The Last-Minute Gift Guide for Productivity Geeks

You were being so efficient with your time that you forgot to get gifts for the favorite productivity nerds in your life. Freak not: we’ve made a shopping list of 17 perfect presents that will help your friends and loved ones 10x their lives.

For Brain Building:

• Subscription to Audible.com (listening while doing other things, help you go through books faster)- With over 180,000 audiobooks ready to stream, Audible.com has become a lifesaver for bookworms on the go. There’s no better way to make a long commute move faster than a great audiobook. Starting at $45.00 USD

• Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss (click here for sample chapter) If you have a Tim Ferriss Show fan in your life, or someone who’s always looking for a better way to do things, this book will give them more than enough ammunition to start their new year with a new approach. While 4-Hour Work Week was a great gift for the entrepreneur and 4-Hour Body was perfect for someone who wanted to lose a few pounds, Tools of Titans has insights and lessons for everyone interested in picking up a few habits that will get them closer to their goals in life.

• The Great Courses Gift Card- Delight your favourite autodidact with their pick of any of over 500 college-level audio and video courses taught by academia’s finest professors. They can learn anything from The Science of Mindfulness to The Art of Critical Decision Making.

For Building Better Sleep Habits:

• Philips Hf3470 Wake-up Light Have a not-morning person in your life? Help them get an early start to their day without feeling startled or disoriented. Your late-snoozer will awake gradually over a 30-minute period as the light brightens, eventually illuminating the entire room. And if they throw their blanket over their head in protest, a gentle beep will remind them sleepytime is over. $69.99

• TechArmor Blue Retina Shield- The perfect stocking stuffer for an insomniac: blue light from screens interferes with the brain’s production of sleep-inducing melatonin more than any other wavelength. If you know someone who just won’t shut off their device at bedtime, give them this shield to help them nod off sooner. $9.95 to $11.95 USD

• Sense Sleep Monitor If you know someone who’s been losing sleep lately, help them turn their bedtime into a science. Sense will analyze every aspect of the sleep environment, from ambient light to humidity levels and give you insights as to how they affect your sleep. As it learns your sleep patterns, it gives you personalized suggestions to improve the quality of your sleep. $149.00 USD

For More Mindfulness:

• Brain.fm Subscription- After a few work sessions, Spotify playlists can get repetitive, plus they aren’t really tuned to how the brain works when it needs to focus, relax, or sleep. Brain.fm offers an unlimited collection of AI-generated soundscapes created using research-backed protocols to help you find your zone. $6.95 USD/mo.

• Meditation Pillow by Knot Studios- Once you get the meditation bug, it helps to have a spot in your home devoted to taking a mindful moment. If you’re decor taste doesn’t run into the mandala-and-tie dye territory, Etsy seller Knot Studios has a beautiful, modern take on the poofy floor pillow. $250.00 USD

• CalmBox- Wouldn’t it be nice to have a box full of “ahhhhhh” arrive on your doorstep every four weeks? Everything in The CalmBox subscription is curated to help people de-stress. You can expect items like books on living mindfully, music to help with meditation, aromatic candles, and even silk pajamas. $35/mo w/ free shipping.

• You Are Here: The Magic of Discovering The Present Moment by Thich Nhat Hanh- Legendary Zen monk and teacher writes simply and deeply about the power of living moment to moment. He also invites readers living with challenges in their lives to treat their anger or fear with tenderness so they can offer kindness and compassion to others. A masterful introduction to the practice of mindful living. Paperback $10.35 USD

For The Road Warrior:

• Slicks Backpack If you have a friend or loved one who travels often, you’re probably familiar with the frequent flyer obsession with packing everything in a carry-on and getting through the airport as quickly as possible. The super-efficient Swiss have engineered a travel bag that will satisfy any digital nomad with the Slicks Backpack. The compact 30-liter carry-on transforms from a backpack to a briefcase or a messenger bag and includes organized compartments as well as a series of modular inserts like a suit cover, a washbag, and a shirtcover. Starting at $239.00 USD

• The Voyager Journal by Moleskine One thing that frequent travelers are familiar with is the game of hurry-up-and-wait. While they’re waiting for their flight (or stuck on the jetway), give them an opportunity to refelct on their journey with this beautifully designed, pocket-sized travel journal by Moleskine. $22.95 USD

For Better Work Habits:

• Adjustable laptop stand First it was ergonomic desk chairs, then it was sitting on stability balls, then it was standing desks. The thing is, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. It’s actually considered more beneficial to do a combination of sitting and standing throughout the work day. Turn any desk into a standing desk — and then back into a sitting desk with this handy gadget for the ergonomically obsessed. $39.99

• Abergel Time Management Hourglass Set Like sands through the hourglass, so are the minutes of work. Give someone the gift of time by introducing them to an hourglass set that will help them maximize their focus. This set supports the Pomodoro Technique: the larger hourglass measure 30-minute work periods and the smaller hourglass measures 5-minute breaks. Plus, anyone who has these on their desk will feel like Jafar from Aladdin. $24.90

For Just Cuz:

• Release Your Anger: An Adult Coloring book With 40 Swear Words to Color and Relax- You know what relieves stress? Colouring. You know what really f*cking relieves stress? Swearing. Gift this with a pack of colored pencils and a bar of soap for your favorite potty-mouthed procrastinator. $5.97 USD

• Texture — Know someone who has stacks of magazines lying around the house that never get read? For $10/month, they’ll get unlimited access to their favorite magazines on their mobile devices.

• Equil SmartPen2 — Taking notes with pen and paper has proven to help with goal setting and remembering tasks. But we live in a digital world and pieces of paper get crumpled or misplaced. The Equil SmartPen 2 will record everything you jot down and you can either pair it with your mobile device or upload it later. $189.95 USD

Freebie Gift for Anyone Who Wants To Sort Their Life in 2017:

An early access invite to Mindful.am. Sign up & send your friends your referral link to try out the Mindful.am calendar app. Sure it’s free, but the time and headaches you’ll end up saving them will be priceless.