You didn't want it yesterdayHabits

unbry

You didn't want it yesterday

A short book about buying things for the lift, which lasts about as long as the delivery

19 chapters11,298 wordsAbout 51 minFirst edition

What's inside

·Before you startThis is a short book and you can read it in two or three sittings. It's about one habit. You're tired or flat or fed up, you start looking at things to…2 min
1The parcel on the matIt's Tuesday, ten past nine in the evening, and you're on the sofa. The day wasn't terrible. A meeting was moved twice, someone sent a short email that…3 min
2The lift is realThe usual advice about this habit starts by telling you that shopping doesn't make you happy. You know from experience that's false. On Tuesday evening it…3 min
3Where the lift isThink back over the bag, and this time follow your mood and not the parcel. At nine o'clock you're flat. By twenty past you're absorbed, and by the time…3 min
4Why the thing goes quietThe bag didn't change between Thursday and the following Tuesday. It was as well made on day six as on day one. What changed is that you got used to it…2 min
5What sends you to the shopIf the want didn't come from the bag, it came from somewhere. The research points to your mood. In 2008 Cynthia Cryder and three colleagues ran a small…3 min
6What the evening still neededLet's say the lift works as advertised. You felt flat at nine and better at half past. Some things are still true at half past. The email that could be…3 min
7The shop is ready for youSo far I've talked as though this all happens inside your head. It doesn't. On the other side of the screen is a business whose job is to turn a passing…3 min
8"It was reduced"The bag in chapter 1 cost sixty-eight pounds. Suppose the page had said it was down from a hundred and ten. For a lot of us that would have settled it…2 min
9"I deserve it"It's Friday. You've had a hard week, you got through it, and you did a couple of things well that nobody noticed. There's a jumper you've been shown…2 min
10"I can always send it back"This is the last of the three things people say at the checkout, and it may be the one that lets the most purchases through. It sounds like caution, as if…2 min
11The person who owns itGo back to the picture you had of the bag at ten past nine. It was on your shoulder, on a station platform, on a Friday afternoon. The person carrying it…3 min
12"But I like nice things"Good. Nothing in this book asks you to stop. This objection matters, because there's a reading of the last eleven chapters that ends with an empty flat, a…2 min
13"I can afford it"Perhaps you can. Not everyone who buys for the lift is in trouble with money, and I'd be inventing a crisis if I told you otherwise. If sixty-eight pounds…2 min
14The lift without the parcelChapter 2 listed what the lift is made of. There was a sense of being in charge, something to look forward to, some novelty and a reward. Chapter 6 added…3 min
15The decisionEverything so far comes down to one decision. It isn't to stop shopping, and it isn't to spend less, though you probably will. It's this. You stop buying…3 min
16Sales, paydays and bad weeksSome occasions are harder than others, and it helps to know them in advance. Late evening is the obvious one. You're tired, your judgement is at its…3 min
17The parcel on the mat againHere's the same Tuesday once more, as an example of how it might go. It's ten past nine and you're on the sofa. The meeting was moved twice, the email…2 min
·NotesThis book gives general information. It isn't medical, psychological or financial advice, and it's no substitute for a doctor, therapist or debt adviser…6 min

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