Last-Minute Shopping to Do? Go With Your Gut

Still have some last minute holiday shopping to do? Experts suggest that gut decisions are really the best way to go.

Deciding on a gift can represent quite the complex problem, especially when it comes down to the nitpicky choices of colour, size, and whatever other options are available. When making these decisions, we can rely on the more planned and evaluative method of analysis, or we can opt for more expedient methods such as trusting our intuition.

Research shows that analytical skills might be better for math and logic problems, which require breaking a task into smaller parts or subsets, but intuition is better suited when it comes to deciphering patterns and wholes. What makes choosing a gift difficult is there may be no single right answer, as a number of options might be suitable.

What’s a shopper to do? Rather than prepping for a shopping adventure by asking ourselves, “What does so-and-so want?” A better approach is to prep ourselves to make intuitive decisions about someone by asking, “What do I know about this person?” The experts say that when it comes to the people that we’re likely buying gifts for—family, friends, co-workers—we probably know quite a lot. This type of expertise will be what ultimately supports the decisions that we make.

Looking for some holiday gift ideas?

• “Healthy Giving”
• “All I Want for Christmas...”
• “The Best Holiday Houseplants”
• “Gift Giving Naturally”
• “‘Tis the Seasoning”