Try This at Home
Note the start date of any notable pain or symptom. We’ve both learned this the hard way.
Happiness Hack
For people who get very worried about being late, instead of specifying an exact time, suggest a window of time, to build in more flexibility.
Interview
We talked to the extraordinary actor, director, producer, musician, and writer Mark Duplass. With so much of what he does, his partner is his brother and creative partner Jay Duplass. Among their many accomplishments, they’ve produced, written, directed, and acted in projects such as the movies The Puffy Chair and Jeff Who Lives at Home, TV such as HBO’s TV series Togetherness, Mindy Kaling’s The Mindy Project, The League, Transparent, and the documentary Wild Wild Country. As if all that isn’t enough, they just wrote a terrific, hilarious memoir Like Brothers, where they describe their upbringing, their process of working together, their conflicts and their collaboration.
Mark Duplass’s Try This at Home(s):
- Meditate—Mark says, “A failed meditation is often a successful nap.“
- Use the public library.
- To get more exercise and light, and less judgment, use the Voice Memos app to do your “writing.”
Gold Stars & Demerits
Elizabeth’s Demerit: She told Adam she’d make them an appointment at Jenny Craig after they returned from their trip. But she didn’t. Elizabeth talked about the Strategy of the Clean Slate.
Gretchen’s Gold Star: I give a gold star to Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion, the brilliant, hilarious co-hosts of the terrific podcast Binge Mode, which is now covering the Harry Potter books and movies. I’m thrilled to have so many episodes to listen to, all about Harry Potter. Caution: spoilers and cursing abound.
Resources
- Want to sign up for my free monthly newsletter, or for the “Moment of Happiness,” my daily email with a happiness quotation? Sign up here.
- If you want the PDF of my collection of readings for weddings, or for funerals or memorial services, you can download them here.