Recently I finished the book Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin and I was really excited to read this book. I had read Gretchen Rubin's earlier book, The Happiness Project, and I felt like I had taken a lot out of that book. I spent a fair amount of time on Gretchen's website, and I, also, listened to her podcast. I felt like, I was really missing out by not listening to her book, Better Than Before.

It was definitely worth reading but I didn't love it. While reading it I didn't feel like I was getting much out of it. I was wrong, and we'll get to that, but while I was listening to it, I felt like it was very repetitive, perhaps, because I listened to the podcast, so some of the thoughts were the same. I felt like there was more that I would have liked to have heard, on some things, and less that I would have liked to hear on others.

That she gave a lot of personal examples, which is one thing I like about her, but one thing I could use less of in the book. I would've liked a deeper dive into the Four Tendencies, which I, actually, think is another book she's coming out with, so I must not have been the only one, but a deeper dive into the Four Tendencies, and, specifically, how each certain type of tendency should deal with another one. I realized that my husband and I have very different tendencies. I think it would be, incredibly helpful if we learned how to deal with each other. I need a better understanding.

That being said, while I wasn't overwhelmingly, enjoying the book when I read it, I am glad that I finished it. I did pick up at the very least, one tip, if not many more, because I do love learning about habits, and the book is more about habits than I realized.

Specifically, I am looking for ways to put a habit in place. That habit is, I need to take better care of my skin, specifically at night. I need a better nighttime routine both for my hands, my neck, my shoulders, my face. I'd like to look at ways to implement pairing which Gretchen talks a lot about. My thought is, I put on my pajamas, I do my face routine. Now, this won't necessarily work, because sometimes I run upstairs after work, and I throw on my pajamas, and I have to run downstairs because the kids are doing who knows what. The other possibility is that when I leave the boys' room, after putting them to bed, I automatically go and do my face. Whatever it is, I need to figure out some way to pair this need with something that is already happening.

That is a pretty big takeaway that I'm excited about. Like I said, I'm excited to implement this. Now, I'm excited to really listen to her podcast and partake in some of the online quizzes that she makes available because I have a better understanding of the four tendencies, as well.

What are you reading today?

XOXO