Gretchen Rubin

The 80/20 Rule is Your Friend

By Hazel Thornton | June 21, 2021 |

One of my favorite concepts in life is The 80/20 Rule. What is it? The 80/20 Rule, a.k.a. the Pareto principle, stems from observations made by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto in 1906, including the fact that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. Or, generalizing to other situations, roughly…

Does Progress Equal Happiness?

By Hazel Thornton | December 30, 2012 |

Last year I decided I wanted a mantra/slogan/motto/theme. Something that I could fall back on to keep me motivated and — dare I say it? — happy. As a fan of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project (book and blog), I know that many things can contribute to one’s happiness, from kittens and rainbows and enjoyable…