Happiness is a Choice You Get to Make -- and Schedule

Gretchen Rubin, the happiness blog creator and author of The Happiness Project, says that happiness is a choice you can get in the habit of making.

First of all, she says, put down the phone. Her phone never rings, it's always on mute. It's also set so she doesn't get announcements, because they are hard to resist.

"Technology is a wonderful servant but a terrible master," Rubin said. "How can I use it for all the great things it provides without having it get in my way of doing the things I really care about?"

Some of the choices are unbelievably simple, Rubin said, speaking Tuesday at The Atlantic Meets the Pacific forum, an event focused on how emerging technology and ideas meet and change society.

"The resolution to make your bed ... is the gateway drug to happiness," she said. "Getting good sleep, giving good greetings -- seeing these opportunities for small changes that can affect your happiness for the whole day."

It's also a challenge to avoid helping people be happier, she cautioned.

"Sometimes I do see people making decisions for the wrong reasons or making decisions ... so their entire day is frantic, or people who won't unplug from the phone," she said. "I have to hold myself back from being a happiness bully."

The good news is most people are pretty happy, she said.

For herself, nothing happens unless she puts it on her calendar.

"I schedule kissing sessions (with my husband) every morning and every night -- if it's not on my calendar it doesn't get done," she said.

A keen sense of self and the mindfulness to execute and stay focused on making happiness are key.

"I knew that for myself, I'm not adventurous, I don't like to travel, I eat the same food every day," she said. "So I need to find ways to find happiness that work for me."