Newsletter #9 - How to Thoughtfully Delegate Your Gift Giving

Use Stories to Delegate

Basic instructions are easy to forget. Stories aren’t.

Using stories to educate and delegate helps your assistant understand your preferences, thought processes, and decision-making style through rich, multi-sensory examples.

When you engage their senses, abstract concepts become tangible, enabling your assistant to comprehend and remember your ideas more clearly and for longer periods

What it looks like:

1. Experiences > Instructions → Instead of saying "I prefer early flights," share an underlying story like "I had a breakthrough idea on a 6AM flight once. The quiet cabin and altitude seem to spark my creativity. Now I always book early flights for important trips."
2. Visuals → Photos or screenshots convey tastes and preferences more effectively. One Athena member sent photos of the restaurants he went to with a comment to his assistant each time, and over a month was surprised to find how in sync his assistant had become with his taste.
3. Day-in-the-Life → Walk your assistant through hypothetical scenarios. "Here's how I want a typical Monday to go..." or "My ideal experience for a doctor's appointment is to walk in and walk out without having to fill out any forms or wait around to be seen."
4. Unfiltered Audio/Video → Record yourself completing tasks, thinking aloud without editing: "This sentence is awkward," "I love this idea," "I wonder how we could..." Let your assistant see and hear your raw thought process. An Athena member records short voice notes at the end of each day and, over time, found his assistant connecting dots and applying his passive thoughts proactively.

Stories help your assistant understand not just what you want, but why you want it. They’ll likely make decisions better aligned with your preferences, even in unfamiliar situations.

Consistent Gift Giving

Beginner delegators hesitate to hand off gift-giving responsibilities to their assistants. They worry the gifts may seem impersonal or transactional.

Advanced delegators know that thoughtful delegation leads to more meaningful gifting.

A genuine approach to delegating your gifting is by establishing annual or milestone-based gifts that, over the years, grow into meaningful traditions.

Here are two examples:

Year-End Photo Collection

Delegation: Create and send an annual photo card, book or calendar to extended family

How it works: Compile highlights from your photos into a personalized card, photo-book, or calendar for loved ones once a year

Your assistant can:

• Organize and tag photos throughout the year
• Select the best images (and present for your approval)
• Research and suggest designs
• Manage the creation and ordering process
• Maintain and update your mailing list
• Handle the distribution

Milestone Birthday Books

Delegation: Gift a carefully selected book to your child on each milestone birthday

How it works: A parent chooses a book that's appropriate for their child's age and interests at each major birthday

Your assistant can:

• Research books based on your child's interests and reading level
• Provide a shortlist of options with summaries for your final selection
• Order the chosen book and ensure it arrives in time for gift-wrapping
• Maintain a list of gifted books to avoid duplicates and track the collection
• Set reminders for upcoming milestone birthdays well in advance

By having your assistant set up repeatable, milestone-based gifts you let them manage the logistics while keeping each gift you give highly personalized and meaningful.