Holiday Without the Hassle

Welcome Back!

The newsletter 4 when you “don’t feel like it”. Every week, I find tools and tips for lazy people like you (and me).

This week’s Bum Agenda:

• Candy Cane Milkshakes at Five Guys (yes, they're crushed up real candy canes)

• Cool Apps: A Phone That's Purposely Dumb & More  

• Physical Tools: Machine That Washes Your Back & More

• A Holiday Productivity Hack That Actually Makes Sense

🍿 BINGE WORTHY SHOW

HELLBOUND (Netflix, 2 Seasons)

• Summary: Giant monsters show up in a city to drag "marked" people to hell. A religious group claims these people deserve it because they're sinners. While everyone panics, a few people try to find out what's really going on with these monsters.

🍔 BIG BACK ACTIVITIES

🥤 Five Guys Holiday Hack: Candy Cane Crunch Shakes -

• What: New candy cane pieces mix-in (actual candy, not just syrup!)

• When: Nov 1 - Dec 31, 2024

• Why you care: They crush up real candy canes into your shake + add whipped cream

• Tip: Can be mixed with other flavors for 500+ combinations

🤖 AI PROMPTS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE - HOLIDAY SHOPPING

Let's be honest - holiday shopping sucks. Your brother already has everything, your dad says he "doesn't want anything" (lie), and you're too tired to think about it. Here's a prompt to make AI do the heavy lifting:

Prompt:

Create a gift guide for [number] people. For each person include:
- Their role (like "mom who loves true crime podcasts" or "coworker who's always cold")
- 3 gift ideas under $50
- Where to buy it online
- Why it's a good gift choice (easy to order, no gift wrapping, digital options, etc.)
Add estimated shipping times and mention if gift wrapping is available.

Result:

# Lazy Holiday Gift Guide

## Person 1: Mom Who's Always Cold
1. Heated Mouse Pad with Wrist Rest ($24.99)
   - Amazon Prime shipping (2 days)
   - Why it's lazy-approved: One click order, Prime shipping, arrives in gift box
   
2. Premium Hot Chocolate Gift Set ($35)
   - Williams Sonoma
   - Why it's lazy-approved: Can ship directly to recipient, gift wrapped free

3. Subscription to Calm App ($39.99)
   - Digital gift card via email
   - Why it's lazy-approved: Instant delivery, no shipping needed

## Person 2: Tech Bro Brother
1. Wireless Charging Station ($45)
   - Best Buy
   - Why it's lazy-approved: Buy online, pick up curbside

2. Gaming Gift Card ($50)
   - Digital code via email
   - Why it's lazy-approved: Instant delivery, can send last minute

3. Smart Coffee Mug Warmer ($29.99)
   - Amazon
   - Why it's lazy-approved: Prime shipping, gift bag option +$3

## Person 3: Plant-Obsessed Friend
1. Smart Plant Sensor ($45)
   - Home Depot online
   - Why it's lazy-approved: Ships to store free, curbside pickup

2. Rare Plant Subscription Box ($40)
   - Digital gift announcement
   - Why it's lazy-approved: They handle shipping each month

3. Self-Watering Planter ($35)
   - Target
   - Why it's lazy-approved: Same-day pickup available

💻 DIGITAL TOOLS

Botsy.ai - AI that creeps on social media to find perfect gifts. Plug in someone's social handle and it spits out gift ideas based on what they actually post about.

DumbPhone - an app that makes your iPhone less interesting on purpose. Kills distracting features so you can actually focus or, you know, remember what life was like before endless scrolling. FREE, because paying to make your expensive phone do less would be weird.

TempMail- 10-minute disposable email addresses for when you need to sign up for something but don't want their marketing emails until you die. Disappears faster than your motivation to check promotional emails.

Collections Database - like a spreadsheet for people who hate spreadsheets. Organize literally anything with pre-made templates (because starting from scratch is too much work). Syncs across your devices so you can pretend to be productive from anywhere. iPhone/Mac app that actually makes databases not boring.

🧰 PHYSICAL TOOLS

Motorized Back Scrubber - Automatic wall scrubber that washes your back for you because reaching behind yourself is too much work.

Portable Ironing Board - an foldable ironing board that hides away when your mom visits (and actually holds the iron too).

Ceiling Fan Cleaner - clean your dusty fan without climbing on furniture (or doing that thing where you throw socks at it)

Food Warming Mat - a giant heated pad for your food that keeps everything warm during cooking (with auto shut-off for when you forget about it).

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases

✔️ PRODUCTIVITY TIP

The Holiday Party Rule: Only do stuff that future you will actually thank you for.

Look, December is coming and you'll probably ignore all productivity advice anyway. So here's the deal: for any task, ask "Will I actually care about this after the holidays?" If not, let it marinate in your to-do list until January. Your only job is keeping Future You from having a meltdown.

Examples of stuff Future You will thank you for:

• - Booking that doctor appointment you've been avoiding (because December you will be too busy eating cookies)

• - Setting up auto-pay for bills (drunk on eggnog you will forget)

• - Buying gift cards now (before the holiday panic buying starts)

• - Saying no to that extra "quick meeting" (because December you will need that energy for avoiding relatives)

Everything else can wait until your New Year's motivation kicks in (or doesn't - we don't judge here)

🖇️ LAZY RESOURCES

Videos:

It Takes Two Weeks - If you stink at math this is for you. struggling math students by emphasizing that even if they feel behind their classmates, they can catch up to their mathematical level with just two weeks of focused effort. Although this is for math, I believe this can be applied in other areas.

It really is that damn phone - Your parents were right....

Article:

Take Something Away - While humans and businesses naturally tend to solve problems by adding more elements, the most effective solutions often come from removing or simplifying things.