Don’t Give People Gifts That Are Actually Housework
If you’re starting out on holiday shopping this weekend, here’s a tip: ask yourself if you’re giving the recipient what they really want or something that will add extra work to their life.
Productivity and personal growth expert Nicholas Bate recently listed seven factors to consider before buying a gift , and invites shoppers to “take care of anything that takes longer [the recipient’s] time” or “adds to their to-do list.”
In other words: don’t give people gifts that are actually routine jobs.
What does it mean? Well, you probably know what it means to receive such a gift – for example, an ice cream maker who turns ice cream into a production, not a purchase. Instead of just buying a pint of ice cream, you now have to grab the ingredients, set up the machine, wait for the machine to turn the ingredients into ice cream, then clean the machine, and so on.
Some people love this kind of thing, and other people will use their ice cream exactly once to post a photo on Facebook and tell the giver that their gift has been appreciated, at least in theory.
And, if you’re being honest with yourself, you probably know if the person you’re buying gifts for is an ice cream maker (or a type of symphony subscription, or a type of daily meditation calendar, or whatever). Sometimes we don’t give people gifts that prove who they really are; we give gifts that are designed to push them to who we want them to be.
Or we didn’t know what else to buy, and, like, an ice cream maker was on sale.
So before making any purchases this holiday weekend, ask yourself if the recipient will be burdensome with the gift you intend to make. (This also applies to any gifts you give your children, especially those that involve loud noises and / or small objects.)
And if you end up giving someone a gift that they don’t really use, remind yourself that it’s the thought that really matters, and what you really gave them is discovering a gift from someone they loved. …