This is a fantastic question I received via the wonders of Twitter last week…
Let’s be honest… we’ve all wondered this at one time or another. I’ll be the first to admit, I have felt the guilt of the tardy thank-you.
I believe there are a few home remedies for getting over the guilt and moving on to gracious gratitude.
1. Get out of the receivers head. Chances are the receiver of your thank-you is simply happy to find the Thank-You in their mailbox. If they are standing at their mailbox counting the days, correcting your penmanship or grammar… that’s their issue, not yours.
2. Write from the heart and write them today! Stop telling yourself that you have to write them and start telling yourself you look forward to writing them. After all, we can count it a blessing to be able to communicate our gratitude for the gift or act of kindness. Gratitude should never be a nuisance.
3. Have all of the supplies handy. This is how we roll! I love this little trunk and it makes me happy to have all of the tools at hand!
4. Get creative! Do I think it’s important to send handwritten letters? Yes. However, it’s perfectly fine to mix it up. I love, love, love how my web friend Meredith (aka Hoo-dee-Hoo) and her producer husband engaged their sons in the act of saying thanks. Check out her creative approach here…
5. Finally, and in the words of my favorite athletic apparel company! Just Do it!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the Ping-back Mindy:)
Love all of your gracious advice as always!
I agree that thank you notes are better late than never. I’m usually fairly prompt at getting them out, and as you mentioned do not wait impatiently waiting to receive one. Hey, I’m impressed with the lovely trunk to keep writing supplies in~I’m going to come up with something like that. Great tip!
Meredith, Thank you for your honesty and willingness to think outside of the box!
Debbie, I would expect nothing less from you! You are so darling. You bring up a great point on promptness! The amount of time we take to write the Thank-you non-verbally communicates how truly thankful we are. So sooner is always best!
About the trunk. It saves me, and it travels well too! My three-year-old niece loves it… guess what she’s getting for her B-Day?
Have a great day!
I strongly believe that this is a “better late than never” issue. You are right that the receiver will happy to see the note in the mail box.
I disagree, however, with your follow up statement that “The amount of time we take to write the Thank-you non-verbally communicates how truly thankful we are.” Although I agree that sooner is best, I think most people view late thank you notes as non-verbal communication of how scatterbrained somebody may be not how thankful. (And lest someone think my last statement is advocating not sending a thank you note in order to avoid looking scatterbrained, I say it’s better to seem disorganized than ungrateful.)
My mom’s rule for us was always that we had to write our thank you notes within one week of receiving a gift, and I think that’s a helpful rule of thumb so you don’t forget, but I agree that it’s better late than never! I will say that having received some late thank you notes it’s nice to get a note about a gift I had forgotten about giving, and much nicer when the writer didn’t spend most of the note apologizing for the tardiness. Just give a heartfelt thank you even if it’s late!
Catherine, I couldn’t agree more! Keeping the thank-you about the gift and not our own guilt keeps it a Thank “You”. Life gets busy, heartfelt is always best! Thanks again.
Kim, Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I always appreciate another perspective and you taking the time to keep the conversation alive! Best, Mindy
I enjoyed reading your tips on thank you notes! You came to visit the PR firm I am a part of at UofO last year (Allen Hall Public Relations) and the tips you gave us during that session about networking and sending thank-yous were very helpful. I specifically remember you advising us to send hand written thank-yous rather than sending an email. I have used this advice every time I need to thank someone for meeting with me. Thank you, Mindy!