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New York Times Bestseller Washington Post Bestseller The author of the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home, tackles the critical question: How do we change? Gretchen Rubin's answer: through habits. Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life. It takes work to make a habit, but once that habit is set, we can harness the energy of habits to build happier, stronger, more productive lives. So if habits are a key to change, then what we really need to know is: How do we change our habits? Better than Before answers that question. It presents a practical, concrete framework to allow readers to understand their habits - and to change them for good. Infused with Rubin's compelling voice, rigorous research, and easy humor, and packed with vivid stories of lives transformed, Better than Before explains the (sometimes counter-intuitive) core principles of habit formation. Along the way, Rubin uses herself as guinea pig, tests her theories on family and friends, and answers readers' most pressing questions - oddly, questions that other writers and researchers tend to ignore: * Why do I find it tough to create a habit for something I love to do? * Sometimes I can change a habit overnight, and sometimes I can't change a habit, no matter how hard I try. Why? * How quickly can I change a habit? * What can I do to make sure I stick to a new habit? * How can I help someone else change a habit? * Why can I keep habits that benefit others, but can't make habits that are just for me? Whether readers want to get more sleep, stop checking their devices, maintain a healthy weight, or finish an important project, habits make change possible. Reading just a few chapters of Better Than Before will make readers eager to start work on their own habits - even before they've finished the book.



About the Author

Gretchen Rubin

I'm the author of THE HAPPINESS PROJECT, HAPPIER AT HOME, BETTER THAN BEFORE, THE FOUR TENDENCIES, OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM, and more. I also have a popular, award-winning podcast, "Happier with Gretchen Rubin" (search in your favorite podcast app) and a blog (GretchenRubin.com) , where I write about my daily adventures in happiness and habit-formation. Take my free Four Tendencies quiz here: gretchenrubin.com/quiz.My previous books include a bestselling biography of Winston Churchill, "Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill," and one of John Kennedy, "Forty Ways to Look at JFK." My first book, "Power Money Fame S..: A User's Guide," is social criticism in the guise of a user's manual. "Profane Waste" was a collaboration with artist Dana Hoey. I've also written three dreadful novels that are safely locked away in a drawer.Before turning to writing, I had a career in law. A graduate of Yale and Yale Law School, I clerked for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. I live in New York City with my husband and two daughters.



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