We all know one: the workaholic who just can’t be pried away from the office. For these sleepless warriors, the temptation might be to find a relaxing, de-stressing present designed to help them take a much-needed break. While there is a time and place (and gift!) for that, the best offering for a busy bee is one that helps them reach their goals faster, making their beloved tasks easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable along the way — so that they can free up some time to relax (or, more realistically, do more work).
From coffee makers to charger-enabled carry-on bags, these useful gifts will help streamline the tasks on every workaholic's to-do list.
The most useful gift ideas for 2019
1. Away The Carry-On bag
Considered one of the best carry-on bags in 2019, the Away Carry-On features a built-in battery plus USB charger for your cell phone, two compartments — one for clothes and one for shoes and toiletries — and a durable outer shell that won’t break no matter how much stress it’s put under. It also comes in more than a dozen colors so you can find the perfect match for the workaholic on your list.
2. Ceramic Porter Bundle
If you're going to carry food to the office — whether you eat lunch at your desk or keep snacks on hand — doing so sustainably is a great idea. And helping someone get there with a stylish solution is even better. This bundle includes a Porter Bowl, Porter Mug and a borosilicate glass Porter Bottle and Porter Glass. Getting them as a set saves you some money, while providing the recipient ways to carry their food, morning coffee and water to the office. Bonus: Each of these is microwave- and dishwasher-safe and BPA-free.
3. Nintendo Switch Ring Fit Adventure
Video games are ever-evolving and so are their accessories. Which is great for those who spend too much of their time at the office, leaving little of it for squeezing in exercise. The Ring Fit Adventure lets you explore a world inside a game full of fantasy and adventure while getting some IRL exercise, from jogging or sprinting to high knee hops. Interested in other at-home fitness equipment? Check out some of the trendy in-home fitness offerings for 2019 here.
4. OXO Good Grips Punctual Egg Timer with Piercer
Help make whipping up breakfast in the morning and getting out the door quick and easy with an egg timer. Choose from seven different levels of egg "doneness," as OXO puts it, plus choose the egg size you're dropping on it. A progress bar keeps you apprised on how long you've got left and once ready, peeling these eggs will be easier — as will cleanup.
5. Revlon One-Step Hair Styler & Volumizer
Getting ready in the morning — and quick touchups before those after-work events — just got easier. More than 12,500 reviewers leave this hot air brush a 4.3-star average rating. It's built with a nylon pin and tufted bristles, and a power reservoir pumping 1100 Watts into it. No more bad hair day's at work.
6. Unplugged Beauty Cordless 1-Inch Curling Wand
Another one for the beauty maven who never steps foot in the office looking less than stellar. From beautifying to styling, this tool is designed to be as easy as possible to use while delivering some significant heat. It's cordless and can hold a charge for more than half an hour, and allows for various heat settings. It also comes in black and white to fit your recipients style.
7. Nixplay 2K 9.7-Inch Smart Digital Photo Frame
It's nice have photos of your family, friends and pets at work with you. A digital photo frame lets you easily switch between your favorite shots or even set them to update at a timed interval. A smart digital frame lets you connect various social media (as well as online photo folders like Google Photos) and then display photos as you please. To keep someone you know close to their favorite moments, Nixplay's latest high-definition take on the smart digital frame is highly-rated and worth considering.
If you want to go all out, consider the feature-packed, interactive, and actual art-displaying Meural Canvas II, a 2019 update to the highly-rated Meural Canvas.
Meural Canvas
On top of displaying your photos, both horizontally and vertically (it's up to you), the Meural Canvas gives you access to more than 30,000 pieces of art — from contemporary abstracts to Pissarro's garden scapes. Membership runs $9 a month and Meural keeps adding new collections to the reservoir, most recently announcing a partnership with Marvel that will showcase collections like "Spider-Man: Across the Ages" and "The Age of Marvels."
8. Travel Cord Roll
For frequent flyers, it’s important to cart along your various power adaptors, headphones, chargers and USB cords — however, it’s easy to lose track of them at the bottom of a bag and end up with a tangled mess. Gift simplicity with this Travel Cord Roll, featuring enough space for eight cords and two plugs. (It also works as an accessories case.)
9. Anker PowerCore+ mini
Roughly the same size as a lipstick, the Anker PowerCore mini 3350mAh packs a lot of power into a tiny charger, able to re-juice cell phones and tablets, with both micro USB and regular USB inputs. And at only 2.72 ounces, it’s small and lightweight enough to take with you literally everywhere, ensuring your device never dies on-the-fly again.
10. Gerber Center-Drive Multi-Tool with Bit Set
Workaholics tend to be go-getters who get things done — fast. Enter: Gerber's Center-Drive, which gives you a slew of capabilities in one tool. The screwdriver tip can be interchanged into any of 12 different bits that range from Allen ends to Philips heads, each magnetic and useful. For someone who likes having one tool to manage everything around, this is a great choice.
If you're more of a LEATHERMAN fan, its latest FREE P4 multi-tool is a similar variant without the screwdriver but, rather, with a redesigned take on the multi-tool featuring magnetic closure for easier and safer handling.
11. Keurig K-Duo Plus Coffee Maker
The K-Duo Plus is compact, adjustable and multi-functional: a pragmatic person's device. You can brew either a single cup or a carafe and you can do so with either ground coffee or K-Cup pods — now that's versatility. You can customize brew size, ranging from the carafe's six cups up to 12 cups, and cup sizes, ranging from six ounces to 12 ounces. Notably, the 60-ounce water reservoir can be positioned on the left, right or back of the K-Duo, meaning it fits perfectly into your space.
12. Upright GO 2 Posture Trainer and Corrector for Back
The premise is simple: The Upright GO 2 tracks your posture and alerts you if you're slouching. A godsend for those who spend way too much time hunched over their computer. It's compatible with both Android and iOS devices and sports a 30-hour battery life to last through your workday.
13. Bamboo Slate Smartpad
A slim smartpad that digitizes handwritten notes and drawings, the Bamboo Slate can transfer ideas from paper to device with one push of a button. Write or sketch ideas with pen on any paper, and then easily sync them to a phone, tablet or the cloud. The Slate can also store up to 100 pages of notes and convert handwriting to text, and it works across iOS and Android devices, including iPad and iPhone, plus windows 7 and Mac OS X.
If the idea of an e-ink tablet is exciting and you're looking for more options, consider Sony's take on the device.
Sony DPT-RP1/B 13-Inch Digital Paper
14. Kikkerland Concrete Desktop Planter
This combination desktop-planter-and-pen-holder from Kikkerland features a terraced base to display pens, business cards or small work accessories such as paperclips, while the top features a small planter perfect for succulents. Studies show that indoor plants can increase feelings of wellness, so it’s the perfect spot of zen for a stressed out desk warrior.
15. Tidy Housecleaning
In our workaholic world, people are often too busy to keep their homes in tip-top shape — however, studies show that those who spend money to save time on chores like housekeeping are markedly happier. Gift them time, happiness and a cleaner home by giving housekeeping services from Tidy, an Uber-for-cleaning app that allows recipients to book a pre-selected duration of time in whichever rooms they choose. All cleaners are background checked, and they also bring green, non-toxic, pet and baby safe products with them.
You can also find an array of home and business services on Amazon — from housecleaning to carpet cleaning or pressure washing.
16. Udemy classes
Help somebody increase their skill-set with a gift card from Udemy. Users can choose from a variety of courses tailored to their interests, including Web Development, Life Coach Certification, Piano, Mandarin, Russian Literature and Negotiation Techniques. With more than 55,000 classes to choose from — in multiple languages! — there’s something for literally everybody.
More Gift Guides from BETTER
- 16 thoughtful gifts under $30 for every kind of person 2019
- Holiday gifts and gadgets for the healthy home cook
- 19 best fitness gifts for people who (want to) work out
- 26 best cookbooks to give (and get) during the holidays 2019
- 13 inexpensive gift ideas for coworkers 2019
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