Hello and welcome to Happier, a podcast about how to be happier, healthier, more productive

and more creative.

This week, in honor of Labor Day, a holiday that we have here in the United States, we

will talk about how to be happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative in our

work lives.

I'm Gretchen Rubin, a writer whose studies happiness could have its human nature.

I'm a New York City and with me is my sister and my partner in work, Elizabeth Kraft.

That's me, Elizabeth Kraft, a TV writer and producer living in Los Angeles.

Yet Gretchen this year, I am all about work.

This is my year of work.

This is your year of work.

Now, before we jump into this big topic of Happier Labor Day, we got this interesting

response from Lisa, which is relevant to this theme of being happier work.

And she writes about a way to get your own work done while also being of service to others.

She says, in episode 177, you talked about Jill and the many requests she gets as someone

who works at home to do favors slash service to others.

I totally agreed with everything you said, which was to say no, it had one thing to add.

Many people want to be able to serve others, but get overwhelmed by the requests and so

end up saying no to everything or being resentful as you discussed.

I find it helpful to put a boundary on my service, like an hour a week or set up a specific

time, Fridays 1 to 3, where I'm available to do favors for others.

If serving is important to you, then you feel guilty when you say no.

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