Day 3 of the 12 Days of Gifts series is focused on enabling you to give something that is a bit of an enigma. Time.
So many times we hear ourselves and others talk about the ‘If only I hads…’ and ‘I don’t have enough of it…’ when referring to time. I have discussed a number of productivity approaches when it comes to time management, and the notion of transforming time in a couple different ways.
Time management and the perceived linearity of time as a finite resource is something I have spent a lot of time on this year. Giving someone a gift of time is incredibly valuable in a couple of different ways, at the very least – this will be a unique set of gifts that you will be giving.
Here are a few gifts that can be given to provide someone in your life more time, and I’ve approached many of these ideas as you having to purchase them on behalf of someone else. You could always become the provider, and in some circumstances I could see that being more impactful than outsourcing it. Okay – the gifts…
- Virtual Assistants – If you have anything that is digital that can be done on a computer or mobile device – you can give this as a gift to someone. Budget consolidations/accounting, to do tracking, internet research, data entry, email management (gmail in particular), and task follow ups – all great ideas for a virtual assistant. There are a number of online providers that you can leverage over at Fiverr.com that are reputable. A couple of hours of support can be had for less than $50, at the very least it will get your gift recipient questioning where could they be spending their time on more valuable things.
- Babysitting / Nanny – I’ve used a few providers from Care.com to help me with some in home, family-related tasks. They have since expanded the types of support they offer, and they do background/credential checks for the providers that are sourced through their platform. Getting a nanny/babysitter to help your loved one for 2-4 hours a week, could be an incredibly freeing gift – if the time you provide them could then be used for something important, but proverbially delayed/blocked.
- Cleaning Service – If you have never hired a cleaning service, or if the person you are giving this to has never hired a service like this – just do it. The time and aggravation that it can save someone is worth it, provided the rates are reasonable. For some people, I understand that cleaning is a therapeutic thing, however for the rest of us – this can return anywhere from 5-20 hours a month. Give it for two months to help your loved one in starting the year off right!
- Meal Prep Services – The biggest one out there is HelloFresh, and I’ve heard good things about them. I have not personally used this, although if I were to receive this gift – I’d be pumped. I do enjoy cooking, however it takes a fair amount of time – some weeks, time I just do not have. Meal prep and cleanup are basically zeroed out with a service like these guys. If they do not have service where you live, I’m sure there are local providers and/or restaurants that do provide meal prep services.
- Handyman Services – Whether your guy is handy or not, getting a handyman as a co-worker for a long standing, but chronically delayed project could be the gift that is needed. Or if you are like me – you probably do not have the time needed to get to everything, so a few hours of a pre-bought handyman could be an incredibly helpful gift. A few hours of a well reputed handyman per month could be a new productivity hack that you can adopt in the new year. I’ve used my handyman with great effect over the past couple of years. If you do not have a handyman already, ask the crowd on your Nextdoor app if you live here in the US. Everyone has an opinion on their handyman on that app/site.
- Your Own Time – Depending upon the recipient, this may or may not work for you. However, committing to providing someone an hour a month to help them with something or to promise helping them with a project that they have been blocked on could be a real game changer for the relationship. Or maybe you decided to donate your time on their behalf to a favorite charity that they have?
- Drivetime…Uber? – Check this out, if you have a horrible commute – what would you pay if you did not have to drive it for every Friday for a month for example? What if we all had an Uber gift card that we held in reserve for a special occasion? Enter the Uber Gift Card. I have used Uber in the past to allow me to work while someone else handles the driving to and from the airport when I’m traveling. I can imagine a very cool gift as a commute being erased as a point of stress with an Uber gift card. If you are someone who likes to have a drink while out on the weekend, or if you just do not want to deal with the crazy traffic during the winter months, then this is another great way to take advantage of having someone help you with driving. You could catch a nap or make that overdue phone call from the backseat.
Admittedly, these are very practical gifts, and if you wanted to make them a bit more meaningful – you could layer in another gift that takes advantage of the time you just freed up for that person.
The idea of ‘multiplying time’ in our lives is something I’ll be elaborating upon in the new year.
Are you up for giving the gift of time?