Tis the Season for catalogs. How may have come to your mailbox? I got 5 of them before I even started thinking about Thanksgiving. And they just keep coming.
I like catalogs, for the most part. There are some strange ones, and there are some that sell merchandise that I don’t particularly care for. But I have to say I do enjoy seeing them in the mail. Maybe that is because what I mostly get in the mail falls into one of two categories: junk mail, and bills. This is something else. Something interesting to look at in a small book format. It can be a nice diversion.
There are hundreds of companies that sent out Christmas catalogs. In 1991 the Sears Wishbook (remember that?) was a whopping 806 pages long. This was the main source for myself and my brother that was used to tell our parents what we wanted for the holiday. We would go through the toy section of the catalog and circle things of interest.
Catalogs for me are the start of the holiday season. And I don’t mind that you start to get them so early. There are some studies out there arguing that you can relieve a lot of stress if you get your Christmas shopping started early. This does make a lot of sense. You can take your time and spread out the costs. You have time to think and are less likely to succumb to what retailers love to impose upon people: the quick decision. Christmas is a hard deadline, and you are reminded of it often. How many times have you heard the phrase “Only xx shopping days till Christmas?” The holiday season is built for distraction and retailers know just how to get us to buy more.
They use the scarcity effect on us. Scarcity theory tells us that if we think something is only available for a short time our mind will give it more weight. This can limit our ability to make good decisions. If we don’t participate in the “Christmas ritual” we will miss out on an experience associated with the holidays.
They bombard us with stimuli. We are surrounded with lights, sounds, smells, etc. at the holiday season Retail stores contribute to this quite a lot. Our brains have to process all of that stimuli, and we will be less likely to think through our decisions with all of that going on.
They know we are not good at forecasting. Think about a party you might have planned in the past. Few of us can accurately plan how much people will end up eating or will need to eat. We do this in buffet lines too, piling plates high. We don’t know how much we need, but we do know how much we want.
All these distractions cost us, but not just in the retail space. You have no doubt heard of distracted driving. Texting will behind the wheel has devastating consequences. The National Highway Transportation and Safetly Administration reports that about 481,000 people are using cell phones while driving during daylight hours. Sending or receiving a text message can take your attention away from what matters in that moment: the road. Just a 5 second distraction can cover the length of a football field if you are going 55 miles per hour.
I think the real problem is that people get the concept of multitasking all wrong, in that they think it is possible. It isn’t really. Our brains can only really give attention to one conscious thing at a time. So when we think we are multitasking what we are really doing is “serial tasking,” but switching back and forth between tasks. It isn’t very productive.
There is a famous bible verse from Jesus that can be applied to distractions:
Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Jesus was talking specifically about serving money, but I think the multitasking warning still applies. What is your master of the moment? Is it holiday lights and sounds, shopping and social gatherings? Or is it something else, something more akin to what Christmas really means?
This holiday season, make sure to clear your mind. Don’t over commit, and take care of yourself physically. Watch out for distractions, and look for the good in others. What a great way to start the holiday season that would be.
God Bless