The 3-2-1 Rule for Phone Addiction, Enjoying your prime, Going the extra mile and more

Career Tip:

In our era of quiet-quitting and quiet-firing, the concept of going the extra mile sound like absurd and foreign words.?

We expect our every little effort to be awarded and appreciated, while we are not willing to go beyond our job description.

In our very selfish world, ‘going the extra mile’ seems stupid, but is exactly what you stand out. Few are willing to deliver excellent work when ordinary work can be accepted, Few are willing to ask if the work submitted meets expectations, Few are willing to work overtime.

Since Few are willing to do this, you stand out. In going the extra mile, you discover the opportunities that are available only to the people that go the extra mile.

As much as we live in a world that rewards being selfish, our willingness to go the extra mile would separate us from the pack and highlight us for opportunities.

Life Tip:

While Technology has made our lives easier, it has also taken away what is most important to us, our time and attention.

Especially as professionals, we spend more time ‘keeping up’. From constantly replying mails to joining unnecessary meetings to scrolling through our favourite social media apps, we have inadvertently become slaves to our phones.

Being a former slave to my phone, I would share how I was able to break free of my addiction with the 3-2-1 rule.

3 hours of Do Not Disturb

2 favourite apps whose notifications have been turned off

1 hour of actually ‘keeping up’ with the online world.

For three hours early in the morning, I place my phone on Do Not Disturb. This gives me an uninterrupted three full hours to work on tasks that demand my full attention. Equally, I do my best work in the morning, thus I work efficiently with full focus.

Two of my favourite apps have their notifications turned off. I do not recommend turning off all app notifications as you would not be able to keep it up. In my case, I turned off the notifications of Twitter and Linkedin since September and I have lived a better, more aware life since then.

One hour for actually ‘keeping up’. The truth is that those emails would not respond to themselves. Hence the one hour of actually keeping up with the online world.

With the 3-2-1 rule, you will find that you control your phone better.

Financial Advice:

This is a contranian advice. If you would observe, most financial advices focuses on delayed gratification. Don’t spend now. Wait for the rainy day. Wait till you are retired. And if you follow this rule to the letter, you find that you live the best times of your life in abject poverty. You don’t take the vacations until you are 80. You don’t buy the Ferrari until you are 70. And that deprives you of the major fun in life. Sometimes, it’s okay top break the rules. Sometimes, it is okay to gratify yourself immediately.

One random thought from me:

I have been reading Mindset by Carol Dweck and it is a good book which I would advice you to pick up. In her book, Carol makes a distinction between Fixed Mindset and Growth Mindset. A fixed mindset believes that he/she can not go beyond their given talents. ‘I am not good in mathematics, hence I better move into Acting’. ‘I am not flexible enough so I can not learn ballet’. They fail to consider that Skills are not fixed, rather they can be learnt.?

Take for example, you are more intelligent now than you were in High School. Why? This is because we do not have a fixed IQ. Our intelligence level is an expandable vessel. It is not fixed in stone.

Likewise our potential in life. There is no limit on the potentials we have. This is because our potential is not fixed in stone. With the right coaching, the right actions and the right drive, there is no limit to how far we can possibly go in Life. Don’t limit yourself.

It is a beautiful Tuesday. Hit this week with renewed energy.

From Osinachi Akanegbu

Somewhere in Africa!