Business Book Review: Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin

For anyone who’s ever felt out of sorts, this book will help you address the problem from the outside in. 

My Rating: ★★★★
Length: 240 pages
Publisher: Harmony 
Released: 2019

Key Takeaways for Personal Branding

Best-selling author of The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin, delivers another discussion around boosting emotional well-being through intentional curation. Just a few key suggestions include: 

Use a photograph to evaluate clutter 

In a unique perspective and one very useful for visual personal branding, Rubin recommends the use of photographs to help you assess your spaces: 

“Somehow a photograph helps us to see a space with fresh eyes. It changes our perspective and gives us a measure of detachment that can help us decide what items should stay and what needs to go.”

From a personal brand point of view, consider applying this thinking to your office space, desk, business and home. It will help you see how you are representing yourself in the eyes of others. 

Fix the broken windows

Rubin highlights the popular “broken windows” theory. A nice reminder that this can apply outside of community and business context. 

The broken windows theory of policing proposes that when a community tolerates minor examples of disorder and petty crime e.g. broken windows, turnstile jumping, and drinking in public, serious crimes are more likely to ensue.

When it comes to your personal brand, and how you’re representing yourself (and your standards), what are your broken windows?

Choose a signature colour

Aligned with personal branding, Rubin suggests adopting a signature colour:

“A signature colour makes decision-making easier. What colour should you choose for your cell phone case or your exercise clothes? Your signature colour, of course.”

Rubin proposes that seeing splashes of this colour will raise your spirits. But, from a personal brand perspective, it also creates consistency. Further attuned to personal brand thinking, Rubin suggests that if you don’t have a signature colour, consider a signature pattern or material. 

Favourite Quotes

“Consider the X factor. If you can’t decide whether to keep an item of clothing, ask yourself, “If I ran into my ex on the street, would I be happy if I were wearing this?””

“Clearing clutter is exhausting because it requires us to make choices - and making choices is hard. It takes intellectual and emotional energy."

“Every item should have a specific home.”

“Something that can be done at any time, can often be done at no time.” 

“Clutter attracts clutter.”

“The area may feel very comfortable - but the objective eye of the camera may help a person recognize that it needs to be cleared out.”

Rubin delivers another easy-to-digest, delightful read with the potential for a huge impact. 

Rubin doesn’t pretend to be a cleaning extraordinaire, but rather the everyday person, finding her way through her own clutter. Sharing what’s worked for her and what hasn’t. Understanding that everyone’s approach to clutter will be different. Minimalism, as an example, isn’t for everyone. But, being intentional is something everyone can do to help achieve outer order for inner calm. 

Outer Order Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin:  Available on Amazon.