Be on the lookout for your gal's gifts

ABC: Always be checking
As that famous line goes..."Always be closing." For our purposes though, we can modify this to "Always be checking"...as in..."Always be checking around for your gal's next gift."

Basically, there's no offseason in the gift-hunting game. There's always another holiday-birthday-anniversary just around the corner that you'll need to come up with a gift for, and these dates can creep up on you mighty fast if you're not careful. So you always need to be on the lookout for that next gift.

Mindfulness
Don't let this search run your life or anything drastic like that. Go about your business as you normally would, but as you do so...keep that next important occasion (Valentine's Day, Christmas, and so on) in the back of your mind. Just tuck it away there as a reminder to yourself, so that you'll be in a better position to notice potential gifts when opportunities come along.

After a while, you'll likely find yourself coming across more and more gifts by chance, and even picking them out months in advance. With this mindfulness, you can get yourself out of that cycle of always being up against a tight deadline for finding a good gift.

Under pressure
I know that a lot of us guys "work well under pressure" as far as our jobs go, but this saying doesn't hold up when it comes to finding your gal a gift. Sure, you're resourceful and you can figure out something to give her at the last moment if necessary, but it's not likely to be your finest work. Plus, who wants that kind of last-minute hassle when you can simply stay alert and get the job done earlier?

Ultimately, a gift is a statement to your gal about how much you care about her. It's not how much money you spend on it though. It's how much care you put into it. So if you're always waiting to pick out her gifts "just in time," then you're not really putting as much care into her gift as you might.

Last thought
Being aware of upcoming occasions is a solid step toward finding her gifts earlier and with less effort. "Always be checking" to avoid that last-minute rush.