Writing
Notes on remembering people.
Practical guides on remembering birthdays, choosing gifts people actually want, and getting more out of your iPhone.
Birthday Gifts for Someone You Don't Know Well
In-laws, new colleagues, a partner's parents. When you know almost nothing, buy for the situation rather than the person, and get one fact from whoever invited you.
· 6 min read
Last-Minute Birthday Gifts That Aren't a Gift Card
Sorted by how many hours you have left rather than by what's nice. What's still possible today, tonight, and in two days, and when a gift card is genuinely the right call.
· 6 min read
How Much Should You Spend on a Birthday Gift?
Workable bands by relationship, why matching what they spent on you backfires, and the reason overspending is a cost to the person receiving it.
· 6 min read
Birthday Reminder Apps: What Actually Differs
Every one of them stores a date and sends a notification. The things that separate them are lead time, per-person control, what else they hold, and where your data lives.
· 7 min read
How to Ask Someone's Birthday Without It Being Weird
Asking is only awkward when there's no reason attached to it. Lines that work for friends, colleagues and dates, why you should skip the year, and how to find out without asking at all.
· 5 min read
How to Keep Track of Gift Ideas All Year
The best gift you'll give this year has probably already been mentioned to you. How to catch it when it's said, what to write down, and where to put it so it survives until December.
· 7 min read
The Best Way to Keep Track of Birthdays
Eight ways people track birthdays, compared honestly, including the free one already on your phone, plus the three things any system needs before it works.
· 7 min read
Gift Ideas for Someone Who Has Everything
They don't have everything, they have everything they'd buy themselves. How to aim at the gap, with the categories that work and the ones that just become clutter.
· 7 min read
How to Make a Birthday Wishlist Without Feeling Awkward
A wishlist isn't a demand. It answers a question people are already asking. How many items, at what prices, how specific to be, and when to send it.
· 7 min read
What to Write in a Birthday Card
A four-line formula that works for anyone, plus messages sorted by relationship (partner, parent, friend, colleague, someone you barely know) and the phrases to leave out.
· 8 min read
How to Find Someone's Clothing and Shoe Size Without Asking
Where the size label hides on every garment, how to measure a shoe properly, and what to buy when you genuinely can't find out, without ruining the surprise.
· 7 min read
What to Do When You Forget Someone's Birthday
You've realised. What to say, what not to say, and why the late gift is often the better one.
· 5 min read
How to See Everyone's Birthdays From Your iPhone Contacts
Your iPhone already knows most of the birthdays you care about. How to switch them on, get a reminder, and fix it when they refuse to appear.
· 5 min read
How to Find Someone's Ring Size Without Asking
Six ways to work out a ring size in secret: which ones are accurate, which one everyone recommends and shouldn't, and what to do when you simply have to guess.
· 6 min read