better off, physically, financially, mentally, and in almost every way.”

Another example is Pete Best, the original drummer for the Beatles. Had the rest of the band not dropped him for Ringo Starr, he believed his life would have been worse. He said, “I’m happier than I would have been with the Beatles.” You hear that, and many of us think that it’s crazy, but humans have a remarkable ability to alter their views to make themselves feel better about the world they find themselves in.

However, you may think, “Katie, these are incredible people, big names in history.” So, what if we looked at our own lives? Tune in tomorrow to learn how we average Joes’ can do the exact same thing!

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, the happiest email in your inbox, delivered with a smile twice a month. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Did you know there are seven buckets of happiness we can add to now that will improve our happiness decades later? We’ve already discussed the first half, so today’s episode will cover the remaining 3 buckets and how you can build these happiness savings into your life with ease!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and welcome to day 3 of 3 in our chat about building a happiness 401(k). Yesterday, we dove into the first four happiness buckets, and today we are finishing it off with the last three…and these are doozies!

Without further delay, emotional resilience comes in as the fifth happiness bucket. Life can be tough; I certainly don’t deny it. There are days when happiness can seem just out of reach or so far away that you can’t even see the light. A critical effort we can put into our happiness buckets now is creating and practicing coping mechanisms. If you live long enough, you will face hardship. That unfortunate fact of life can be an accident, a death, an illness, and other unfavorable situations. By building these routines in our lives now, we will benefit in the long-term as we will be adequately prepared for when ill luck strikes rather than taking a less healthy alternative.

Moving on to the sixth bucket, I want to share a quick quote. A friend of mine’s dad used to tell her, “the day you stop learning, you put one foot in the grave with the other soon to follow.” Education is a happiness bucket we must take advantage of every day. Continued lifelong learning is a pillar of happiness we have discussed before. To keep learning through the years means to engage the mind. Not only does this help to prevent age-related cognitive declines, but it keeps people passionate. When you learn, you act, keep moving, and dream.

Lastly, it comes as no surprise that relationships are on the list, coming in as the seventh bucket. Here at Everyday Happiness, we talk about building social bonds and connections all the time. Having a close network of individuals provides you with an invaluable support system that can aid you through the most challenging aspects of life and celebrate all the joys. By continually building and maintaining good relationships throughout life, you can benefit here and now as well 50 years down the line.

As you go through the years, filling these buckets may be easy or hard. You might be able to fill some of the buckets but not the others. That is okay! Just like with a monetary 401k, there will be days, weeks, months, and years where you can only add so much. You can only do what you can, and every effort will benefit you in the long run. If you can only work on one bucket, Brooks recommends the last, building relationships. Healthy relationships may have been last on the list, but they are the most potent factor of happiness.

Now you may be thinking, can you use Intentional Margins to aid your happiness buckets? Absolutely! If this mini-series has inspired you to make some small changes or tiny habits, I encourage you to build them into your intentional margins. You don’t have to do all seven at once, but you can add one at a time until you have a healthy routine. Some will be easier than others, but I believe in you!

Along the way, I encourage you to add a little kindness to your happiness mission. Sending a little dose of sunshine and sparkle into the world can make a difference in your happiness 401(k) and others’.

And in case you missed it, we are pivoting this podcast to a bi-monthly email at the end of the month. I invite you to join happy mail, the happiest email in your inbox, just jump over to www.katiejefcoat.com/email and subscribe.

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Did you know there are seven buckets of happiness we can add to now that will improve our happiness decades later? In part 2 of my mini-series on building a happiness 401(k), we discuss the first half of this list. Tune in to hear these timeless secrets!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat; yesterday, we discussed Arthur Brooks’ theory of the happiness 401(k), and today we are diving into the first half of the buckets. It is critical to remember that how you adhere to these buckets in your youth and even into mid-life will drastically determine your long-term happiness. Let’s analyze these, shall we?

First, smoking! It comes as no surprise that smoking isn’t good for you. You likely know that if you are a smoker, but I encourage you to quit. Smoke-free years can increase longevity, reduce health risks, and even lead to more money in your pocket! Plus, it removes the emotional strain placed on the loved ones that want to see you live a long and happy life.

Next up is drinking. Similar to smoking, drinking isn’t good for you either. While an occasional glass of wine or a night on the town will have minimal long-term effects, excessive drinking can lead to a plethora of physical, mental, and emotional conditions. If you feel as though drinking has become a heavy aspect of your life, or you recognize that alcohol abuse is a shared family trait, it would be wise to ease off in your youth and keep that practice maintained throughout your years.

Number 3 of the 7 buckets is maintaining proper body weight. Obesity is a common problem here in the USA, but it often goes unaddressed. Maintaining a healthy body weight is critical to your long-term health, with the CDC citing that the medical costs for adults with obesity were $1,861 higher than medical costs for people with a healthy weight in 2019. As you know, maintaining a healthy weight can be tricky, but a regular diet of quality food and moderate serving sizes is the place to start.

Along with maintaining a healthy body weight, exercise is the other key pillar of physical health. As discussed in my podcast episodes 239-242, exercise boosts happiness. Making an effort to practice daily movement starting when we are younger will have exponential benefits as we age physically, mentally, and emotionally. Whether you want to dance around in your living room, go on a walk, or (my favorite) play tennis, making an effort to incorporate daily movement into your routine is critical.

Tune in tomorrow to discover the final three happiness buckets and how you can start building them today!

And in case you missed it, we are pivoting this podcast to a bi-monthly email at the end of the month. I invite you to join happy mail, the happiest email in your inbox, just jump over to www.katiejefcoat.com/email and subscribe.

Let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Have you ever wondered if it would be possible to store up some of the happiness we have now to utilize later? In this mini-series, we discuss building a happiness 401(k), and what actions we can take today to improve our happiness decades down the road.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and while Tax Day is still a month away, one of my new year’s goals was to get on my taxes early, so I won’t be scrambling come April. As I was sifting through receipts and 1099 forms, it got me thinking about Arthur Brooks’, the Atlantic contributing editor and professor at Harvard, theory on a Happiness 401k.

For our younger listeners, a 401(k) is a long-term retirement plan offered by employers to help individuals slowly build a robust savings portfolio they can utilize when they stop working. While doing that with money is all well and good, wouldn’t it be great if we could invest in our happiness, perhaps even tax the joy we experience now to use later? Brooks says we can, that there is a way to invest in your happiness when you are young to enjoy the fruits long into life.

I have mentioned this pivotal study before in my podcast, but I will take a quick minute to reiterate it here. In 1938, Harvard started a study following a group of men from youth to adulthood, asking every so often how they felt they were on their happiness scale, among other things, to understand their well-being. Each participant had all different walks of life, relationships, and life goals, so no two people were the same.

This long-term study, of course, evolved, and they greatly expanded the number of participants beyond the small group of men from Harvard. As results began to fill in over the decades, researchers categorized participants into a spectrum of happiness describing their happiness with life and their physical health. For example, one end of the scale would be “happy-well,” with the opposite being “sad-sick.”

It comes as no surprise that some factors of happiness were beyond participants’ control, such as generational wealth or DNA-based health conditions. However, what was within participants’ power is the most fascinating, and as Brooks says, “[this] can teach us a great deal about how to plan for late-life happy-wellness.”

Researchers discovered that seven specific buckets affect our happiness into our 70-80s that we can start to fill now. Those seven categories are: smoking, drinking alcohol, body weight, exercise, emotional resilience, education (i.e., lifelong learning), and relationships. Tune in tomorrow to discover the first half of the 401k buckets!

And in case you missed it, we are pivoting this podcast to a bi-monthly email at the end of the month. I invite you to join happy mail, the happiest email in your inbox, just jump over to www.katiejefcoat.com/email and subscribe.

Let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Would you like an easy way to record happy thoughts and moments without having to do a gratitude journal? Today, I share with you the art of the Happiness Jar. Tune in to learn what it is, how it works, and the benefits you can enjoy.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness. I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and I have a special programming note. At the end of this month, we are taking a break from our beloved daily happiness podcast. We are transferring all of the research, the insights and happiness good vibes to our email subscribers. The happiest email in your inbox. The pivot is just the delivery system. From podcast to email. Our team has created almost 650 podcast episodes and we haven’t missed a day, which we are very proud of.

I invite you to jump over to www.katiejefcoat.com/email and subscribe so that we can have virtual coffee in your inbox.

Over here at Everyday Happiness, we have talked about gratitude journals and kindness elf mail, but we have yet to talk about Happiness Jars. Have you heard of them? Brought into popularity by Elizabeth Gilbert nearly a decade ago, Happiness Jars are a phenomenal way to record the happy moments of life quickly and easily.

A Happiness Jar is exactly what it sounds like; it is a jar for happiness. All you do is take a small piece of paper, write down your happiest moment of the day, date it, and drop it in. Takes all of 30 seconds. You can add to the jar daily, once a week, or whenever the moment strikes you. Gilbert explained that when she created this Happiness Jar, it allowed her to identify, appreciate, and remember the genuine moments of happiness, which were often little blips during the day that would otherwise go unnoticed, such as the warmth of the sun shining on your face, a funny conversation with your mother, an awesome nap, or a hug from your child. Then, when she was feeling down, she pulled out some notes and reread them to spark a little extra joy.

Therapists agree that a Happiness Jar practice can benefit your life. They said this type of gratitude practice can:

Increase overall mental and physical health
Improve relationships and satisfaction
Help shift away from a negative mindset
Improve self-esteem
And aid in savoring life

If you are interested in making a Happiness Jar for yourself, it is really quite simple. All you have to do is find a container of some sort, decorate it, and place it in an easy-to-remember spot with a pen. It can be as fancy or as simple as you like. Remember, this is YOUR happiness jar; you can do with it as you please. Maybe instead of writing a happy moment one day, you write a prayer, add a ticket stub, or let someone add their own happy memory. When the jar gets full, make a new one! Keep the old notes in a box, make a scrapbook, or burn them for good luck. The possibilities are literally endless. So, if you are looking for an easy way to jot down your happy moments, I encourage you to make a Happiness Jar.

Until next time, remember kindness is contagious. Maybe your kind action will end up as a note in someone else’s happiness jar.

Join the club and get the happiest email in your inbox over at www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Living outside the traditional norms of society can make it challenging to talk about happiness. Today we address that concern with four ideas.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and today I was reading a thoughtful piece from Very Well Mind about modern femininity and how it can be stressful to talk about happiness. As we know, society tends to emphasize the traditional milestones of life. I’m sure you’ve all heard the phrases of “getting married, the house with the white picket fence, and having 2.5 kids.” While that is great for some people, including myself, it doesn’t leave much room for women to step outside the box and be celebrated for alternative accomplishments.

Of course, getting married, buying a house, and having a baby is lovely. But we accomplish so many things throughout our lives that deserve the same recognition, support, and celebration that, sadly, go underappreciated.

For example, one of my team members told me about a time when they were talking with her boyfriend’s dad about her business success when he switched the topic to when he could expect to have a grandchild…yikes! These kinds of situations can make it very stressful and debilitating for anyone.

Therefore, I encourage you to do four things.

First, reaffirm your own path. If you are not living a traditional lifestyle, that’s perfectly okay and likely exciting! Take a moment every now and then to reaffirm why this path is the right path for you. I encourage you to stay honest with yourself and connected with your goals and passions.

Second, talk to people about your priorities. People don’t know what they don’t know. They may think what you are doing is just a chapter in your life when it is really the plot of the whole book. It is unlikely they are being malicious, but they don’t truly understand your goals. I encourage you to talk to them about your passions and priorities. Be honest and tell them you are hesitant to share good news because it doesn’t fit the status quo. It could open a path to greater understanding, even if it doesn’t change their minds or beliefs entirely. I also suggest finding like-minded friends who may have a greater understanding and maybe even insight into your goals.

Third, confront your own societal biases and be an open channel for happiness. I encourage you to be curious about other people’s lives and goals, never assuming they will follow a traditional path or your path either. Leave accomplishment questions open and vague so they can fill in the blank freely, whether it is buying a new car, paying off credit card debt, or renting an apartment.

Fourth, remember that kindness is contagious. Even if you don’t understand someone’s choices, I encourage you to celebrate their successes and support their happiness. Even just being a listening ear can go a long way.

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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For the past few episodes, we have been covering methods to increase our happiness. In this episode, we wrap up the mini-series with a few final thoughts and challenges to you!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and over the past few episodes, we’ve been diving into the scientific concepts to really give our happiness a boost, and my reflections from an online happiness course from Yale professor, Dr. Laurie Santos.

So, let’s review, experiences are better than material stuff, even the best, most awesome stuff. So this is our invitation to really think about experiences. This is true because we create memories, happy memories, when we have experiences.

Next was all about savoring. Both in terms of savoring the good stuff, the taste of a cookie or time with a beloved relative. And also, keying us into how we, as humans, might be sabotaging our own savoring of experiences by being in a hurry and thinking about the future, among other things.

Next, we dove into negative visualization and this idea that if we think about what might not be, we can get ourselves to look at things differently and appreciate it more. This would be thinking about what if I didn’t get into the college I went to, and how different my life would be, the friends I would not have made, the experiences I would not have had, etc. It helps you appreciate this experience more.

After the negative visualization, we went down a similar path by thinking about what if this was our last day. Now, not in the sense that we would die tomorrow, that’s morbid, but more about this idea of thinking about what if this great thing would end. For example, college. We talked about that above. The study was showing how when you think about something ending, quickly, you appreciate it more verus thinking you have a whole final year of college.

I was thinking about this concept during the global pandemic when everything suddenly ended. People seem to appreciate visiting a coffee shop and relationships a bit more. Maybe even appreciate small talk more - go figure.

Finally, we know, and Dr. Santos also highlights that gratitude is critical in boosting our happiness. I hope this mini-series gave you as much food for thought as it did me.

Until next time.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about gratitude.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and she says if we can find gratitude, feel thankful, feel appreciation, we can boost our happiness. But we already knew that - right?

Well, studies have shown that even gratitude lists scientifically boost happiness and, more importantly, it thwarts our hedonic adaptation, that feeling of being used to everything around you. Gratitude also, scientifically, reduces physical symptoms, like not feeling well.

The data also suggests that sharing gratitude with others has a massive positive effect on you and the other person too.

Researchers are also looking at gratitude between couples. They think that having a gratitude heavy relationship can nullify a bunch of bad traits, like withdrawal and not having good communication between one another. Folks that are feeling grateful are better off on the happiness scale and frankly, it’s better for your health to practice gratitude.

So, in that vein, I am grateful for you. For listening, subscribing, sharing, supporting this podcast. It really does mean the world to us.

I hope this gives you some inspiration on improving your happiness, just a little, through gratitude. Until next time, smash that subscribe button and consider leaving a 5-star review - we would really appreciate it.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about fleeting time.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and she asks: if we can reflect on the good things as if they were about to end, how would we feel? She has this concept “make your day your last” and she’s not talking about a terminal illness or something tragic like that, but more in the context of what if this great thing was about to end.

So what if tomorrow you are about to lose this thing you love a lot. The act of feeling just about to lose something, that’s the moment you really realize that gratitude, that happiness. So what researchers found was when they did a study with graduating seniors. They said you have 1200 hours left in college or you have ¼ a year left in college. The people that heard 1200 hours, felt as if they had little time left, and when plotting their feelings on a happiness scale, they were happier than the students who were told they have ¼ a year left. Thinking about imminently losing something, what will it be like to not have that, quickly bumps you out of the hedonic adaptation trap (the idea that our minds get used to stuff) - and bumps you higher into happiness.

This is a great trick when you are feeling the ho-hums of the day, the churn of the day, that everything feels the same - where is the excitement? I invite you to try it out. If you are so inclined, let me know it worked for you. And, if you are feeling generous, share this podcast with a friend - or two - getting the word out organically is how we grow and create a ripple effect of kindness and happiness in our small part of this world.

I hope this gives you some inspiration on improving your happiness, just a little, through what it would feel like if something you love was more time-bound.

Until next time.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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639-Tips-to-Increase-Happiness-#4Description:

We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about negative visualization.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and she says if we think about the reverse of what could happen, called Negative Visualization, it can actually increase your happiness. That sounds crazy to me.

Dr. Santos uses the example of the movie It’s A Wonderful Life where Jimmy Stewart imagines what his life would be like if he were never born. This works with your loving partner. Imagine what life would be like if you never met your partner. You can use this to break out of your hedonic adaptation and realize, oh wow, I really do love these things about this person and I am so glad we found one another.

What the scientists find, if you write about how it might not have been, you can increase your happiness. This can be anything from getting into the college you wanted, the life partner you choose. You think about the subtle things that might not be, but for these events. What this does, is it breaks you out of the hustle and bustle of the here and now and you can have a moment of gratitude for what you have.

This can be an incredibly useful journaling or gratitude practice. We go into this in more detail in episode 18.

I hope this gives you some inspiration on improving your happiness, just a little, through negative visualization - which sounds so crazy and “unhappy” to say. Tomorrow, we will talk about this similar concept “make this day your last” - but I promise, it’s not as morbid as you think.

See you tomorrow.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Description:

We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about negative visualization.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and she says if we think about the reverse of what could happen, called Negative Visualization, it can actually increase your happiness. That sounds crazy to me.

Dr. Santos uses the example of the movie It’s A Wonderful Life where Jimmy Stewart imagines what his life would be like if he were never born. This works with your loving partner. Imagine what life would be like if you never met your partner. You can use this to break out of your hedonic adaptation and realize, oh wow, I really do love these things about this person and I am so glad we found one another.

What the scientists find, if you write about how it might not have been, you can increase your happiness. This can be anything from getting into the college you wanted, the life partner you choose. You think about the subtle things that might not be, but for these events. What this does, is it breaks you out of the hustle and bustle of the here and now and you can have a moment of gratitude for what you have.

This can be an incredibly useful journaling or gratitude practice. We go into this in more detail in episode 18.

I hope this gives you some inspiration on improving your happiness, just a little, through negative visualization - which sounds so crazy and “unhappy” to say. Tomorrow, we will talk about this similar concept “make this day your last” - but I promise, it’s not as morbid as you think.

See you tomorrow.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about living in the present.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and yesterday, we talked about how we can savor an experience to increase our happiness. But what are the things we are doing that we might not even realize, that are completely hurting our ability to savor and get the happiness boost we’re after.

Well, she goes back to the Jose Et Al (2012) study where they explain what these common things are that we do that is counterintuitive to happiness. And, when I heard some of these, I could totally see myself doing this, which is why I wanted to devote an entire episode to this.

The study finds that focusing on the future, when will this present experience be over, crushes any hopes of savoring. I am a futurist, I’m constantly looking into the future and I totally see how this has shown up in my life and I’m curious, has this ever happened to you?

Other things are thinking this is not as good as you hoped. Reminding yourself that nothing lasts forever - in a doom and gloom way. Thinking about how this experience will never be this good again. Or, thinking about ways this experience could be better. Or even letting that voice in your head tell you that you didn’t deserve this good thing.

All of these things are taking you out of the present moment which hinders our happiness. So, as I reflect on savoring, I invite you to think about how this shows up in your own life.

Of course, feel free to continue the conversation over @everydayhappinesswithkatie or in our email that you can subscribe to at katiejefcoat.com/happiness.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about savoring the moment.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and she says if we can savor an experience, the taste of the cookie, we can enjoy it longer and increase our happiness.

What savoring allows us to do is capture our attention and focus on this experience we are savoring. Our minds have a terrible habit of losing interest so quickly, this helps bring it all back.

Plus, it keeps us at a high point on the curve of hedonic adaptation. So hedonic adaptation is this idea that we get used to stuff and it’s level of happiness weigns. So if we savor, it takes us longer to come down. So we’re essentially happier longer.

Dr. Santos referenced a study by Jose Et Al (2012) that identifies activities that enhance savoring, and friends, this is so cool.

This includes talking to another person about how good you felt. Looking for other people to share this experience with you. You can think about what a lucky person you are. And even thinking about how you are going to share this experience with others, buy calling them after and telling them how great this was. Savoring can also show up by showing physical expressions of energy like laughing out loud, jumping up and down. Savoring can also be telling yourself how proud you are, giving yourself a pat on the back and of course, being totally and completely present in this moment.

Lately, I’ve been savoring snuggles with my little guy, who I know, any minute, will not be into snuggling and I am savoring every moment I get. I also plan to savor - I think sometimes we need to plan and remind ourselves to savor - so I’ll plan to savor Christmas morning that lasts only a few minutes but is so much fun, and I’ll do that by really being present.

I hope this gives you some inspiration on improving your happiness, just a little, through savoring. Tell me, what are you savoring? Follow us over on instagram

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about experiences over materialism.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and what I’ve learned and shared in the previous episodes on How Our Mind Hinders Our Happiness, is that our minds are constantly getting it wrong when it comes to happiness. And now, we are going to talk about how we can counterbalance this phenomenon with tools to tip the scales in our happiness favor.

We know that our mind plays tricks on us, and miswants what we think will actually make us happy. It also compares our wants against reference points instead of absolutes, and then, our minds have this terrible tendency to get used to stuff, and we don’t even realize it. But, the good news is that if we are intentional, we can overcome these human biases.

When we think about the ways we try to make ourselves happy, Dr. Santos says the first way is to not invest in awesome material stuff. This stuff, scientifically, won’t make us as happy as we think. Our minds trick us into thinking it will, but it just doesn’t. The new car, just becomes the car. Being aware of it is half the battle. So this stuff that lasts, it sticks around, the new house, the new car, the expensive handbag. Because it sticks around, we get used to it and over time, there just isn’t that much happiness to derive from this stuff.

On the flip side, forget about the stuff and instead, consider investing in experiences. Because they don’t stick around, we don’t have time to adapt to them. So what we are left with is this wonderful memory of this experience.

The science indicates that people who invest in experiences are in fact happier.

So instead of thinking about how you might treat yourself with stuff, change it around and think about experiences instead.

Also, it’s hard to have a social comparison when you are talking about a trip versus a new pair of shoes or your car v. someone else's car. So if we are the type of people that invest in experiences, we are more likely to not compare ourselves to other people’s awesome experiences.

And, the science says, we will just be happier.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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In my final episode on the happiness in exercise series, I share with you my favorite form of movement and some key factors to remember when reframing our mindset about exercise.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and this is the 4th of 4 episodes on exercise.

My path to finding the joy in moving has been windy and bumpy. Super bumpy.

Yesterday I mentioned how tennis, for a while, was the activity where I could be present and mindful while engaging in that activity. I also mentioned that yoga could be good for this.

Years ago, when I played tennis, I was terrible, and I was only really a tennis lesson junkie, but when I was there I was present. Mostly because I was scared to death to look away and get a tennis ball to the face. So, there I was, following the ball, watching each bounce, without another thought in my mind.

What is the movement activity that you can get lost in?

So, to recap the last few days.

Exercise is healthy! It’s good for our mental health and physical health.

Exercise is being re-framed and called movement

Movement (formerly known as exercise) for happiness can’t be about fixing something. We need to change our mindset between movement and that dark urge to change our body.

being present and mindful in whatever movement you choose and gratitude for our body, exactly as it is, is the first step to rewiring our mindset

Tennis is my story, I invite you to find what works for you. And let me know, I’m so curious what’s working for people.

And until tomorrow, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram.

I wrote a blog about exercise and happiness, you can find it here: Will Exercise Make Me Happier?.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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We continue our series on happiness through exercise by talking about movement ideas. Tune in to see what you can do!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and we’re still talking about exercise, but now, we’ve reframed that into movement and everything feels right.

If you listened to the last 2 days, you may have caught that I’m settling into this idea of “movement” instead of “exercise” and I can say, I’m liking it. A little reframing in my mind and a little tweak of the wording made all the difference for me. What I know for sure is that there are a million ways to do anything, you have to find what works for you.

Today is about finding the joy in moving. The biggest shift comes from changing your mindset between exercising and that dark urge to change your body. We can do that by concentrating instead and how the exercise makes us feel. The goal of exercise should be that it brings you some sort of joy and happiness.

One idea is: You start with being present and mindful in whatever movement you choose.

Yoga is a good one for this. But it could be anything. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you why tennis worked for me.

If you want to dig more into this podcast that I was inspired by, you can listen to Laurie Santos episode 20 of The Happiness Lab.

Think about how you experience your body not as the way it looks but as what you can’t see reframing movement in this way can lead to greater happiness

And until tomorrow, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram.

I wrote a blog about exercise and happiness, you can find it here: Will Exercise Make Me Happier?.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Today we talk about how happiness isn't just achieved through traditional exercise but through movement. Tune in to see what I mean!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and today we’re back talking about exercise

Yesterday we went through the science of why exercise matters, both mentally and physically.

I was listening to The Happiness Lab with guest Jessamyn Stanley, a love your body curvy yoga instructor.

And she said one word that clicked for me - MOVEMENT. It’s the idea that we can be happier through “movement”. Ah, movement, maybe I can get behind this. A little reframing in my mind and a little tweak of the wording might make all the difference.

The science is clear - we need to move. Movement will make us happier (and healthier). So, if you really don’t want to run and have no interest in jumping on the Peleton bandwagon, give yourself grace that those types of movement are not for you.

One way to have a healthy relationship with exercise / movement is to re-frame the way you think about exercise.

Exercise for happiness can’t be about fixing something. That’s another ah-ha moment. It can’t be about body hating. So many times we exercise to fix something, to tone something.

That’s why tomorrow we are going to talk about how we find the joy in moving. Notice how I didn’t say “exercise”;).

until then, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram.

I wrote a blog about exercise and happiness, you can find it here: Will Exercise Make Me Happier?.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Tune in to hear an explanation of how feel-good hormones make exercising pleasurable!

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and today we’re talking about exercise.

Most research shows that exercise makes us feel good. Even a half hour a day of cardio. Not only do the happiness scientists agree but also in a recent book by Sanjay Gupta, who is a neurosurgeon, also indicates that exercising is really crucial to a well rounded self.

So this has got me thinking about my health, both physically and mentally. Can exercise be the ticket to help with both?

Exercise can increase your dopamine (which is the feel good hormone) and serotonin levels (which make everything in your mind more even and less super “hot” or super down), making it a great option to boost your happy hormones.

I’m not a scientist, but I can see this. Going for a run when you are super stressed out increases serotonin. I mean, you won’t catch me running unless someone is chasing me, but I can see how it works for some people.

And of course, exercise produces these good endorphins, which can increase happiness, so I’ve bought into the science of “why” exercise is good for my happiness and perhaps, my mental health generally.

It’s almost impossible to say that exercise isn’t good for you.

But, I’m not the girl to hit the gym, or go for a run. It’s not for me. So tomorrow I’m going to share with you my mental hack to re-frame how I was thinking about exercise, and I think you’re going to like it.

In the meantime, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram.

I wrote a blog about exercise and happiness, you can find it here: Will Exercise Make Me Happier?.

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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I’ve tried every system. They were all too complicated. None gave me what I really wanted, which was the feeling of calm and confidence that I knew where everything was. Until now. And I’m spilling the beans in today's episode.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and it’s crazy to think about clutter taking up time. But since doing my friend C.Lee’s masterclass and course, I can honestly say that I have freed up some time. I know where things are. I’m not searching in a pile for that one thing I knew I needed to save. My system is super simple so it’s a no-brainer to manage, which frees up so much mental bandwidth.

Over the past month I’ve mentioned how I, like so many of us, have been feeling stretched and the toll of the invisible mental bandwidth is real. I’m not tired, but I’m exhausted. How do we marry these ideas.

Well, for me, I went back to my trusted KARMA system for organizing the paper clutter that was all over my desk. After reading about how clutter can play a role in your mental health, I knew it was time to work my trusted system. My Friend C.Lee taught me about KARMA last year. She’s a certified professional organizer and educator and she’s taught this system to hundreds of people and it works for everyone. No scanning required.

I use the A for Active Projects a lot in this system. I have a lot of irons in the fire and if I’m not organized it feels overwhelming. I always say randomness causes overwhelm. What I’ve realized is that it’s not just visually how the clutter looks, but how it makes me feel.

So, I’m starting a new resolution to manage my KARMA system and release the piles of paper and search for that inner calm that comes when we finally have order with our paper.

I’ve made great steps. Each child has a folder for papers that come home from school. I have folders for different active projects and it feels like a weight has been lifted off of me. If you are curious about this magical system to get back your time and feel more calm, you can take a peek in the show notes where I have dropped a link for you to join a FREE masterclass - the last one is tonight, so click the link and you can at least get the replay.

Until next time, remember, kindness is contagious.

And C.Lee’s FREE Masterclass, The Proven Path for Conquering Paper Clutter for Good Masterclass https://www.cleecawley.com/a/2147507426/jSi8hVBL

In the spirit of full disclosure, if you enroll in the Paper Cleanse via my link, I'll receive a small commission. Because your success is important to me, I only recommend systems that I've personally used to create real results in my own life. The KARMA system works and C Lee is a great teacher.

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Inspired by: Mental Health Benefits of DeCluttering at WebMD https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-benefits-of-decluttering

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We know there are so many mental health benefits from decluttering, yet so many of us find ourselves sitting among piles of paper. From feeling more focused to a higher self-esteem to even better relationships, how do we get out from under the clutter?

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and what do you do when you really need to focus. For me, it’s clearing off my desk that is usually full of paper notes I’ve jotted something down on. We know there are so many mental health benefits from decluttering, yet so many of us find ourselves sitting among piles of paper. From feeling more focused to a higher self-esteem to even better relationships.

I was inspired by this article in WebMD about the mental health toll it takes when we have cluttered spaces. We’ve talked about this recently in other episodes. This article says that “[g]etting rid of excess stuff can benefit your mental health by making you feel calmer, happier, and more in control. A tidier space can make for a more relaxed mind.” I know this is true for me. When my desk is clear, I’m more creative and feel more energized. And certainly I feel less overwhelmed.

But sometimes that’s easier said than done. Until I found my friend C.Lee’s KARMA system, I had aspirations of filing papers, but every system was too complicated and because I didn’t actually work the system, it never worked for me. KARMA was simple, the part I loved the most was the system for Action Items. Projects that I was working on that I needed to have easy access to. I realized I could file a lot in Action Items and a lot in Reference, so it wasn’t gone forever, but not in my sightline that was taking up physical and mental space.

That system gave me back more than just physical space. It helps me feel calm. It reduces my overwhelm. It gives me back time, because I know where things are because it’s such a simple system.

If you are listening to this and thinking, I wish I had a system for my house or my small business or my kids papers, this might be the answer you are looking for. I know that it’s been a game changer for me. C. Lee has one more FREE masterclass, so I’m putting the link in the show notes, so you can get some free value.

Until next time, remember, kindness is contagious.

And her FREE Masterclass, The Proven Path for Conquering Paper Clutter for Good Masterclass https://www.cleecawley.com/a/2147507426/jSi8hVBL

In the spirit of full disclosure, if you enroll in the Paper Cleanse via my link, I'll receive a small commission. Because your success is important to me, I only recommend systems that I've personally used to create real results in my own life. The KARMA system works and C Lee is a great teacher.

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Inspired by: Mental Health Benefits of DeCluttering at WebMD https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-benefits-of-decluttering

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Organizers can give you lots of tips and tricks to tidy your home, clear the paper clutter, get to Inbox zero, but having an effective todo list has very little to do with how you feel. Today, I am sharing that we can be busy and feel balanced with a few key concepts. Intentional Margins and my friend C.Lee’s concept of KARMA, so let’s dive in.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and Benjamin Franklin once said, "For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned." And that got me thinking. I read an article that I will link in the show notes that says that “[W]hile Benjamin Franklin's estimation is overstated, spending time getting organized is still a valuable investment. Experts estimate that every hour spent in planning and organizing saves three to four hours of time that would otherwise be wasted.” You know the feeling, when you are driving around in circles, or spending countless hours looking for that piece of paper that you know you have but can’t place it. We can avoid that when we develop a few organizational habits.

Organizational experts have come up with all kinds of ways to try to save time from never touch anything twice, or never respond to email when it pings your inbox to, making time for lunch, doing the hardest thing first in the day.

All of those are well and good, but how do they make you feel. What I’ve found is that we can still feel “busy” because we are doing all the tasks but we are out of balance. We aren’t prioritizing our own priorities in this never-ending todo list. That’s why I created the concept Intentional Margins and why I love my friend C.Lee’s Paper Cleanse course, it’s the only time I’ve been able to feel like I’ve got my paper under control, because she makes it so easy to get those wins and feel the calm of a friction free paper lifestyle - and isn’t that what we are all after - that sense of calm. I also like that it’s for a digital dinosaur like me, so no scanning papers into a computer. So from the mail to the piles on my desk, I have a simple system and it’s easy to maintain. She calls it KARMA and it’s so good.

If you are listening in real time, you can get in on her FREE masterclass where she shares her secrets and gives you the system for success. It’s called The Proven Path for Conquering Paper Clutter for Good Masterclass https://www.cleecawley.com/a/2147507426/jSi8hVBL and you can grab the link in my bio. There is only one webinar left in her series, so jump to the link quickly. If you can’t make the class, she does send a replay, so it’s worth it to register.

Until next time, remember, kindness is contagious.

And her FREE Masterclass, The Proven Path for Conquering Paper Clutter for Good Masterclass https://www.cleecawley.com/a/2147507426/jSi8hVBL

In the spirit of full disclosure, if you enroll in the Paper Cleanse via my link, I'll receive a small commission. Because your success is important to me, I only recommend systems that I've personally used to create real results in my own life. The KARMA system works and C Lee is a great teacher.

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Inspired by: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/11-things-organized-productive-people-do-every-day-bradberry/

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Today I get to chat with my good friend, organizing expert and educator C.Lee Cawley and ask her how she defines happiness.

Transcript

Katie:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, where we create lasting happiness in about two minutes a day through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.

I'm your host, Katie Jefcoat, and today I am with my dear friend C.Lee Cawley, and I'm asking her how she describes happiness. C.Lee, welcome to the show.

C.Lee:

Thank you so much, Katie. I love this question, and when I thought about it, I thought that I define happiness in three different ways. Kind of past, present, and future.

And the past are the amazing memories that I have. I love to reminisce. Making memories is one of my family's priorities, and talking about them makes it even more real. So that's the past happiness.

Present would be kind of your immediate gratitude. This delicious cup of coffee, the beautiful autumnal leaves, those types of catching moments throughout the day are the kind of present happiness. And they're usually really small. It's not kind of a big picture, oh my gosh, I've been in love for 30 years. It's really like, boy, this tastes delicious.

And then there's the future happiness. And for me, it's the planning of vacations, planning get togethers with friends, anticipating, knowing that I've got something on my calendar that I know I'll enjoy, whether it's in person or if it's just our Wednesday coffee chats. I love to have those future plans.

So that's how I describe happiness, really. I put it in three different buckets: past, present and future.

Katie:

Oh, my gosh, I love this so much. And that is such a great perspective because there's so many ways to really enjoy happiness. So thank you so much for coming on the show, and I know that just was truth bombs for our audience and so much value. So we appreciate you.

And until next time, remember, kindness is contagious.

P.S. Jump into C.Lee’s FREE live masterclass, there is only one left, The Proven Path for Conquering Paper Clutter for Good Masterclass https://www.cleecawley.com/a/2147507426/jSi8hVBL

If you missed the masterclass, click here: https://www.cleecawley.com/a/2147507425/jSi8hVBL

In the spirit of full disclosure, if you enroll in the Paper Cleanse via my link, I'll receive a small commission. Because your success is important to me, I only recommend systems that I've personally used to create real results in my own life. The KARMA system works and C Lee is a great teacher.

About C.Lee:

As an award-winning Certified Professional Organizer – of which there are fewer than 400 worldwide - C.Lee is an “agent of change” for her thousands of clients, students, and followers - transforming their lives and homes with her adroit advice and insightful instruction.

Her current mission is to clear desks and minds around the world with her signature course “The Paper Cleanse”. In it, she teaches people how to declutter their paper piles and curate frustrating files for a lifetime of paper organization.

C.Lee lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband of over 30 years and considers herself "indoorsy". She delights in having friends over for decadent drinks and deep discussions. And it appears that she adores alliteration!

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Today I share a conversation with my friend Jenna and what she does to create a happy physical space. It’s a good one.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, where we create lasting happiness in two-ish minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins®, creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities, happiness, science and musings about life.

I'm your host, Katie Jefcoat, and I was talking to my friend, Jenna, about this series that I'm doing with you about physical space and clutter, and how that contributes to our happiness or unhappiness. She was all about it, I have to say she was actually really talking about some great ideas that she has that she does to create happiness in her physical space.

She agreed that I could share them with you to inspire you to maybe think about this as you're creating your physical space. So she, like most of us, is all about no clutter in our space, and to really have our desk organized. She thinks that when your space is organized, your mind is calmer. And she talked about that a lot. We talked about it together. And I think she's right. I feel so much better.

These are the things that she told me she does to help her physical space, not feel so overwhelming. First, she makes her bed every single morning. So making her bed makes everything seem calmer. Physical spaces, less cluttered, more tidy, such a good idea, right. And then she told me about this Maya Angelou doll that she has, it's a Barbie. It's a Maya Angelou Barbie. She has it at her desk. She works for a toy company. And so she has a lot of these kinds of trinkets at her desk. It makes her happy, because she knows Maya's story, Maya's achievements and it inspires her to continue to do the work that she does.

I just thought that was so interesting to have this Maya Angelou doll, this Barbie doll that really inspires my friend, Jenna to continue to create all of this abundance and greatness in the world. So maybe there's something like that that you want to highlight. Once you dig out from all of the clutter and all of the piles of paper. I don't know.

She also said that color matters to her. Her color is yellow, and she has yellow around her office and in her home office, because it makes her happy. The color makes her happy and that's enough for her.

So I'm just curious if you have anything in your physical space that makes you happy and if you would share it with us. We're over @everydayhappinesswithkatie on social media and we can't wait to hear about your physical space.

And, if you want to banish that paper clutter once and for all, you have to jump into my friend C.Lee’s free masterclass that is happening right now. I’ll leave a link in the show notes.

The Proven Path for Conquering Paper Clutter for Good FREE Masterclass: https://www.cleecawley.com/a/2147507426/jSi8hVBL

In the spirit of full disclosure, if you enroll in the Paper Cleanse via my link, I'll receive a small commission. Because your success is important to me, I only recommend systems that I've personally used to create real results in my own life. The KARMA system works and C Lee is a great teacher.

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

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Today we have certified Tiny Habits coach Julie Delucca Collins sharing her tips for happiness habits, tune in to see how these tiny habits really do add up.

Transcript:

Hey there, you're listening to Everyday Happiness with Katie Jefcoat. But today I'm Julie DeLucca-Collins taking over.

And I am here to tell you the one thing and the one habit that helps me feel great. And this is again, all tiny habits add up.

One of the things that I like to tell people is that consistent action gets you traction. If you are thinking that little things are not going to matter, I encourage you and challenge you to really dispel that belief because the compounding effect is real.

Today I want to talk about water and why water matters. Water is something that can also create other habits, because little habits are like plants.

When you start a plant, it can really grow from there and it can spread. So even though water may not seem like a big deal, if you are drinking water, this is something that can help you feel hydrated, energized, happier and may inspire you to also pick the salad as opposed to the french fries.

So start small and you will see the change in your life and you will also feel proud of having this little habit in your life. So for me, it's daunting to be able to drink a lot of water.

When I think about having to drink half of my body weight in water, I could never do it because again, that's having to rely on motivation. So for that reason, I pick the moment, I pick the action in my life that happens every single day.

And for me that is letting my dogs out. So when I let my dogs out every morning, my tiny habit is I fill my water, my water bottle, and I'm not going for drinking it right then and there, but I start with that tiny habit and then when I see the water filled and it's sitting next to me, then I chug.

And every time I chug, I'm going to have to go to the bathroom. And when I go to the bathroom, then I drink some more water. So I have these anchor moments, letting the dogs out, etc. But ultimately you want to make sure that you are giving yourself credit for what you're doing. Hydrate, because when you feel better, then you can show up in the world better.

I am so happy and thanks for listening to me all week. Catch another episode of Everyday Happiness tomorrow.

P.S. If you are interested in a habits challenge, Julie is starting a free 5-day challenge on Monday February 20th. You get expert coaching from a Tiny Habits Certified coach and a community to help cheer you on and support you with the right accountability.

Register Here for all the details

About Julie:

Julie DeLucca-Collins is the Founder and CEO of Go Confidently Services, the host of the

popular Casa DeConfidence Podcast®, and her weekly Radio Show Confident You featured on

a global talk radio network.

As a Business and Life Strategist Coach, Julie helps women business owners launch or grow

their businesses, get clients, be productive, and achieve their dreams. Julie helps her clients

create simple habits to achieve goals and change their lives. Julie is also the #1 best-selling

author of the book Confident You (simple habits to live the life you've imagined).

Julie is a sought-after public speaker, trainer, and course creator. She is certified as a coach in

Cognitive Behavioral Techniques, Holistic Coach, and Tiny Habits. She is also certified as a

Social Emotional Learning Facilitator and has completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher

Certification. Julie enjoys helping her clients build mental fitness and improve their mindset to be

at peace and improve peak performance.

Julie has been honored with the "25 Most Powerful Minority Women in Business Award." by the

Minority Enterprise Executive Council in Washington, DC. Julie and her Podcast

co-host/producer husband Dan reside in Vernon, CT, with their fur babies, Yogi Bear, Junior, and

Simba.

Social Media Links:

https://www.instagram.com/julie_deluccacollins/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/goconfidentlyjulie/

https://www.facebook.com/jdelucca

https://www.pinterest.com/juliedelco/

https://www.tiktok.com/@juliedcbusinesscoach

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

View Details

Today we have certified Tiny Habits coach Julie Delucca Collins sharing her tips for happiness habits, tune in to see how these tiny habits really do add up.

Transcript:

Hey there, you're listening to Everyday Happiness with Katie Jefcoat. But today, I'm Julie DeLucca-Collins taking over.

I want to talk to you today about something that we all do and that probably creates a low level stress for all of us. I want to create some thoughtful, mindful and grateful ways for you, and we've talked about this already.

For you to be able to manage email. Email is something that we can't escape. It's part of our world now, but a lot of times many of us associate overwhelm when we're checking email.

So I'm going to give you one of my Tiny Habits that allows me to then be able to be happier when it comes to having email in my life.

Number one, I create some Intentional Margins®, like my friend Katie has taught me. I don't check email outside of the times that I've allocated in my schedule to be checked. That's number one.

So second is when I check email first thing in the morning, I only check it for maybe whatever time I've allocated. But here is the big one. And this is my tiny habit. After I have my time up with email, I close it out. I don't keep email open throughout the day. One, because it helps me be more productive.

Did you know that every time you get a distraction from what you are doing, you could lose about 17 minutes and it will take you to get back into whatever form of concentration you are in.

So for this reason, my tiny habit when it comes to email is after I check email in my designated times, I close the program and then I celebrate -- yay go me, I close out email.

And this forces you to be more intentional when you're checking your email and focus on what matters.

So I am here all week, see you tomorrow everybody for another episode.