We all care deeply about those we love—from family to chosen family to coworkers to acquaintances suddenly in need.
But remembering to show that we care is a bit harder, thanks to the speed and distractions of the world we live in. We have great intentions! But we often fail to follow through, even if we had committed to. *cue guilt*
As with many issues in life, the solution is simple and fairly obvious—but since we live in this fast, distracting world, we can all use an obvious sign now and then. So here are three easy tricks to help you remember to show you care.
1. Do it right now. Crazy, right? But hear me out: I’ve heard many variations on the rule that if something takes less than five minutes, do it right then. If the way you need to show you care involves typing a text, dropping a card in the mail, sending flowers, or calling a precious person of few words—anything that takes around five minutes—do the thing when you think of it. You’ll thank yourself later.
2. Set a reminder on your phone. It’s in your hand at all times—you might as well take advantage of it! The minute you feel that pull to reach out, send a gift, or set up a date, if you don’t have time to actually do it at the moment, set an intentionally dated and timed reminder on your phone to come back to it later. And then once you do come back to it later, pull an Inception moment and set another reminder for the actual follow-through of the task if it will require more of you.
3. Connect it to your routine. You’ve probably heard that the best way to start a new habit is to attach it to an existing one. It would then stand to reason that adding something out of the ordinary into your day is most likely to be successful if you tack it onto something you’re already going to do. Do you need to hang out with your sister and already go get coffee on Wednesdays at 10:00? Book your coffee date then. Do you have an appointment that’s on the way to your coworker’s house where you need to drop off a care package? Do that after the appointment.
Showing you care does require some thought, but it shouldn’t require stress, frustration, and difficulty. It can be easy to make it happen. The key is setting yourself up to remember to do it in a way that works for you. Do that enough, and soon you’ll be a master at following through.
Bonus: Want gift giving made easy? Check out Boon Mail’s many boxes, ready to brighten anyone’s day. And I’d place that in the 5-minute, do-it-right-now category. (Not sure what to choose? Take the Package Matcher quiz!)
Author: Kacie Lynn Fleming
