Remember those years when you were so on top of your holiday shopping? You bought gifts throughout the year, cleverly hiding them in secret spots. But as Christmas approached, a familiar dread crept in. You couldn’t quite recall where you’d hidden that perfect present for your niece, or what you’d bought for your picky brother-in-law. This gift-hiding system is just the trick.

But now you have a problem 

As Christmas Day approaches, it’s time to retrieve those gifts from their hiding places and arrange them under the tree. As you begin the scavenger hunt, you realize the problem. You lacked a good “gift-hiding system.”

Yes, the hiding places were great. Nobody found the gifts. But now you can’t either!

Not only that, but the memory of exactly what was purchased and for whom is now hazy. The scavenger hunt consumes more time, and the stress level goes up.

Parentheses to the rescue

Buying throughout the year is great. Wrap the gifts as you go if that’s your preference. Enjoy hiding the gifts where nobody will find them. But add one more step so next year, YOU will know the hiding places.

Do you use a paper planner? If so, each time you hide a gift, flip ahead in your planner to a few days before Christmas. Jot down the gift. Next to it, in parentheses, write the hiding place. That’s it!

This time next year, let your planner serve as the treasure map:

• Boots for Susie (Under bed in guest room)
• Coat for Jimmy (Top shelf of linen closet under blanket)
• Bicycle for Timmy (Tom’s garage)

Do you use a digital task list? The idea is the same. As you hide the item, add a task to your list. Put the name of the person and the name of the gift in the task line. In parentheses put where you hid the item. Add a date corresponding to when you want to put your hands on that gift again.

A system for follow-up

For those who use a paper planner, my favorites are the classic Day-Timer or Franklin Planner, because each day is displayed on two facing pages. The left-hand page is for notating appointments and to-dos.

The right-hand page is for taking notes during phone calls or meetings. It’s a place to jot down anything that comes up during the day. It’s an alternative to writing on dozens of sticky notes and random scraps of paper.

When your friend calls to extend an invitation to his party and carefully goes over the directions for how to get there (since Google Maps doesn’t get it right), you take notes on the right-hand page. But how will you get back to these notes on the day of the party?

Flip ahead to the day of the party. Enter the party on the calendar. Now add one more thing. In parentheses, add the day you took the notes. When it’s time to leave for the party, the parentheses tell you where to look to get the directions.

So what’s the parallel in a digital system? What would that gift-hiding system look like? Whereas my paper planner had a page to trap anything I needed to write today, every task on my list has a note section, and it’s even better. That’s a great place for that little bit of supporting information. I don’t have to flip back to another page in the planner.

Parentheses mean one thing

Years ago, in my paper planner and today with a digital system, parentheses meant one thing to me: “Look here for more information.”

Sometimes, parentheses direct us to another spot in the planner where we recorded information. Sometimes, parentheses direct us to the location of a file containing supporting material for today’s project. And sometimes, those parentheses direct us to the exact spot where we hid that gift months ago.

Today, my digital task list is the place where everything comes together. You’ll see tasks that include something in parentheses. That’s generally directing me to something physical associated with the task. You’ll also see links in the task. Those take me to a note in Evernote where I have supporting information, a webpage where there is supporting information, or a document in Google Drive or One Drive. Over time, the tools change but the principles stay the same. We all need that central hub that guides small actions during the day. Those small correct actions lead to big things.

Feel free to hide that present. Put it in a place nobody would think to look. But add one more step on the front end that’s going to save you time and stress on the back end. Your gift-hiding system saves time and stress year after year!

Life is too short and time too precious to waste one more day. If you are someone who stumbled upon this site for the first time, let me help you take a major step forward right now. When you join my email list, I’ll give you two free gifts. The first will get your desk clean. The second will put everything you have to do in one place. Plus, each week you’ll hear from me with nuts & bolts tools and strategies to make life easier and more productive. You’re one click away from making it happen.