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They are everywhere

A phone screen displaying "1 new message"

Where is your phone? In your pocket? A handbag? On a table in front of you? Or in your hand reading this article? Another question: How many phones do you have?

A lot of Nigerians have more than one phone. The logic seems to be use your smartphone for social media and have a dumb phone for use as a backup. Wherever you go today, you are likely to see someone happily pressing away at their phone’s screen. It’s no longer uncommon to see two people on a “date” busy typing away at their phones, completely ignoring each other.

A sea of phones
You can have too much of the good thing

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Don’t fall for the inspiration fallacy

A lightbulb in the rain

We have all heard about it. Something like the strike of thunder or a bird landing on your shoulders. The brain sees hidden patterns where none existed before. Words come to mind unbidden. You are seized with a violent work ethic and produce a great masterpiece in 24 hours. Some call it inspiration. Many wait for their muse to be the guide that will let them set words to paper. Let me provide some free advice: If you are still waiting for inspiration before you get started, there is a word for what you are doing. It’s called Procrastination.

“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”

– Stephen King

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How do you feel today?

Positive thoughts

One of my favourite books is “Don’t be sad” by Aid al-Qarni. It is riddled with practical examples on how to deal with adversity and develop a pragmatic approach to dealing with life’s problems. Problems are a part of life. Nobody is going to have good days all the time. There will be situations that annoy us, make us angry or make us want to despair. Our feelings can have a very large influence on our productivity by being either positive or negative force multipliers. If you wake up with a smile on your face and get a healthy breakfast, you are likely to approach the day’s tasks with a more positive frame of mind. Start the day with a fight after having slept fitfully without electricity and being bitten throughout the night by mosquitoes, however, and your productivity is likely to take a nosedive for the rest of the day.

A big smiley icon
Need I say more

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Work from home notes (ii)

A house with a figure inside working at a desk

Last week, I wrote about the pros and cons of working from home. Many people have had to adjust to a new reality of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. The adjustment has not been easy for some. If this was your first time having to work from home, you might have found yourself facing more distractions, incurring more expenses and not knowing when work ends and personal life begins. To aid your adjustment, I will share a few tips that worked for me: Continue reading “Work from home notes (ii)” →

Work from home notes (i)

A house with a figure inside working at a desk

2020 has been a difficult year for many. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world hard exposing weaknesses in political and healthcare systems. The economy has also not been spared. A lot of people have lost jobs. If you are among the lucky who still have your job, you might have had to adapt to a new way of working: work from home.

In a bid to limit the number of people under one roof and by so doing curb the rate of infections, employers have had to ask staff members to work away from the office. For many Nigerians, this was their first time working from home.

A sticky note that says "Please stay home"
Dream or nightmare

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Are you prepared to pay the price?

Question Mark

Longterm goals often require you acquiring new skills or upgrading your knowledge. In a world where new knowledge is generated at an astounding rate, one can feel overwhelmed. It is no longer a safe option to rely on overburdened HR departments to ensure you get the training you need to stay relevant on the job. You either shape up or ship out.

A notebook that reads "2020 Goals"
Are yours written down?

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Passion is good, Perseverance is better

Passion led us here

One of the most common tropes one hears lately is that “If you are passionate about what you do, you will never work a day in your life.” This sounds like wisdom but for many people, it can be dangerous advice. The idea is that successful people are successful because they have found what they are passionate about and that passion is the magical pill that makes them endure adversity. If you only view your job as a career instead of a passion, some people would say you are to be pitied. Suddenly everyone is now trying to find their passion instead of building a career. The result: People rushing off to start businesses without doing market research or acquiring needed skills because they have suddenly discovered their passion is to sell clothes made out of newspaper.

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