I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier.

A few years ago, I wrote a book called Outer Order Intercom because I was so intrigued

by the degree to which Outer Order contributed to Intercom for most people and certainly

for me.

Now, I've been doing strength training for years, so I've become good friends with my

trainer Mike and Mike and I often talk about mutual interests like habit formation, low

carb eating and clutter clearing.

Like me, Mike is someone who really thrives in orderly organized surroundings.

My sister, Elizabeth, calls me a happiness bully because I can get pretty forceful if

I think there's a way for someone to be happier.

So one day, when Mike was complaining about how messy his house was, I encouraged him to

tackle the clutter.

He'll feel so great, I told him, it's so energizing, it's so free.

He said, I know I feel exactly the same way.

The thing is, I'm really neat.

I like everything to be put away in its place.

But my wife is so messy, it drives me nuts.

How does this come up?

I asked, what are the conflicts?

I am a happiness bully.

Mike said, for instance, I'll be sitting down at the kitchen table to tackle some household

administrative tasks she wants me to do.

...