If you’re on social media at all, you’ll notice that at this time of year, your feed is full of products you may not see otherwise. Many of them seem like they would fill a need, until you stop and realize that you actually don’t need a separate gizmo for everything.
A sampling of today’s advertisements:
- A brush with your car’s logo to dust off all those crevices around the dashboard
- A jewelry holder with many tiny pockets to protect your items while traveling
- A hook, branded of course, to go behind your car’s headrest to hold your packages
- A double-sided gadget to allow you to easily thread needles or rip seams
- A monographed golf ball stamp — with a metal case!
- A travel power kit with 4 AC outlets and 2 USB outlets
- A faux collar collection for interchangeable looks
- A mix-and-match belt kit
- An aero garden kit to grow herbs
Surprisingly, this all reminds me of the process I used when I had a staff vacancy. Before I started interviewing, I would make a list of the attributes I sought in the person I hired. I would refer to this before making an offer, double-checking myself that I was getting what I truly needed and was not seduced by a slick interviewer. I think the same principle is at the core of holiday shopping. Figure out your budget and list before you venture out into Black Friday madness, and don’t succumb to the hype. Santa checked his list twice; make yours and stick to it.
