Have a real conversation with someone.
Why it works: The more time you spend with people, whether they're
close friends or just casual acquaintances, the happier you are.
Strange, true thing that might convince you: To really brighten up your morning, skip the small talk. Researchers outfitted 79 people with electronic recording devices for a day to see what kind of conversations they were having and found that less "crazy weather today" chitchat and more substantive talks (think talking about your family or that bucket-list trip you're planning) were linked to higher reports of wellbeing, found a study in
Psychological Science. The happiest folks engaged in one-third as much small talk as the unhappiest subjects and had twice as many meaningful conversations.
