Hello and welcome to Happier, a podcast that gives you ideas for how to build happier habits into your daily life.

This week we'll talk about why you should make a running list of your favorite things,

and how you can know yourself better by reflecting on a one word or one phrase theme for the year.

I'm Eleanor Rubin, a 12 year old normally in New York City, but right now I'm in Kansas City visiting for the holidays.

I'll be popping in throughout this recording session and a couple of segments, with my mom and my aunt,

and I'm going to give my try this at home suggestion.

And I'm Gretchen Rubin, a writer whose studies happiness, good habits and human nature.

I'm also usually in New York City, but right now I'm in KC2, with my daughter Eleanor and my sister, Elizabeth Kraft,

all here in one room in a studio in beautiful Kansas City.

I'm Elizabeth Kraft, a TV writer and producer, usually in LA, but right now I'm also in Kansas City,

and yes Gretchen we're recording early in Kansas City because we wanted to get in a studio together, along with Eleanor.

That's right. We wanted to take advantage of all being in the same place.

So before we jump into Eleanor's try this at home, we wanted to say some people have already started posting to our Instagram,

hashtag, happy or podcast, with something that makes them happier every day.

So be sure to join in on that for January in 2018. It's super fun.

And tag us on Instagram. I'm at Gretchen Rubin and you're, what are you on Instagram?

Liz Kraft, Liz Kraft and the hashtag is happy or podcast. So every day post something that makes you happier or helps you keep your good habits.

That's tons of fun. And also in episode 149, Elizabeth and I talked to Roz Chas, the legendary cartoonist and author,

and she made such an impassioned case for the happiness boosting potential of the ukulele that I bought a ukulele as a present, a Christmas present,

and Eleanor here give us some ukulele styling.

There we go. Oh, baby, you could learn to play our theme song on the ukulele.

That would be cool. Okay, that's got's going to be very advanced.

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