Hello from Austin, Texas!

I made the short trek from Houston to Austin today to attend SXSW 2010. And while I’ve been to SXSW the past two years, I have only experienced covering the music portion of this annual festival.  Since my career focus has changed a bit over the years, I opted to attend the interactive panels in addition to music this year.

I have to say, the experience thus far has been pretty overwhelming. There are just way too many panels, parties and people to take in all at once. It really is sensory overload.

We opted to check out a few of the Interactive Book Readings panels today. One of the readings we attended  was to see Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project. She gave a great overview of how she came to write the book (which I have read and am excited to implement) and a little about the active community she engages at her blog.

Though her presentation was short, she left the audience with some really great information:

1. Novelty and challenge bring happiness. (I am very much exploring this idea during my time here. I am so out of my element and while it is overwhelming, the experience is also so invaluable.)

2. Whatever efforts you make to be happier, start with yourself first. “Wherever you go, there you are.” Ask yourself if you’re getting enough sleep, because being tired makes everything a lot harder to do.

3. Make your bed. ( I have to admit, I find the concept of making one’s bed every morning a really pointless activity. However, Gretchen mentioned that through her research she discovered that making your bed every morning helped to improve one’s overall mood and create a sense of serenity. I guess I’ll be giving this a try!)

The most incredible part of the day was actually getting to meet Gretchen. Like the nerd I am, I brought my copy of her book with me (complete with an overabundance of post-it notes marking all the passages I found useful) and it turns out she stuck around for a bit to meet attendees and sign books. I was able to talk to her briefly, thank her for the book and to tell her a little bit about our efforts at Girlyfight.

Not a bad way to start SXSW, yea?

Check out Gretchen’s post about the panel on her blog.