Writing thank-you notes fills me with such an intense dread and self-loathing that I've generally tried to avoid occasions on which others would give me gifts.

Writing thank-you notes fills me with such an intense dread and self-loathing that I've generally tried to avoid occasions on which others would give me gifts. One tip I recently discovered, aside from having my wife dictate the text of the note to me, is to actually make 6ish-second thank-you videos. It is a lot easier (for me at least) just press record, enthusiastically say what is in fact a short message, and send it with a speed that prohibits you from getting caught in some weird spiral of thought.