Christmas shopping is so tricky. It’s hard enough trying to come up with something fun and original that you know they’ll love, but doing that every year? And really only remembering to start your shopping a week or so before Christmas? That’ll just add to the stress.

2022 has been a challenge at the best of times. The least you need right now is to have to spend countless hours wallowing in self-pity at the idea of having to come up with great Christmas gift ideas.

If you’re strapped for ideas on what to get the productive people in your life, then look no further. I’ve made the list really easy to navigate, too. You’re looking at analogue, digital, and smart home-based Christmas gifts.

Analogue Christmas gifts

I’ve made no secret that I love digital technology, but there’s something that’s still so satisfying about owning analogue products. If I have these items on my desk while I’m hard at work, I can almost see the productivity dripping off my fingers.

A Journal

Bullet Journals rock, and I’d highly recommend you buy your productive person a blank book with dots in so that they can follow the BuJo method that’s detailed on Ryder Carroll’s website and on my blog.

Buy yours here: https://amzn.to/3V2KWBc*

Stationery

What are you going to use to write in the Bullet Journal if you don’t have a pen? I love stationery so much that I prepared a back-to-school guide earlier this year, but you basically want to make sure that you pick up productive stationery.

As in, one of those great multicolour pens: https://amzn.to/3UYzFSn*

A coffee subscription

Look, until I get one of those sweet sponsorships, I couldn’t care less which coffee subscription you go for. All I do know is that coffee really helps to boost my productivity. Sometimes, there’s nothing better than that feeling you get when you sit down with a nice Cup of Joe on your desk, ready to produce some high-quality work.

Just me? Alrighty then…

Desk plant

Greenery can actually boost our productivity. One study in the Netherlands and the UK showed that bringing plants into the office boosted productivity by 15%, with the author reflecting that workers were more comfortable. Even if it’s a fake plant, it’ll do.

Speaking of which, buy yours here: https://amzn.to/3UW1aMA*

An egg timer

Or just about any kind of timer really. One of the most effective ways to study is in 25-minute bursts and, while this can be timed on an app, it’s often easier to throw away the phone for a study session and time this period non-digitally. As a result, your productive person might find themselves becoming less distracted and more engaged with whatever it is they’re doing.

Here’s the one I’d go for: https://amzn.to/3HzzY32*

A candle

I love a candle. Just like the coffee, a lit candle adds a certain aesthetic to your desk setup that just makes studying or working that much more pleasant. And if I’m happier while working, I’m more likely to enjoy the work that I’m doing.

I’m a sucker for lavender scents: https://amzn.to/3hnl7OG*

Candle lighter

Who has time faff about with matches? And what about for when they go out prematurely or burn your hand? No thanks. Save time with an electronic candle lighter that charges by USB-C.

Here’s the one that I use: https://amzn.to/3uPKrjj*

Digital Christmas gifts

Kindle

Everybody wants to read more, right? That’s, like, one of the number one New Years’ Resolutions. One of the greatest frictions between reading more and, well, not, is having to go out, buy a book, take it home, open it up, blah, blah, blah. Cut out the barriers and get your productive person a Kindle. Then they’ll be reading all the time (or finally have no excuse to complain about not reading enough).

Buys yours here: https://amzn.to/3uRkn7s*

Bluetooth mouse

Who wants to deal with a load of wires all over the place? Make their productive setup even cleaner by upgrading their mouse to a high-quality bluetooth piece of kit and they’ll 100% love you.

I use the MX master S2 because it’s huge and comfortable and has dozens of customisable buttons: https://amzn.to/3BwMVqw*

Bluetooth keyboard

Obviously you won’t want a wired keyboard if you’ve got a wireless mouse; complete the set! Your choice here will depend upon whether they want a mechanical (fanicer, clicky-sounding) keyboard, or a more standard one (this is the sort I use, and they’re fine).

Just make sure it’s got a number pad, or your productive person may freak out at having to relearn where the numbers are on their new keyboard. Here’s the one that I use (which also comes with a mouse if you don’t want to spend more on a separate one!): https://amzn.to/3uTeG97*

Bluetooth headphones

We’re continuing the wireless theme with a set of nice headphones. In my opinion, they don’t need to be flashy (I’m looking at you, Apple AirPods Pro Max), they just need to be comfortable with decent audio.

These are similar to the ones that I bought a while ago: https://amzn.to/3FwprDd*

A good speaker system

Now, I know what you’re thinking: is there really any need for good speakers if the productive person is now the proud owner of a good set of headphones?

Absolutely not. If you’re on a budget, that is. If money means no object, I’d recommend both, since the headphones are great for quieter environments, while they might prefer speakers for when they can play music at a higher volume (I know that I do). Plus, no matter how comfortable the headphones, I can almost guarantee that they’ll start to hurt soon enough.

I bought some very similar, affordable, speakers (with subwoofer) over ten years ago and they still hold up. Looks like the price has increased, but I still think that this is reasonable for decent speakers: https://amzn.to/3Fu5pJr*

An air fryer

Woah, this one’s a little out of left field, isn’t it? I’ve included it here because air fryers can not only reduce household cooking bills, they can also cook food quicker because they’re heating less space than an oven would. What’s one thing that productive people love?

Saving time, obviously. Buy them an air fryer and they’ll spend more time doing what they love (unless the thing that they love is cooking): https://amzn.to/3BBnvrS*

Smart Home Christmas gifts

Home assistant

All of the following items can be controlled by the sound of your voice, so why wouldn’t you get a home assistant to do it all? I’d say if your productive person is doing a lot of desk working, they could do with one of those home assistants with a screen. They have beefier speakers (great alternatives to getting them a speaker system) and having that touch interface just makes everything so much sleeker.

Find Amazon’s Alexa here: https://amzn.to/3Wln7Wv*

Smart hoover

I ADORE my smart hoover. We named it FRIDAY, after one of the many assistants that Tony Stark uses in the Marvel Universe, and it’s a game-changer no longer having to do the hoovering myself, yet still living in a nice, tidy, place. Click here for my full review.

Oh, and you can buy your own FRIDAY here: https://amzn.to/3HySMzx*

Smart bulbs

What if I told you that you could control your lights with the sound of your voice? Or that you could schedule lights to turn on and off at certain times each day, so that it looks like someone is in? Or how about the colour of your lights? Maybe red and blue on opposing sides of the room for an epic board game night, or a cool purple for watching movies?

Yeah, you can do that. Awesome: https://amzn.to/3HwPjkZ*

Smart plugs

Sometimes, smart bulbs won’t fit. Not because they literally won’t fit into the socket; because you want to control outlets like fairy lights, or the home entertainment system, or kitchen appliances, and you want them off when you’re not using them. Doing this will save power in the long-run, and save you valuable steps that would otherwise be spent getting up and moving from your desk.

Also, if everything’s coded into your smart assistant, you can add your plugs onto the same scheduling as your bulbs, getting them to turn on and off whenever you want every day. How cool is that?

These are similar to the ones that I use: https://amzn.to/3UYGK5i*

Smart security system

Security first! Keep guard of your home, whether you’re at the office or abroad. Better yet, you can view all of the footage from your phone. How convenient!

Try this one on for size: https://amzn.to/3YlrQJr*

Smart doorbell

Who in their right mind would want a smart security system without a smart doorbell? This one will also connect to your phones – or the home assistant that you’ve recently purchased. It doesn’t really matter which brand you go for with this gift (Google, Amazon, they’re all the same really), but I’d recommend choosing one ecosystem. So if you’ve got an Alexa, stick with Amazon. It’ll just work better.

Buy yours here: https://amzn.to/3FNIdWX*

Ultimately, I think the greatest gift that you can get for somebody that you love is the gift of quality time together, but we all know that Christmas became a time for capitalist greed and money a long, long time ago. What are you getting for the productive people in your life this year? Or are you enforcing a bit of procrastination onto their turkey plates this year?

*Asterisks are affiliate links, so I may earn a small kickback at no extra cost if you make a purchase after clicking.

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